Mercyhurst College junior Ashley Cockell lays out for the puck. Unfortunately, despite this effort the Lakers fell to Niagara University 2-1
The Mercyhurst College women’s hockey team has fallen from grace as it suffered a 2-1 loss to Niagara University and lost its No. 1in the USCHO.com poll.

This is the first week since the beginning of the season that the Lakers have not sat at the top of the USCHO.com poll.

The Lakers did keep their top ranking in the USA Today Women’s Hockey/ USA Hockey Magazine Division I poll. This is the 15th straight week the Lakers have sat atop that poll.

The loss was the Lakers’ first since Oct. 31, 2009. They are now at 20-2-3 for the season and 7-1-1 in College Hockey America play.
The Lakers found Saturday’s loss hard to swallow as they felt the play favored them throughout the game.

“I give a lot of credit to Niagara for playing us very tough like they always do. They’re one of the hardest working teams we’ve played this season. Saturday we outplayed them, out shot them, but couldn’t find the back of the net. That’s hockey for you,” junior Captain Vicki Bendus said.

While this past weekend was slow for the Mercyhurst Lakers, it wasn’t too bad for Bendus. She scored both goals in Friday’s game against the Niagara Purple Eagles in a 2-0 victory.

Bendus cu

rrently has 20 goals and a total of 46 points. This gives her the number one rank on the team and in the country.

Despite this achievement on Friday, the Lakers fell to the Purple Eagles the next afternoon by a score of 2-1.

Mercyhurst’s women’s hockey team plays against Robert Morris University this coming weekend.