What: No. 1 Mercyhurst College (4-0-0) at Bemidji State (1-3-0)

When: Friday and Saturday, 3:07 p.m.

Where: Bemidji Regional Events Center – Bemidji, Minn.

On the air: www.b2livetv.com (Internet video), www.bsubeavers.com (Internet radio)

Players to watch: Mercyhurst – Sr. F Meghan Agosta (6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points), Jr. G Hillary Pattenden (4-0-0 record, 1.37 goals-against average, .930 save percentage), Sr. F Vicki Bendus (5-3-8), Sr. F Jesse Scanzano (2-5-7), Jr. F Bailey Bram (2-5-7); Bemidji State – So. F Emily Erickson (2-2-4), Sr. F Erin Cody (1-2-3), So. F Sadie Lundquist (1-2-3), Jr. D Montana Vichorek (0-2-2), Jr. Zuzana Tomcikova (1-2-0, 3.01, .915, 1 shutout)

Christine Bestland (Contributed/Mercyhurst College)

Fast facts

Mercyhurst – The Lakers have won their first four games by a combined 26-5 score. … They jumped from third to first in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey polls this week after defending national champion Minnesota Duluth split a two-game series with No. 8 North Dakota last weekend. … The Lakers conclude a four-game road trip after sweeping two games at Maine last weekend. They outshot the Black Bears 125-38, including 74-22 on Saturday. The 74 shots set the program’s Division I record and was second in its all-time history (96 in a 21-0 win against Holy Cross on Nov. 5, 1999). … The Lakers are unbeaten in 36 straight regular-season road games since a 3-2 overtime loss to Wayne State on Feb. 23, 2008. … They lead the all-time series with Bemidji State 9-1-2, including a sweep (4-1 and 6-1) at home last season. … They are 29-19-4 against Western Collegiate Hockey Association schools. … Agosta and freshman F Christine Bestland (2-4-6) are College Hockey America’s reigning player and rookie of the week.

Bemidji State – The Beavers began the season with a 3-0 win against Wayne State, the Lakers’ College Hockey America rival, on Oct. 1. But they followed with three straight losses – 4-2 to Wayne State Oct. 2 and 7-1 and 2-0 losses to No. 3 Wisconsin last weekend. … The Beavers play the first NCAA Division I women’s hockey game in their new 4,500-seat arena. … Their lone win against the Lakers was 2-1 on Oct. 9, 2004. … The Slovakian-born Tomcikova has made 97 saves in three games. … Senior Fs Cody, Erin Johnson and Annie Bauerfield produced nearly half of the Beavers’ offense last season.

Up next: vs. Robert Morris (Oct. 29, 7 p.m.), at Cornell (Nov. 2, 7 p.m.)

- From Victor Fernandes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Mercyhurst College women’s hockey team earned 172 points and seven first-place votes to take the top spot in the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll released Tuesday. The Lakers are now ranked No. 1 in both national polls after moving up in the USCHO.com poll on Monday.
Cornell remained at No. 2 with 155 points and six first-place votes, while Minnesota moved up to the No. 3 spot with 144 points and two first-place votes. Wisconsin climbed to No. 4 with 141 points and two first-place votes after twice defeating Bemidji State. Minnesota Duluth rounded out the top five with 138 points and two first-place votes following a weekend split with No. 7 North Dakota.
Boston University was tabbed sixth with 81 points, while Boston College (58), Harvard (40) and Ohio State (18) occupied spots 8 –10.
Mercyhurst continues non-conference play this weekend with a two-game series at Bemidji State, beginning on Friday, Oct. 15 at 3 p.m.

