The Official Thread of the Mercyhurst Lakers

[MICZamboni]

Sisti's delay tactics just cost him a penalty. Lets see how this goes.

[MICZamboni]

12:20 to go in the 3rd and still tied. Both teams at full strength.

[MICZamboni]

Grills scores for the Saints to give them the lead. Assists go to Locke and Maschmeyer at 11:44. Mercyhurst is playing a little better this period but they will have to work hard to tie this one up. The Saints need this win.

[MICZamboni]

5:28 to go. It looked like St. Lawrence scored but played continued. The horn went off and everything.

[MICZamboni]

Final. Good weekend anyway. Shouldn't hurt in the standings because this is definately a quality loss. Big weekend next weekend so lets hope we can get at least another win.

[ARM]

Interesting boxscore -- no power play chances for the Lakers. You don't often see that when top teams meet.

[MICZamboni]

More news on the early recruits for next year taken from the Erie Sunday Times:

'Hurst women's hockey team signs 5 recruits

Mercyhurst College's women's hockey team is making a statement in the Division I national rankings and on the recruiting front.

Five players have signed letters of intent to continue their academic and athletic careers with the Lakers, who are ranked No. 2 in the USCHO.com and USA Today/ USA Hockey Division I polls.

Mercyhurst's latest recruits are defenders Melissa Lacroix, Melanie Rothon and Cassea Schols and forwards Vicki Bendus and Ashley Cockell.

"We're losing seven players after this season and they all have played a ton of hockey," Mercyhurst coach Michael Sisti said. "We had to replace them with quality people or we risked taking a step back. We've been trying to sign as many players early as we could. In the past we've signed maybe one or two. To sign five early is a huge accomplishment."

Lacroix, a native of Penetanguishene, Ontario, is currently playing for the Toronto Junior Aeros. Last season, she had four goals and eight assists in 29 games with the Aeros.

A skilled, rugged and mobile defender, Lacroix also played for Team Ontario Blue last season at the women's under-18 championship in Canada.

Rothon has played the past two seasons for the Durham Lightning in the Canadian National Women's Hockey League and was rookie of the year as a 16-year-old last season.

Before joining Durham, the Newmarket, Ontario, native played two seasons for the Toronto Junior Aeros and was a two-time member of Team Ontario Red at the under-18 championships.

"We've watched her play for many years and expect her to contribute right away," Sisti said.

Schols, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, has played the last three years for the NWHL's Edmonton Chimos. Schols was an assistant captain for Team Alberta in 2005 and is hoping to continue with the program for the Canada winter games in March. She was invited to Canada's under-22 camp in June and hopes to play for Team Canada in the future.

Bendus is a native of Wasaga Beach, Ontario, and currently plays for the Aurora Junior Panthers. Last year, she played for Team Ontario's Red's championship at the women's under-18 event.

"She will be another impact player on our roster and should help the offense and the power play immediately," Sisti said.

Cockell, who hails from Fort Assiniboine, Alberta, is currently a teammate of Schols with the Edmonton Chimos. She played with Team Alberta in 2005 and is expected to provide grit, skill and speed when she joins the Lakers next season.

"I think our staff and our assistants, Paul Colontino and Aaron Kemp, did a terrific job in getting these five quality players," Sisti said. "We'll have some holes to fill next year and I'm confident all these people will fit right into our system."

[hab]

Pretty impressive. Reaffirms that Mercyhurst is maybe the most effective program when it comes to the recruiting pipeline in Canada.

[powder_snowboarder_girl]

To the ECAC fans,
what is Danyel Howard's reputation as a ref? She strikes me as one who gets her own personal agenda in the mix, rather than just letting the teams play it out. I am not trying to minimize SLU beating Mercyhurst - they're a great team and have been for years; God knows the record b/t the 2 teams favors SLU. MIC Zamboni commented that Sisti's tactics cost him a delay of game penalty, but I can't imagine any other ref would have called that. Why wouldn't Howard just skate away when she felt the conversation was played out? especially in a tie game like Sundays's between two legitimate teams?

Someone else posted that they were surprised at the lack of penalties for SLU - so was I. I was watching the game on and off on the live feed -very cool SLU-and while I didn't see anything that jumped out as a penalty it's just hard to believe that a team as skilled and hardworking as Mercyhurst can't draw one penalty! And then to get scammed with a delay of game....Usually the refs that let teams play and don't call anything don't turn around and make a call on the bench.

I cringe every time I see Howard is involved with a Mercyhurst game...I don't know what the deal is but I hope they can find a way to win even with her on the ice -- I think of 3 Mercyhurst games lost that she called now. I know there are a whole lot of other variables that determine the outcome aka the quality of the opposition, but seriously I noticed that she was reffing the game on sunday in the 3rd period, lost all hope for Mercyhurst, saw the delay of game call, followed by the SLU goal in that order.

