Girard native Jen Schoullis scored the first two goals and Mercyhurst alumnus Kelley Steadman scored the last three to lead the Boston Blades to a 5-2 win over the Montreal Stars in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League title game last weekend at Centennial Community Centre in Markham, Ontario.
Steadman’s power-play goal with 8 minutes, 51 seconds left in the second period snapped a 2-2 tie against the two-time defending Clarkson Cup champion Stars. Then she completed her first hat trick in the CWHL and the first in the Blades’ tournament history. Former Laker Meghan Agosta-Marciano scored Montreal’s first goal of the game. She led the league in the regular season with 46 points.
Schoullis, who won a national title at the University of Minnesota a season ago, and Steadman now hope to represent the United States at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, which begins Tuesday and runs through April 9 in Ottawa, Ontario. Agosta-Marciano joins former Laker Bailey Bram on Team Canada’s roster.

Former Mercyhurst hockey players Meghan Agosta-Marciano and Bailey Bram earned roster spots on the Canadian National Women’s Team that will compete for gold in the IIHF Women’s World Championship April 2-9 in Ottawa, Ontario.
They are joined on the team by Laura Fortino, Brianne Jenner and Lauriane Rougeau, who were on the Cornell team that lost to the Lakers in the NCAA Division I quarterfinals this past weekend. Boston University junior Marie-Philip Poulin, who faces Mercyhurst Friday in the Frozen Four semifinals, also is on the team.

Former Mercyhurst University goaltender Hillary Pattenden was the No. 1 overall pick and one of three former Lakers selected in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League draft Tuesday.
Girard native and forward Jen Schoullis was Boston’s fourth-round selection.
Pattenden went first to Team Alberta, the first goalie ever to go No. 1 and the second straight season a Mercyhurst player has been selected in the top spot. Montreal drafted NCAA career scoring leader Meghan Agosta first in 2011.
Forward Bailey Bram was selected by Brampton in the second round and forward Kelley Steadman went to Boston in the fourth round
Pattenden, 21, is the first NCAA goaltender to earn 100 career victories. She is a native of Surrey, British Columbia.
Schoullis, 23, completed her playing career with Minnesota this past spring, winning the NCAA championship. She was among Division I’s scoring leaders and played prominent minutes for Team USA in international tournaments.
Bram, 21, played for Canada at the Women’s World Championship this year. She scored 201 career points for Mercyhurst including 68 as a senior.
Steadman, 22, led Mercyhurst with 33 goals as a senior. She played for the United States in the 2011 world championship.
The season is scheduled to start in October. Montreal is the defending Clarkson Cup champion.

- From staff reports

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Mercyhurst alumnus Meghan Agosta scored the tying goal late in the third period and assisted on the winning goal in overtime, as Canada defeated the United States 5-4 Saturday to win gold at the IIHF Women’s World Championship at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
Agosta forced overtime by scoring with 2 minutes, 38 seconds left in regulation. Then she assisted on Caroline Ouellette‘s goal 1:50 into the extra period to seal Canada’s first title in the tournament since 2007 and snap the Americans’ three-year championship run.
Agosta finished the game with a goal and two assists and the tournament with four goals and eight points in five games. Former Laker Vicki Bendus and Mercyhurst senior Bailey Bram were scoreless in the game. They finished the tournament with a point apiece.

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Mercyhurst alumnus Meghan Agosta leads her native Canada into today’s gold-medal game against the United States at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. The game is set for 7 p.m. at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
Agosta has three goals and five points in four games. Former Laker Vicki Bendus and current Mercyhurst senior Bailey Bram have one point apiece for Canada.
Canada beat Finland 5-1 in the semifinals, while the U.S. trounced Switzerland 10-0 in the other semifinal.

Former Mercyhurst standout forwards Meghan Agosta, Vicki Bendus and Bailey Bram will represent their native Canada at the IIHF World Women’s Championship. The event runs from Saturday through April 14 in Burlington, Vt.
They earned spots on the 22-player roster during the six-day Canadian National Women’s Team selection camp, which ended Saturday. Agosta, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, led the Montreal Stars to the Canadian Women’s Hockey League this season. She also was named the league’s player of the year. Bendus, the 2010 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner, played for the Brampton Thunder this season. Bram concluded her Mercyhurst career last month.

No. 8 Mercyhurst (23-7-3) at No. 1 Wisconsin (31-4-2)

When: Saturday, 8 p.m.

Where: Kohl Center – Madison, Wis.