- From Mercyhurst College news release

MINNEAPOLIS – The Mercyhurst College women’s hockey team climbed two spots to take over the No. 1 ranking in this week’s USCHO.com Women’s Division I Poll. The Lakers claimed 129 points and three first-place votes after disposing of non-conference foe Maine, 5-2 and 6-1, last weekend on the road to move to 4-0-0 on the season.
It marks the first time this season the Lakers are ranked No. 1 after occupying the top spot for most of last season.
Cornell remained second with 120 points and seven first-place votes, followed by Minnesota and Wisconsin in a tie for third with 117 points apiece. Both teams captured first-place votes with the Gophers taking three and the Badgers with one.
Previous No. 1 Minnesota Duluth dropped four spots to fifth with 111 points and the final first-place nod.
Boston University (66), Boston College (52), North Dakota (45), Harvard (36) and Ohio State (12) and Providence (12) in a tie rounded out spots 6 – 10.
Mercyhurst continues non-conference play this weekend with a two-game series at Bemidji State, beginning on Friday, Oct. 15 at 2:07 p.m.

- From Mercyhurst news release

What: No. 3 Mercyhurst College (2-0-0) at Maine (2-0-0)

When: Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m.

Where: Alfond Arena – Orono, Maine

On the air: www.goblackbears.com (Internet video/radio)

Players to watch: Mercyhurst – F Meghan Agosta (2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points), G Hillary Pattenden (2-0-0 record, 1.20 goals-against average, .939 save percentage), F Vicki Bendus (3-2-5), F Jesse Scanzano (2-2-4), F Bailey Bram (1-1-2); Maine – So. F Brittany Dougherty (2-5-7), Jr. F Myriam Croussette (2-3-5), Jr. F Danielle Ward (2-3-5), Sr. F Jennie Gallo (2-2-4), So. G Brittany Ott (1-0-0, 0.00, 1.000, 1 shutout)

Fast facts

Mercyhurst – The Lakers opened the season last weekend with a two-game sweep of St. Cloud State by a combined 15-2 score, their most goals in a weekend series since scoring 16 times against Colgate last season. … The Lakers scored nine first-period goals in those games. … Agosta, who took last season off to prepare for her native Canada’s run to a gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics last winter, had two goals and four assists against the Huskies. … Bendus, Scanzano and Bram – three of NCAA Division I’s top-five scorers last season – combined for six goals and 11 points. … The Lakers face the Black Bears for the first time since a two-game sweep (4-0 and 5-0) at home in the 2007-08 season. They travel to Maine for the first time in four years. … The Lakers lead the all-time series 5-1. … They are 39-15-3 overall against Hockey East Association foes, including winning records against all but two schools – New Hampshire (4-5-1) and Northeastern (0-3-0). Junior forward Jess Jones (knee) could join the lineup as soon as next weekend’s trip to Bemidji State. … Agosta and Pattenden are College Hockey America’s reigning player and goaltender of the week.

Maine – The Black Bears began the season with 7-0 and 11-0 wins against Sacred Heart two weeks ago. They were off last weekend. … The Black Bears swept Hockey East’s weekly awards two weeks ago – Dougherty (top player), Ott (top goaltender) and freshman forward Jenny Kistner (top rookie). … They have 11 freshmen and sophomores on their 24-player roster. … They have only one player from Maine.

Up next: at Bemidji State (Oct. 15-16, 3 p.m.)

HAVERHILL, Mass. - The College Hockey America coaches have voted who they believe will take the regular0season crown for the 2010-11 season.  Last year’s tournament champion and NCAA Frozen Four Semifinalist, Mercyhurst, which collected 16 points and four first-place votes, is this season’s top choice, as selected by the coaches.

The Lakers prevailed over Syracuse in the CHA Tournament, 3-1, to garner their tenth straight conference crown. Mercyhurst defeated Boston University in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Division I Tournament, before falling to Cornell in the national semifinals, 3- 2 in overtime, in Minneapolis, Minn.

Syracuse, last year’s tournament runner-up has been chosen second by the coaches.  The Orange earned the last first-place vote and totaled 13 points.  Following Syracuse is Niagara, which collected 10 points, followed by Robert Morris (7 points) and Wayne State (4 points).