Anyway just curious what others have thought of her reffing?

Go lakers....

[MICZamboni]

Powder,

I have to agree with you. When I wrote about Coach Sisti's "tactics", it was while the game was going on. I talked later with a player and said the call came from nowhere. They were talking at the bench, the ref skated away to talk with someone (I think lineman but not sure) and came back and told Coach Sisti someone needs to go to the box. Hey ref, if you think a coach is talking to much, skate away. Don't keep talking with a coach and then give a penalty. On the feed I could hear in the background the fans yelling for a delay penalty and all of a sudden there was one. What is up with that???
Congrats to the Saints, they are definatly a team to be reckoned with in March.

Go Lakers!!!!

[Atlantic Puck]

In reposnse to the question regarding Howard
After watching this ref I would say she leaves a lot to be desired inconsistent leaving players and coaches on both teams wondering about calls

seems to pick on certain players & this carries carry over game to game
cannot keep up with the play

I was surprised that she would be assigned a game of this caliber

She has done some higher-level games, which only make me question the assigning as well as her ability

[brookyone]

I cringe every time I see Howard is involved with a Mercyhurst game...I don't know what the deal is but I hope they can find a way to win even with her on the ice -- I think of 3 Mercyhurst games lost that she called now.
I'd bet this is a somewhat universal sentiment involving various officials scattered across conferences. There are a couple that have the very same effect on me in the WCHA...had the "pleasure" of watching one work this past weekend.

[camman15]

Powder,

I have to agree with you. When I wrote about Coach Sisti's "tactics", it was while the game was going on. I talked later with a player and said the call came from nowhere. They were talking at the bench, the ref skated away to talk with someone (I think lineman but not sure) and came back and told Coach Sisti someone needs to go to the box. Hey ref, if you think a coach is talking to much, skate away. Don't keep talking with a coach and then give a penalty. On the feed I could hear in the background the fans yelling for a delay penalty and all of a sudden there was one. What is up with that???
Congrats to the Saints, they are definatly a team to be reckoned with in March.

Go Lakers!!!!

.....there's too many of these little questioning sessions that just slow down the pace of the game,.....I mean, you see it happen on both the men's side and the women's side,.....it's one thing to honestly not understand what the call was and ask why,.....it's an entirely different story when a coach is obviously trying to delay the next drop of the puck to rest the players he or she wants out there,.....everybody does it and it's time to like you said, MIC, for referees to just skate away,.....I don't know how this particular situation developed, but it wouldn't surprise me if this referee just took advantage of Mike Sisti's "MO",.....and by the way, you don't call a penalty of that magnitude in a game as close as that one was,.....

[san regola]

To the ECAC fans,
what is Danyel Howard's reputation as a ref? She strikes me as one who gets her own personal agenda in the mix, rather than just letting the teams play it out. ....

Well last season I saw her ref the Q-pac game (i think it was) at Appleton, and the general feeling in the student section was that she was terrible. Not long after that she was refing over at the olympics and still wasn't that good. It wouldn't be hard to agree that she has her own agenda out there. Having to watch on the internet feed (which is a nice addition) it's hard to see the close calls, but it wouldn't surprise me if some were borderline or just obviously wrong.

[sk8happy]

Well last season I saw her ref the Q-pac game (i think it was) at Appleton, and the general feeling in the student section was that she was terrible. Not long after that she was refing over at the olympics and still wasn't that good. It wouldn't be hard to agree that she has her own agenda out there. Having to watch on the internet feed (which is a nice addition) it's hard to see the close calls, but it wouldn't surprise me if some were borderline or just obviously wrong.

I don't think we've been graced @the Whitt this year by her presence. However I recall watching her several times last year. She's a strange bird to say the least. My impressions haven't been great. She is known to make bizarre calls at strange times and then act like there's no question she's made the right call. I find her 'officious' nature a bit much.

We are looking forward to seeing the Lakers this weekend. Hopefully all four game will be entertaining. I know the past two years the Laker squad has been impressive- this year's edition looks to be the most talented yet. It should make for a good weekend of hockey!

[MICZamboni]

Nice job by the Lady Lakers. Keep rolling. Here is the article from today's Erie Times News about yesterdays game.

Mercyhurst women earn shutout

From staff reports

DURHAM, N.H. -- No. 2 Mercyhurst College got goals from four of its top five scorers and Laura Hosier stopped all 16 shots in a 4-0 victory over No. 8 Boston College on Friday at the Whittemore Center in the first game of the New Hampshire women's hockey tournament.

The Lakers (11-1-1) will meet No. 3 New Hampshire today at 7 p.m. The Wildcats are 13-1-1 after beating Wayne State 7-1 Friday night.

Stefanie Bourbeau scored her team-leading 11th goal at 15 minutes, 9 seconds of thefirst period.

Then Valerie Chouinard scored her 10th of the season on a power play 48 seconds into the second period, triggering Mercyhurst's offense.

