Over Thanksgiving weekend, the Mercyhurst Lakers women’s ice hockey won a pair over the Union College Dutchwomen.

After a 4-3 overtime win in Game One, the Lakers would shut out the Dutchwomen 2-0 in their second match of the series.

In the first game, the Lakers were up in the first period 2-0 off of two scores by Emily Pinto (assisted by junior Summer-Rae Dobson and sophomore Alexane Rheaume on the first, Dobson and junior Rachel Marmen on the second) in the period’s latter half.

The Dutchwomen would score during the second half of the first period and would open the scoring in the second period to tie the score at two. Despite this, the Lakers would retake the lead by the end of the period, with a score by junior Alexa Vasko (assisted by seniors Sam Isbell and Emma Nuutinen) coming with less than three minutes left in the second period.

Once again though, the Dutchwomen made it clear they were not going out without a fight. Union scored a third score of their own, coming off of a powerplay that would tie the game until the end of regulation.The Dutchwomen, however, would not enjoy any opportunity to come away with a victory, as Dobson scored the winning tally 36 seconds into the overtime period.

The next day, the Lakers would not give the Dutchwomen a chance at victory, with two unanswered first period goals sealing the deal.Scores came from Nuutinen (assisted by Isbell and Vasko) off the powerplay, and sophomore Sarah Nelles (assisted by Pinto and senior Maggie Knott).

Debuting for the Lakers in goal was freshman Jenna Silvonen, earning her first career win and shutout with 15 saves against the Dutchwomen.

The next time the Lakers (9-4-1) take to the ice is this Friday and Saturday, when they travel to Robert Morris University (9-5-2) for a pair of contests.

Fans can also catch the Lakers at the tail end of finals week, as Mercyhurst competes against St. Cloud University (4-10-1) on Dec. 13-14.

“We need to speed up our game and focus on our defensive game,” Nuutinen said about the Lakers play this season.

“We want to win our league and be one of the top teams in the country, so in order to do that, we need to be able to make quicker decisions on the ice. We are improving our game every day. I have a good feeling about this year.”