The Mercyhurst men’s hockey team will open the 2013-14 season by playing in the prestigious Ice Breaker Tournament for the first time. The 17-year-old event, which will be held Oct. 11-12 at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, also will include Clarkson and New Hampshire and the host Gophers. The four teams in the field have reached a combined 89 NCAA Division I tournaments. Minnesota and New Hampshire made the national playoffs this past season.

Mercyhurst junior forward Christine Bestland was named to the All-USCHO third team for totaling 28 goals and 72 points this season. She reached 50-goal, 100-assist and 150-point marks this season. Lindenwood freshman goaltender Nicole Hensley was the only other player from a College Hockey America school to earn USCHO honors. She was named to the all-rookie team.

Former Mercyhurst men’s hockey player Derek Elliott was named to the Southern Professional Hockey League’s all-rookie team. He totaled 17 goals, 42 points and a plus-25 rating in helping the Fayetteville FireAntz to the league’s regular-season championship. Elliott had 25 goals and 64 points in 137 games with the Lakers from 2008-12.

Erie native Ryan Zapolski, 26, who played in college for Mercyhurst, has been awarded the John A. Daley Memorial Trophy as the ECHL’s rookie of the year. Zapolski, a goaltender with the South Carolina Stingrays, set the league’s single-season record with a 1.64 goals-against average and tied the record of eight shutouts. He also led with a .942 save percentage, which was tied for the second-best mark in league history. Zapolski, who finished tied for second with 27 wins and fifth with 2,378 minutes played, added top rookie honors to his spots on the league’s all-rookie team and first team.

Former Mercyhurst goaltender Ryan Zapolski, an Erie native, has been named to the ECHL’s all rookie team for posting a 26-11-2 record, 1.66 goals-against average, .942 save percentage and eight shutouts in 39 games with the South Carolina Stingrays this season. He has tied the league’s single-season record for shutouts. He has earned the league’s goaltender of the week honors three times and their monthly award twice, and was named MVP of the league’s all-star game.

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.

Follow live updates from the Atlantic Hockey Association championship game between Mercyhurst and Canisius at on Twitter at www.twitter.com/goeriehockey … game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

MINNEAPOLIS – The Mercyhurst women’s hockey team returned to the site of its last Frozen Four game – University of Minnesota’s Ridder Arena.
This experience wasn’t any better. The Lakers fell behind 13 seconds into their NCAA Division I semifinal matchup with Boston University. They never recovered on the way to a season-ending 4-1 loss Friday night that ended Mercyhurst’s hopes at the program’s first national championship.
Instead, the third-seeded Terriers (28-5-3) will play for the title Sunday at 4 p.m. against defending champion Minnesota at Ridder Arena. The host Golden Gophers (40-0-0) beat No. 4 Boston College 3-2 in overtime in the opening semifinal to extend their winning streak to 48 straight games.
The Terriers, which have won 10 straight games, have reached the title game for the second time in the past three seasons. They beat Cornell in the semifinals before losing to Wisconsin 4-1 in the championship game at Erie Insurance Arena.
Mercyhurst (29-7-1) finished the season one win shy of matching the most single-season wins in program history. Mercyhurst avoided the shutout on Christie Cicero‘s 14th goal of the season with 1:53 left in the game. Christine Bestland and Vaila Higson assisted on the goal.

NCAA Women’s Frozen Four schedule
at Ridder Arena – Minneapolis, Minn.
Semifinals – Friday
No. 1 Minnesota 3, No. 4 Boston College 2 (OT)
No. 3 Boston University 4, Mercyhurst 1
Championship game – Sunday
Minnesota (40-0-0) vs. Boston University (28-5-3), 4 p.m.
Note: The title game will be streamed live on NCAA.com.