Exhibition contests kick off the start of the CHA season on Saturday as Wilfrid Laurier travels to Erie to face Mercyhurst at 2 p.m, while Wayne State makes the trek to Toronto to face York at 7 p.m.  The regular season will start the following weekend with all five institutions in action in non-conference matches.  Mercyhurst will host St. Cloud State, while Niagara will take on Quinnipiac.

Robert Morris faces Providence, as Wayne State will drop the puck against Bemidji State.  All four of those series will be a two-game series.  Syracuse will play a single game on Oct. 1, as the Orange will host Northeastern.

The 2011 Tournament will take place in Syracuse, N.Y. at Tennity Rink with the first round taking place on March 4.  The semifinals will be the next night on March 5, with the championship game o March 6.

- From CHA news release

2010-11 College Hockey America Preseason Coach’s Poll

(First Place votes)

1.                        Mercyhurst (4)                        16

2.                        Syracuse (1)                        13

3.                        Niagara                        10

4.                        Robert Morris                        7

5.                        Wayne State                        4

Vicki Bendus (Contributed/Mercyhurst College)

The Mercyhurst College women’s hockey team will play 32 games during the 2010-11 season, including a home-and-home series against 2010 NCAA Division I Women’s Frozen Four opponent Cornell and a regular-season contest against perennial power Wisconsin.

“As always, we have a very tough road ahead of us,” said head coach Michael Sisti, who released the details of the schedule Monday evening. “Playing a schedule like this helps us compete against the teams in our league and prepares us for a deep run in the playoffs.”

Twelve opponents representing all four women’s hockey conferences will face the Lakers this season. Four teams hail from ECAC Hockey, three from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and one from the Hockey East Association (HEA), in addition to the four teams that are scheduled from the Lakers’ conference, College Hockey America (CHA). Altogether, the Lakers own a combined 164-33-12 record against opponents on their schedule.

The schedule will be one of the toughest the team has ever faced, with 18-0f-32 games taking place on the road, including six against teams that were ranked in the top 10 last season. Fourteen games and one exhibition are set for the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

Mercyhurst opens the year with its first three games at home, beginning with an exhibition contest against Canadian university Wilfred Laurier on Sept. 25. The season officially opens with a two-game series against St. Cloud State on Oct. 1-2.

The Lakers then play eight of their next nine games on the road, starting with back-to-back weekend series at Maine (Oct. 8-9) and Bemidji State (Oct. 15-16). After a home game against Robert Morris (Oct. 29), the Lakers travel to Cornell (Nov. 2) and Niagara (Nov. 6) before opening CHA play at Wayne State (Nov. 20-21).

Returning from Detroit, Mercyhurst welcomes Colgate (Nov. 27) and Niagara (Dec. 3-4) to Erie for its first home games in almost a month. A pair of road contests at St. Lawrence await to close out the first half of the season on Dec. 10-11.

After the winter break, Mercyhurst stays on the road for its first two games of the new year, taking part in the 2011 Easton Holiday Showcase in St. Cloud, Minn. The Lakers face host St. Cloud State on Jan. 1 and Wisconsin on Jan. 2, their first meeting with the Badgers since the 2009 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four title game.

Home series against Syracuse (Jan. 7-8) and Brown (Jan. 14-15) and a game against Cornell (Jan. 18) welcome the Lakers back home and prepare them for their fourth four-game road trip of the season to close out the month of January.

Mercyhurst wraps up the final month of the regular season with a visit from Wayne State (Feb. 4-5) and a trip to Syracuse (Feb. 11-12) before hosting Robert Morris on Feb. 25.

The 2011 CHA Championship Tournament will be hosted by Syracuse on Mar. 3-5 at the Tennity Ice Pavilion in Syracuse, N.Y. Mercyhurst will host the 2011 Women’s Frozen Four on March 18-20 at Tullio Arena.

- From Mercyhurst College news release, staff reports