Stephanie Jones scored her fifth goal of the season at 12:29, and Meghan Agosta scored unassisted on a breakaway with 8 seconds left in the period and the Lakers killing a penalty.

Agosta took over the team lead with her 20th point.

Bourbeau and Chouinard each had two points, and Chouinard tied captain Julia Colizza for second on the team with 19 points.

Hosier (11-0-1) stopped seven shots in the third period, when coach Michael Sisti cleared the bench and the Lakers took only three of their 36 shots on BC freshman goaltender Molly Schaus.

"I thought that with the game (today), it was good to get everybody involved and finish clean," Sisti said.

Boston College (9-2-1) had its five-game winning streak snapped, while Mercyhurst bounced back from its only loss of the season, 3-2 at St. Lawrence, with the first shutout of the Eagles this year.

"I think Boston College is going to be an NCAA tournament team," Sisti said. "They've got a lot of weapons. They remind us of us; they're really good they're just young, and they're going to be unstoppable soon."

New Hampshire has been all but unstoppable at home, going 28-0-4 in the past 32 games at the Whittemore Center, including 9-0-1 this season.

The Wildcats are 4-2-1 all-time against Mercyhurst and won 2-1 last season with a last-minute goal.

[quixote]

Laker Fans can be proud of the Lakers tonight. It was a hard fought win over UNH (2-1). Although the Lakers had slightly fewer shots, they stayed in the game and continued to fight for it.
In the first period they looked a little flustered and didn't seem to get the flow going (or the shots--only four or five, I think). The ladies really picked it up in the second period. They seemed to be able to interupt the cycling and get in the UNH lanes. Agosta had a nice breakaway that was stopped by Bourbon. The Colizza goal was scored by sheer effort in front of the net and on what I think was the third rebound with about 40 seconds left in the period.
Period three was a bit more back and forth. The Laker goal was scored on a shot from the point by Pendleton that Agosta tipped. UNH had a goal disallowed because of a high stick. It was batted down and in from behind the net. There were a lot of players already in the net so that could have been the call if the stick being high wasn't so obvious.

The ref seemed a bit of a "homer" or he wanted to see a close game. Seven penalties on MC and 3 on UNH. Some very controversial calls against Mercyhurst and a greater number of bodychecks by UNH not called.

The Lakers debuted a third jersey tonight. IMO very good looking with an oval of white behind the Mercyhurst front logo on the dark green backgroud and with white laces. It looked classy.

[MICZamboni]

Great job ladies. Can't wait to see the polls on Monday. We should get some first place votes if not all of them. I sort of wish this would have happened later in the season. It will be tough to hold the number 1 spot for the rest of the season. I guess I am being presumptious about this but what the heck, I'm excited.

[dave1381]

The thing is though, Mercyhurst doesn't play another current top 10 team after next weekend (though UConn, Niagara, and Wayne State can all be dangerous). It'll take a pretty big upset to knock the Lakers from No. 1 in the polls -- and the USCHO poll stops going into NCAAs. If they sweep Princeton, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Mercyhurst 34-1-1 at the end of the season, while the top teams in the WCHA and ECACHL beat each other up a bit, a blemish or two might not be enough to knock out the Lakers. Of course, being No. 1 seed isn't quite the boon it used to be -- if the season ended today, I think the quarterfinal opponent would be either SLU, the team Mercyhurst lost to, or UMD, the team with the most famous goalie in the world for pulling upsets.

[MICZamboni]

The thing is though, Mercyhurst doesn't play another current top 10 team after next weekend (though UConn, Niagara, and Wayne State can all be dangerous). It'll take a pretty big upset to knock the Lakers from No. 1 in the polls -- and the USCHO poll stops going into NCAAs. If they sweep Princeton, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Mercyhurst 34-1-1 at the end of the season, while the top teams in the WCHA and ECACHL beat each other up a bit, a blemish or two might not be enough to knock out the Lakers. Of course, being No. 1 seed isn't quite the boon it used to be -- if the season ended today, I think the quarterfinal opponent would be either SLU, the team Mercyhurst lost to, or UMD, the team with the most famous goalie in the world for pulling upsets.

Dave, you are right. It will be interesting to see how Mercyhurst reacts next weekend against Princeton since Mercyhurst is now in uncharted territory. One could say they have been in uncharted territory since they were ranked 5th but being #1 is different. Knowing Coach Sisti he is beaming inside but the ladies will never know when the girls skate hard again this week.

I watched the UMD game today and the only reason Wisconsin didn't beat them buy 4 goals is Martin. She is the real deal. They scare me because of her. Even though SLU beat MC they don't scare me as much as UMD and Harvard. I wish MC would have played them during the regular season because if they meet in the NCAA's I would have to play a team with so many players who have played in big games.

Keep Rolling Lakers!!!!!!!!!!!