On the air: www.wpt.org/wisconsinchannel, insideBadgerSports.com (live stream), www.iheart.com (Internet radio – The Mic 92.1) and www.wsum.org, www.uwbadgers.com (live statistics)

Fast facts: Mercyhurst plays in the NCAA tournament for the eighth straight season, the longest streak in Division I history. The Lakers broke a tie with Minnesota Duluth, whose seven-year streak ends this season. … The Lakers have a 0-7 all-time record against Wisconsin, including two losses in the NCAA playoffs – 2-1 in double overtime in the 2006 quarterfinals and 5-0 in the 2009 championship game. … The Lakers have a 3-6 record in NCAA playoff games, including a 2-5 mark in the quarterfinals. … Wisconsin and Mercyhurst rank second and third nationally in scoring offense at 4.59 and 4.55 goals per game, respectively. … Mercyhurst leads the nation on the power play (28.3 percent), three spots ahead of the Badgers (23.7). … The teams have combined for seven of the nation’s top 20 scorers – Mercyhurst’s Bailey Bram, pictured at right, (27 goals, 41 assists, 68 points), Christine Bestland (24-34-58) and Kelley Steadman (32-20-52) and Wisconsin’s Brianna Decker (36-42-78), Brooke Ammerman (32-42-74), Carolyne Prévost (25-29-54) and Hilary Knight (28-2-56). … Wisconsin ranks second in scoring defense (1.43 goals per game), more than half a goal better than the Lakers (2.09). … Wisconsin tops the penalty-kill list (89.6 percent), well ahead of Mercyhurst (83.1 percent). … Wisconsin G Alex Rigsby leads the nation in save percentage (.952) and ranks second in winning percentage (.865) and shutouts (9) and third in goals-against average (1.36). … Decker is a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, which honors the nation’s top D-I player. … Wisconsin earned the No. 1 seed despite losing to UMD in the semifinals of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs. … Badgers coach Mark Johnson played on the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team in 1980 at Lake Placid, N.Y., and coached the U.S Olympic Women’s team in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

- Victor Fernandes

NCAA Women’s Division I Tournament schedule

Quarterfinals – Saturday

No. 5 St. Lawrence (24-9-4) at No. 4 Boston College (23-9-3), 1 p.m.

No. 6 Boston University (23-13-1) at No. 3 Cornell (29-4-0), 2 p.m.

No. 7 North Dakota (22-11-3) at No. 2 Minnesota (31-5-2), 5 p.m.

No. 8 Mercyhurst (23-7-3) at No. 1 Wisconsin (31-4-2), 8 p.m.

Semifinals

March 16 at Amsoil Arena – Duluth, Minn.

Wisconsin-Mercyhurst winner vs. BC-SLU winner, 6 or 9 p.m.

Minnesota-North Dakota winner vs. Cornell-BU winner, 6 or 9 p.m.

Championship game

March 18 at Amsoil Arena – Duluth, Minn.

Semifinal winners, 4 p.m.

Mercyhurst’s streak of five straight finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award has ended.

Senior forward Bailey Bram wasn’t named one of the three finalists for the prestigious award, which annually honors the top women’s hockey player in NCAA Division I. A 13-member selection committee chose Wisconsin junior forward Brianna Decker, North Dakota junior forward Jocelyne Lamoureux and Northeastern senior goaltender Florence Schelling. The finalists were unveiled Thursday.

Bram joined fellow Laker forwards Christine Bestland and Kelley Steadman as well as Girard native Jen Schoullis, a redshirt senior forward at Minnesota, on the initial list of 30 nominees two weeks. Bram survived the cut to 10 players a week ago. But she fell short of joining former teammates Meghan Agosta (2007-09, 2011) and Vicki Bendus (2010) as Kazmaier finalists. Bendus won the award in 2010.

Decker has 36 goals, 42 assists and 78 points for the top-ranked Badgers, who on Saturday begin their quest for a fifth national championship in the past seven years as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Lamoureux has 34 goals, 48 assists and 82 points for the Fighting Sioux, which earned the seventh seed in the NCAA tournament field. Like her twin sister, Monique Lamoureux-Kolls, she represented the United States in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Schelling finished the season with a 20-6-4 record, 1.42 goals-against average and .950 save percentage.

The award will be presented March 17 at the Greysolon Ballroom in Duluth, Minn., as part of the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, which will be held March 16 and 18.

PITTSBURGH – The Mercyhurst women’s hockey team will play for the College Hockey America title.

Yet before earning an opportunity to win a 10^th straight conference tournament championship, the sixth-ranked Lakers had to survive a stern test from surprising Syracuse in the CHA Tournament semifinals Friday afternoon.

The top-seeded Lakers held off Syracuse 4-3 in front of 267 fans at Island Sports Center to secure a matchup in Saturday’s 3 p.m. title game against second-seeded Robert Morris. The Colonials (18-9-4) beat third-seeded Niagara 3-2 in the second semifinal.