SUMMARY

Boston Univ. 4, Mercyhurst 1
Mercyhurst 0 0 1 — 1
Boston Univ. 1 1 2 — 4
1st Period — 1. BU, Jenelle Kohanchuk 24 (Poulin, Fratkin), :13. Penalties — Bestland (M) tripping, 4:41; Lefort (B) slashing, 8:08.
2nd Period — 2. BU, Isabel Menard 16 (Warren), 1:00. Penalties — Cicero (M) body checking, 3:03; Dingeldein (M) roughing, 5:14; Warren (B) roughing, 5:14; Lefort (B) elbowing, 11:40; Dingeldein (M) roughing, 11:40; Stoneburgh (B) 5-min. grasping the facemask, 11:40; Byrne (M) body checking, 14:21.
3rd Period — 3. BU, Kathryn Miller 2 (Kohanchuk), 3:02. 4. BU, Marie-Philip Poulin 18 (unassisted), 9:57. 4. Mercyhurst, Christie Cicero 14 (Bestland, Higson), 18:07. Penalties — BU, too many players on the ice, 12:26; Fratkin (B) interference, 15:44.
Shots on goal — Mercyhurst, 6-11-11—28; BU, 12-16-4—32.
Goaltenders — Mercyhurst, Stephanie Ciampa 19-2-0 (32 shots, 28 saves); BU, Kerrin Sperry 24-4-3 (28 shots, 27 saves).
Power plays — Mercyhurst (0-5), BU (0-2).

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Mercyhurst men’s hockey team can focus on playing for the Atlantic Hockey Association championship now.
All week long, the Lakers and coach Rick Gotkin wouldn’t look past Friday night’s semifinal matchup against Connecticut. That mindset worked, as Mercyhurst scored four unanswered goals to overcome the Huskies’ early lead on the way to a 4-1 win in front of 1,095 fans at Blue Cross Arena.
The sixth-seeded Lakers (19-16-5) face seventh-seeded Canisius (18-18-5) in today’s 7:05 p.m. championship game at Blue Cross Arena for a chance to earn Mercyhurst’s first AHA title and automatic bid into the NCAA Division I tournament since 2005. The Golden Griffins shocked top-seeded and 15th-ranked Niagara 5-3 in the opening semifinal, one week after upsetting two-time defending champion Air Force in the quarterfinals.
Paul Chiasson scored two goals for Mercyhurst, while Ryan Misiak and Zac Frischmon added one apiece.

Atlantic Hockey Association final four schedule
at Blue Cross Arena – Rochester, N.Y.
Semifinals – Friday
No. 7 Canisius 5, No. 1 Niagara 3
No. 6 Mercyhurst 4, No. 4 Connecticut 1
Championship game – Saturday
Canisius (18-18-5) vs. Mercyhurst (19-16-5), 7:05 p.m.
Note: Champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament.

SUMMARY

Mercyhurst 4, Connecticut 1
Mercyhurst 0 2 2 — 4
Connecticut 1 0 0 — 1
1st Period — 1. Connecticut, Trevor Gerling 12 (Sharib, Pauly), 7:36. Penalties — DeWald (M) boarding, 15:02; Blakey (M) slashing, 15:23.
2nd Period — 2. Mercyhurst, Zac Frischmon 4 (unassisted), 9:15. 3. Mercyhurst, Paul Chiasson 14 (Jones, DeWald), 15:59. Penalties — Latta (C) slashing, 5:13; Poe (C) holding, 6:58; Harris (C) hooking, 11:56; Shiplo (M) slashing, 13:03.
3rd Period — 4. Mercyhurst, Ryan Misiak 18 (Just, Shiplo), 13:19 (pp). 5. Mercyhurst, Chiasson 15 (Tibbett), 18:06 (en). Penalties — Bouchard (C) slashing, 11:34.
Shots on goal — Mercyhurst, 9-10-14—33; Connecticut, 12-12-8—32.
Goaltenders — Mercyhurst, Jordan Tibbett 7-6-1 (32 shots, 31 saves); Connecticut, Matt Grogan 14-4-3 (32 shots, 29 saves).
Power plays — Mercyhurst (1-4), Connecticut (0-3).
Attendance — 1,095.

NCAA Women’s Frozen Four schedule
at Ridder Arena – Minneapolis, Minn.
Semifinals – Friday
No. 1 Minnesota (39-0-0) vs. No. 4 Boston College (27-6-3), 6 p.m.
Mercyhurst (29-6-1) vs. No. 3 Boston University (27-5-3), 9 p.m.
Championship game – Sunday
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m.
Note: All three games will be streamed live on NCAA.com. WMCE-FM/88.5 will broadcast Mercyhurst’s game tonight and Sunday’s championship game (if the Lakers advance).

