The Mercyhurst University women’s hockey team was special on special teams Friday night.
The ninth-ranked Lakers scored four power-play goals on five chances, and were a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, on their way to a 6-3 win against Providence at Mercyhurst Ice Center. Molly Byrne scored both of her goals with the man advantage and added an assist for a three-point outing.
Christie Cicero scored twice for the Lakers (4-0-1). Jenna Hendrikx, Jenna Dingeldein and Christine Bestland had two assists apiece.
The two teams meet again Saturday at 2 p.m. at MIC.

SUMMARY

Mercyhurst 6, Providence 3
Providence 0 2 1 — 3
Mercyhurst 0 3 3 — 6
1st Period — None. Penalties — Chippy (M) body checking, 3:02; Hanrahan (P) holding, 15:18.
2nd Period — 1. Mercyhurst, Molly Byrne 2 (Dingeldein, Bestland), 2:01 (pp). 2. Mercyhurst, Vaila Higson 1 (Luczak, Dingeldein), 2:44 (pp). 3. Providence, Molly Illikainen 2 (Anderson), 16:33. 4. Mercyhurst, Byrne 3 (Bestland, Hendrikx), 19:00 (pp). 5. Providence, Rebecca Morse 1 (Romanchuk), 19:25. Penalties — Anderson (P) interference, :53; Vella (P) interference, 1:17; DeSutter (M) holding, 7:04; DeSutter (M) interference, 10:44; Cohen (P) holding, 17:15; Byrne (M) slashing, 19:44.
3rd Period — 6. Mercyhurst, Emily Janiga 6 (Hendrikx, Byrne), 4:19 (pp). 7. Providence, Allison Micheletti 1 (Groth, Vella), 14:08. 8. Mercyhurst, Christie Cicero 2 (Buquet), 17:02. 9. Mercyhurst, Cicero 3 (Bram), 19:48 (en). Penalties — Morse (P) tripping, 3:36; Dingeldein (M) roughing, 5:02; Cicero (M) cross checking, 14:17.
Shots on goal — Providence, 8-11-8—27; Mercyhurst, 9-14-16—39.
Goaltenders — Providence, Sarah Bryant 1-1-0 (38 shots, 33 saves); Mercyhurst, Amanda Makela 2-0-1 (27 shots, 24 saves).
Power plays — Providence (0-5), Mercyhurst (4-5).
Attendance — 750.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Mercyhurst University women’s hockey team didn’t start fast this time around.
The 10th-ranked Lakers didn’t score in the first period after scoring twice in the opening 18 seconds in Friday’s season opener.
But the Lakers responded strong in the final two periods of a 7-0 College Hockey America win against Rochester Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon in front of 630 at James Ritter Memorial Ice Arena. Mercyhurst (2-0-0, 2-0-0 CHA) swept the season-opening series from the Tigers (0-2-0, 0-2-0), which are in their first season as a NCAA Division I program.
Freshman Emily Janiga provided the offensive spark with the first three goals and four points of her collegiate career. She snapped a scoreless tie 8 minutes, 15 seconds into the second period, and scored again 5 minutes later. She also assisted on Shelby Bram‘s goal that opened a 3-0 lead with 1:13 left in the period.
Janiga capped her first career hat trick 6:31 into the third. Christine Bestland scored twice in the period – her second and third goals of the season – and added two assists for a four-point outing. Kelsey Welch, one of three transfers from Niagara, scored her first goal as a Laker. Fellow transfers Jenna Hendrikx and Kaleigh Chippy had an assist apiece. Molly Byrne and Vaila Higson each had two assists for the Lakers, which went 3-for-9 on the power play after failing on all eight chances Friday.
Senior goaltender Stephanie Ciampa stopped all 17 shots she faced for her first career shutout in her sixth career start. The Lakers head to Hamden, Conn., next weekend for a two-game non-conference series at Quinnipiac.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Mercyhurst University women’s hockey team welcomed Rochester Institute of Technology to the big time harshly Friday night in front of 1,055 fans at Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena. The Lakers scored twice in the first 18 seconds and four goals in the opening period on the way to handing the Tigers a 6-2 loss in their first NCAA Division I game.
The 10th-ranked Lakers (1-0-0, 1-0-0 College Hockey America) scored six unanswered goals before RIT (0-1-0, 0-1-0), which moved to D-I after winning the D-III national championship a season ago, scored twice in the second period.
Christie Cicero scored eight seconds into the game on an assist from Christine Bestland. Cicero returned the favor 10 seconds later, as she set up Bestland for a 2-0 Lakers’ lead. Jenna Hendrikx, one of three transfers from the now-defunct women’s program at Niagara, scored the first of her two goals 8:13 into the first. Molly Byrne capped the onslaught 6:29 later.
Shelby Bram and Hendrikx scored early in the second for the Lakers, which produced offensively despite failing on all eight power-play chances. Carly Payerl and Katie Hubert scored for the Tigers, which went 1-for-8 on the power play.
Bestland had two assists in her three-point outing while Cicero had two points. Freshman Jenna Dingeldein had her first two career points, both assists, in her collegiate debut. Kathy Donohue, a Rochester native, and Emily Janiga, also recorded their first collegiate point on assists. Sophomore goaltender Amanda Makela (19 saves on 21 shots) earned the win in her second career start. The Lakers and Tigers complete the weekend series today at 2 p.m. in Rochester.

The Mercyhurst women’s hockey team has gained from the loss of a College Hockey America rival for the second straight year.
The Lakers have added senior forwards Jenna Hendrikx and Kelsey Welch and junior forward Kaleigh Chippy from Niagara, which folded its program in March in the wake of the athletic department’s restructuring plan. The trio ranked among the Purple Eagles’ top four scorers this past season with a combined 23 goals and 54 points. Last summer, the Lakers added graduating senior defenseman Jill Szandzik and rising senior forward Gina Buquet from Wayne State, which folded its program after the 2010-11 season.
The newest transfers headline Lakers coach Michael Sisti‘s 12-player recruiting class for the 2012-13 season. They are joined by nine freshmen – forwards Jaclyn Arbour, Hannah Bale, Jenna Dingeldein, Kathy Donohue, Emily Janiga, and Maggie Rothgery; defensemen Lauren Kilroy and J’nai Mahadeo; and goaltender Julia DiTondo.
DiTondo, a native of Kenmore, N.Y., who played for the Nichols School and the Buffalo Bisons’ Tier I program, will compete with senior Stephanie Ciampa and sophomore Amanda Makela for the chance to replace Hillary Pattenden, a four-year starter in goal.
Mahadeo, a native of Airdrie, Alberta, played for the prestigious Edge School in Calgary, Alberta. Kilroy joins the Lakers from the North American Hockey Academy in Stowe, Vt., by way of her hometown of Cypress, Calif.
Sisti recruited two forwards apiece from western New York – Donohue (Rochester) and Janiga (East Aurora) – and Ontario – Bale (Oakville) and Dingeldein (Toronto). Donohue joined Kilroy at the North American Hockey Academy, while Janiga played with DiTondo at Nichols.
Arbour, a native of South Seatauket, N.Y., played for the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid, N.Y. Her grandfather, Hall of Fame coach Al Arbour, led the NHL’s New York Islanders to four straight Stanley Cup championships from 1980-83.
Rothgery, a native of Elyria, Ohio, played for the Ohio Flames Under-19 team. The Lakers’ season begins Sept. 22 with an exhibition game against the Stoney Creek (Ontario) Sabres at Mercyhurst Ice Center.