Fourth-seeded Syracuse (10-22-3) took an early 1-0 lead 6 minutes, 50 seconds into the game on the first of Shiann Darkangelo’s three goals. She nearly matched her four-goal total in 34 regular-season games.

Mercyhurst (23-6-3) tied the score at 1 on Kristine Grenier’s goal at the 10:01 mark of the first period, and then took a 2-1 lead on Christine Bestland’s power-play goal with 1:14 left in the period.

Bestland’s second power-play goal of the game, her 24^th goal of the season, handed the Lakers a 3-1 lead 8:37 into the second. But Darkangelo pulled the Orange within a goal on the power play 4:06 later.

Grenier scored again 3:36 into the third to record her first career two-goal game and regain the Lakers’ two-goal advantage at 4-2, only to have Darkangelo score again on the power play with 5:19 left in the game. Grenier had three goals in 31 regular-season games.

But Mercyhurst held off  the Orange down the stretch to seal the hard-fought win.

Hillary Pattenden made 32 saves for the Lakers to become the first goaltender in NCAA history with 100 wins. She outdueled Syracuse’s Jenesica Drinkwater, who had 38 saves. Mercyhurst senior forward Bailey Bram had an assist to become the fourth player in Lakers’ history to reach 200 career points. She joins Meghan Agosta (NCAA-record 303 points), Jesse Scanzano (225) and Valerie Chouinard (200).

College Hockey America tournament schedule

at Island Sports Center, Pittsburgh

Semifinals – Friday

No. 1 Mercyhurst 4, No. 4 Syracuse 3

No. 2 Robert Morris (17-9-4) vs. No. 3 Niagara (10-15-8), 3:45 p.m.

Championship game – Today

Mercyhurst (23-6-3) vs. Robert Morris/Niagara, 3 p.m.

On the air: www.b2livetv.com (live stream), www.rmucolonials.com (live statistics)

SUMMARY

Mercyhurst 4, Syracuse 3

Syracuse  1  1  1  —  3

Mercyhurst  2  1  1  —  4

1^st Period — 1. Syracuse, Shiann Darkangelo 5 (Mullan, Greco), 6:50 (pp). 2. Mercyhurst, Kristine Grenier 4 (B. Bram, S. Bram), 10:01. 3. Mercyhurst, Christine Bestland 23 (Byrne, J. Jones), 18:46 (pp). Penalties — DeSutter (M) high sticking, 3:53; B. Bram (M) cross checking, 5:15; Roach (S) hooking, 10:01; Grenier (M) tripping, 15:30; Darkangelo (S) hooking, 16:31; Skelly (S) roughing, 18:17.

2^nd Period — 4. Mercyhurst, Bestland 24 (unassisted), 8:37 (pp). 5. Syracuse, Darkangelo 6 (Greco, Mullan), 12:43 (pp). Penalties — Higson (M) hooking, 6:33; Ferrara (S) hooking, 7:38; S. Bram (M) body checking, 10:40; Byrne (M) boarding, 11:22; B. Bram (M) slashing, 13:24; Drinkwater (S) tripping (served by Ferrara), 15:56.

3^rd Period — 6. Mercyhurst, Grenier 5 (Zgoda), 3:36. 7. Syracuse, Darkangelo 7 (Sorensen, Greco), 14:41 (pp). Penalties — Steadman (M) interference, 13:18; Ferrara (S) hooking, 15:26.

Shots on goal — Syracuse, 12-15-8—35; Mercyhurst, 20-11-11—42.

Goaltenders — Syracuse, Jenesica Drinkwater 4-9-1 (42 shots, 38 saves); Mercyhurst, Hillary Pattenden 20-6-3 (35 shots, 32 saves).

Power plays — Syracuse (3-8), Mercyhurst (2-6).

Referees — Scott Bell, Jason Brown. Linesmen — Justin Loomis, Erik Geller.

Attendance — 267.

Mercyhurst senior forward Kelley Steadman headlined the annual College Hockey America Tournament banquet by being unanimously named player of the year.

She led the conference with 15 goals, six power-play goals and two short-handed goals. She also finished with 23 points in 12 CHA games.

Freshman Molly Byrne was named the best defenseman and selected to the All-CHA first team and All-Rookie Team. She led all CHA defensemen with 14 points and has 33 points overall.

Senior forward Bailey Bram, senior defenseman Jill Szandzik and sophomore forward Christine Bestland also were named to the first team. Senior forward Jess Jones was named to the second team as well as a co-recipient of the Best Defensive Award. Robert Morris’ Paul Colontino, a former student, player and coach at Mercyhurst, was named coach of the year.