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Sports Women's hockey gets invite to NCAA Frozen Eight for third straight year
By Kyle Craig Staff writer There is no greater feeling in sports than making the game- winning homerun or shot to win the game. Senior forward Stephanie Jones had this opportunity in overtime with the CHA Title on the line. With a great pass from senior Kristen Erickson, Jones was able to seal the 2-1 victory with the game-winning goal at 3:29 in overtime. This was not the only key victory of the weekend, as the Lakers battled a tough Niagara team to advance to the championship game versus Wayne State University. The CHA title is Mercyhurst’s sixth title in as many years and more importantly guaranteed the Lakers’ bid into the NCAA tournament. Friday’s game started out in typical Mercyhurst fashion when the Lakers jumped out to the lead and never gave it up. Jones was the first to score for the Lakers as she sealed her 14th goal of the season and gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead, which lasted early into the third period. Mercyhurst responded to the Niagara goal with back-to-back goals of its own from juniors Natalie Payne and Valerie Chouinard. It was Payne’s fourth of the year and number 15 for Chouinard. Niagara gave the Lakers a scare, scoring with :27 left in the game closing the score at 3-2, but was immediately turned down when sophomore Meghan Agosta scored an empty netter to seal a 4-2 win. After having three out of the four games with Wayne State this year heading into overtime, and two of those games being losses, it looked as though Mercyhurst was going to have its hands full. "All the games with Wayne State this year have been very close and could have went either way, so we knew that we were capable of winning the game," Jones said. "Through the entire game we played our systems well and played as a team and that’s what brought us the win." The Lakers were able to execute their plays very well as they were able to jump out to an early 1-0 lead after a scoreless first period. Agosta helped the Lakers take the lead on a powerplay situation with an assist from freshman Jesse Scanzano. This was Agosta’s 39th mark of the season and Scanzano’s fourth assist of the tournament. It was déjà vu all over again for Mercyhurst when Wayne State was able to touch the back of the net just two minutes later, which sent the game into overtime. "Each time we lost in overtime to Wayne State, we were able to learn from the game," said senior Jackie Jarrell on the overtime victory. "We just believed in ourselves and knew we had to play a consistent full game." Jones’ overtime heroics helped Mercyhurst seal the CHA title and pushed them into the NCAA Tournament where they will face off once again against Minnesota-Duluth. "We are going to have to play our best hockey of the season," said Chouinard. "We want to feel no regret by the end of the season. Of course our ultimate goal is to be national champions." The game
is set to take place at 3 p.m. on Saturday. |
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