No. 7 Mercyhurst Downs Saints, 4-1

The St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team suffered a 4-1 loss to nationally ranked No. 7 Mercyhurst in Erie, PA on Wednesday.

Senior Karell Emard scored the lone goal for the Saints (6-7-3) in the third period, while Mercyhurst’s Bailey Bram, Christine Bestland, and Shelby Bram combined for three goals and six assists, helping the Lakers (10-2-0) to their ninth consecutive win.

The Saints found themselves in a 2-0 hole at the end of the first period, both goals coming from the stick of Bestland. Her first of the period came at the 7:56 mark, knocking a rebound past St. Lawrence first-year goaltender Carmen MacDonald.

Bestland’s second goal came at 15:30 as she one-timed a centering pass, giving the Laker’s a 2-0 advantage.

The game would remain 2-0 until Bailey Bram picked up a power play goal at 2:58 in the third period, finishing off a flurry in front of the Saints’ goal. MacDonald stopped three quick shots right in front, but Bram poked one past her to put the home team up 3-0.

After calling a timeout, St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells elected to pull MacDonald with 8:11 left in the third period. Each team had been whistled for a minor penalty, setting up a 5-on-4 advantage in favor of the Saints. The move was successful, as Emard put the Saints on the board less than a minute later at the 12:50 mark, tipping in a shot from junior Brooke Fernandez at the point. At the same time as the goal, Mercyhurst’s Molly Byrne was whistled for a cross-checking minor.

With the extra skater, the Saints created several opportunities to score, but Lakers’ netminder Hillary Pattenden made some critical saves during the stretch, as she also got help from her defense, which blocked several shots during the time that MacDonald was on the bench.

Mercyhurst would cap the game’s scoring when Lauren Jones recorded an empty net goal at 1:40 to bring the contest to its final 4-1.

The Lakers held a 41-32 advantage in shots over the Saints, including a 20-13 advantage in the third period. Pattenden finished with 31 saves, helping her team post a perfect 5-for-5 mark on the penalty kill. Meanwhile, MacDonald made 37 saves in 54:05, but fell to 3-4-2 on the season.

The Saints, who have suffered three straight losses on the road, will look to get back on track on December 2nd and 3rd, as they host Union and RPI at Appleton Arena.