Frozen Four teams at a glance
Mercyhurst Lakers (29-6-1)
Coach: Michael Sisti, 14th season (363-98-30)
Players to watch: Jr. F Christine Bestland (28 goals, 41 assists, 69 points), Sr. G Stephanie Ciampa (19-1-0 record, 1.37 goals-against average, .937 save percentage, 4 shutouts), Fr. F Jenna Dingeldein (14-27-41), Fr. F Emily Janiga (19-21-40), So. D Molly Byrne (8-24-32)
Frozen Four facts: Has reached the Frozen Four for the third time (2009-10, 2013) during a NCAA-record nine straight appearances in the national playoffs, but has never won a national championship. … Has a 1-2 Frozen Four record, with the lone win coming against Minnesota in the 2009 semifinals. … Lost to Wisconsin in the 2009 title game. … Lost to Cornell in the 2010 semifinals at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, site of this weekend’s Frozen Four. … Has a 4-7 record in the NCAA playoffs. … Has a 4-2 all-time record against Boston University, tonight’s semifinal opponent, including a 4-2 national quarterfinal loss in Boston in their last meeting (March 12, 2011).
Outlook: The Lakers are decided underdogs as the only unseeded team in the field. But is this the year they claim their first national title?

No. 3 Boston University Terriers (27-5-3)
Coach: Brian Durocher, 8th season (158-92-37)
Players to watch: Jr. F Marie-Philip Poulin (17 goals, 34 assists, 51 points), Jr. G Kerrin Sperry (23-4-3 record, 2.19 goals-against average, .914 save percentage, 4 shutouts), Sr. F Isabel Menard (15-29-44), Sr. F Jenelle Kohanchuk (23-20-43), Fr. F Sarah Lefort (23-19-42)
Frozen Four facts: Has reached the Frozen Four for the second time and the NCAA playoffs for the fourth straight time in the program’s eight-year history. … Reached the Frozen Four in 2011 at Erie Insurance Arena (beat Cornell 4-1 in the semifinal, but lost 4-1 to Wisconsin in the title game. … Lost to Cornell 8-7 in overtime in the 2012 quarterfinals. … Tied a school record for wins in a season. … Poulin was named to the Canadian Women’s National Team that will play in the IIHF Women’s World Championship next month in Ottawa, Ontario. … Menard transferred from Syracuse, Mercyhurst’s College Hockey America rival, after her sophomore season.
Outlook: The Terriers have another shot at the national title that slipped away in Erie two years ago. Mercyhurst stands in their way.

No. 1 Minnesota Golden Gophers (39-0-0)
Coach: Brad Frost, 5th season (145-36-16)
Players to watch: Jr. F Amanda Kessel (44 goals, 53 assists, 97 points), Sr. G Noora Raty (36-0-0 record, 0.88 goals-against average, .959 save percentage, 17 shutouts), Fr. F Hannah Brandt (31-49-80), Sr. D Megan Bozek (20-35-55), Fr. F Maryanne Menefee (16-19-35)
Frozen Four facts: Have won three national championships (2004, 2005, 2012) in nine trips to the Frozen Four (2002-06, 2009-10, 2012). … Was led in 2012 by Jen Schoullis, a Girard native who now plays for the Boston Blades (CWHL) and the United States National Team. … Has a 47-game winning streak. … Needed three overtimes to beat WCHA rival North Dakota in the quarterfinals. … Has all three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, which honors the national player of the year (Bozek, Kessel and Raty). … Has won 21 games by shutout. .. Has outscored opponents 207-31. … Lost in the semifinals in the Frozen Four’s last trip to Ridder Arena in Minneapolis in 2010.
Outlook: The Golden Gophers are the clear favorite to win the natioal title on their home ice. They also have all the pressure on their shoulders.

No. 4 Boston College Eagles (27-6-3)
Coach: Katie King Crowley, 6th season (119-61-34)
Players to watch: So. F Alex Carpenter (32 goals, 37 assists, 69 points), Sr. D Blake Bolden (6-23-29), Fr. F Haley Skarupa (24-27-51), Sr. G Corinne Boyles (22-4-1 record, 1.79 goals-against average, .927 save percentage, 3 shutouts), So. F Emily Field (15-29-44)
Frozen Four facts: Has reached the Frozen Four for the third straight season. … Lost to Wisconsin in the semifinals the past two seasons – 3-2 in 2011 at Erie Insurance Arena and 6-2 a season ago in Duluth, Minn. … Enjoying the best season in program history, headlined by an offense that set a school record with 4.36 goals per game. … Lost to Northeastern in the Hockey East Association semifinals, but rebounded with a 3-1 NCAA quarterfinal win against Harvard last weekend. … Has a 1-4-1 all-time record against Minnesota, their Final Four opponent.
Outlook: The Eagles never have won a Frozen Four game. But a win over the defending champs could vault them to their first national title.

- Victor Fernandes