ORONO, Maine – Senior captain Meghan Agosta scored three goals as the third-ranked Mercyhurst College women’s hockey team defeated Maine, 5-2, in a non-conference tilt Saturday afternoon in Orono, Maine.
With the win, the Lakers improve to 3-0 on the season and extend their road unbeaten streak to 35 games dating back to a 3-2 OT loss to Wayne State Feb. 23, 2008 in Detroit, Mich.
Agosta led the offense for the third straight game, scoring three times to mark her first hat trick of the season and 12th of her career.
Senior assistant captain Vicki Bendus and junior Kelley Steadman each scored once as the offense found the back of the net five times on 74 shots. Overall, the Lakers outshot the Black Bears 74-22.
Mercyhurst pounced on the Black Bears early on, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Steadman and Agosta at 2:11 and 12:58.
Maine cut the deficit in half with its first of two goals by Jennie Gallo at the 6:36 mark of the second period. However, after the ensuing faceoff, the Lakers restored their two-goal advantage as Agosta tickled the twine less than a minute later at 7:33, taking a 3-1 score into the third period.
Both teams closed out the game with three goals in the third. Mercyhurst pushed its advantage to 5-1 with back-to-back goals. Agosta completed her hat trick with just 26 seconds elapsed off the clock, while Bendus scored the team’s fifth goal at 9:22. Maine’s Gallo netted her second of the game with just under six minutes to play.
Junior Hillary Pattenden recorded the win in goal with 20 saves over a span of 60 minutes. Brittany Ott, on the other hand, shined with 69 stops despite allowing five goals, one of which came on the power play. Mercyurst finished the game 1-for-13 with the extra man, while Maine ended at 2-for-9.
Both teams close out the series on Sunday, Oct. 10, with a 1 p.m. contest at Alfond Arena.
- From Mercyhurst news release
