ERIE, Pa. - The Providence College women's ice hockey team finished their weekend trip to Erie, Pa. with a loss to No. 9 Mercyhurst. The Friars went 0-2-0 on the weekend moving their record to 1-3-0 on the season.
The Lakers got off to an early lead when Christine Bestland put the puck in off a scrum in front of the net just 55 seconds into the first period. Bestland notched her second of the game just four minutes later at 14:44 of the first period when she scored a breakaway goal over the shoulder of goaltender junior Nina Riley (Lexington, Mass.). At the end of the first period Mercyhurst was up 2-0 and had outshot the Friars 11-3.
At the start of the second period the Friars started to build momentum when sophomore Allison Micheletti (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) took a shot from the left wing that hit the far post. Minutes later at 17:00 Riley made a big save on a backdoor play made by the Laker offense to keep the score at 2-0.
Just as the Friars were gaining momentum, Mercyhurst's Emily Janiga went in off a pass from Christine Bestland and slid the puck across the goalline, five hole. Extending their lead to 3-0 with 11:53 remaining in the second period.
Going into the start of the third period the Friars trailed 3-0. Mercyhurst continued to put the pressure on Providence in the third period with two more Laker goals. With 15:28 left in the game Jenna Dindeldein scored a wrap-around goal for the Lakers, putting the game out of reach for the Friars.
At 5:54 senior Nicole Anderson (Jordan, Minn.) took a hooking penalty giving Mercyhurt the man advantage. The Lakers took advantage and Christie Cicero scored a powerplay goal with 12:33 remaining in the third giving them a 5-0 lead. Freshman goaltender Allie Morse (Cottage Grove, Minn.) entered the game with 12:33 left in the third period. Morse made a glove save with 6:31 on the clock to keep the game 5-0.
The Friars had several chances to get on the score board, including a break away by Micheletti at 9:52 of the third period that was saved by Stephanie Ciampa of Mercyhurst.
Providence will begin league play Saturday, Oct. 20 at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 21 at 2:00 p.m. when they host Vermont University for a weekend series. The Friars will also be holding their annual alumni weekend.