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.

What: Brown (2-10-3) at No. 4/5 Mercyhurst College (16-4-0)

When: Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m.

Where: Tullio Arena

On the air: www.americaone.com (Internet video), www.wmce.com (Internet radio)

Players to watch

Mercyhurst – Jr. G Hillary Pattenden (15-4-0 record, 2.45 goals-against average, .891 save percentage, 2 shutouts), Sr. F Meghan Agosta (22 goals, 28 assists, 50 points), Sr. F Jesse Scanzano (12-19-31), Sr. F Vicki Bendus (11-20-31), Fr. F Christine Bestland (13-13-26)

Brown – So. F Laurie Jolin (5-3-8), Fr. F Jessica Hoyle (2-4-6), So. F Erica Farrer (3-3-6), Fr. D Jennifer Nedow (0-6-6), So. F Alena Polenska (3-2-5)

Fast facts

Mercyhurst – The Lakers play their final two regular-season games at Tullio Arena, site of the NCAA Women’s Division I Frozen Four in March. They beat Colgate 4-2 Nov. 27. … Coach Michael Sisti (298-82-26) needs two wins to reach 300. He will be the sixth fastest to reach that mark and second fastest among Division I coaches (Shannon Miller, Minnesota Duluth). … Scanzano needs two points to join Agosta (267) and former Laker Valerie Chouinard (201 from 2005-08) as the only players in program history to reach 200. … The Lakers lead the all-time series with the Bears 6-2. … Agosta has recorded 16 multi-point games on her way to a nation-best 50 points. … Pattenden recorded her eighth career shutout in Saturday’s win against Syracuse. She needs eight wins to equal 2008 graduate Laura Hosier’s school record of 74… Bendus and junior F Bailey Bram (9-14-23) missed the past four games to lead Canada’s National Under-22 team to gold at the MLP Cup in Switzerland. … The Lakers have a 3-1 record against Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Hockey League schools (wins against Cornell and Colgate and a two-game split with St. Lawrence). … Admission to the games is free. …

Brown – Coach Digit Murphy has the most wins in women’s Division I history (324 in 20 years). … The Bears are winless in nine straight games (0-7-2). … They play their third and fourth games of the second half against top-5 teams (losses to No. 3 Boston University and No. 2 Cornell). …Their five-game road trip was set to begin Wednesday at Yale. But the game was moved to Feb. 15 because of the East Coast snowstorm. … The Bears have 13 freshmen and sophomores on the 22-player roster. … They have scored two goals or fewer in 15-of-16 games.

Up next: vs. Cornell (Tuesday, 7 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes

What: Syracuse (8-9-3, 2-0-0 CHA) at No. 5 Mercyhurst College (14-4-0, 5-0-0)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m.

Where: Mercyhurst Ice Center

On the air: www.americaone.com (Internet video), www.wmce.com (Internet radio)

Players to watch

Mercyhurst – Jr. G Hillary Pattenden (13-4-0 record, 2.64 goals-against average, .887 save percentage, 1 shutout), Sr. F Meghan Agosta (19 goals, 26 assists, 45 points), Sr. F Jesse Scanzano (11-19-30), Jr. F Kelley Steadman (12-9-21), Fr. F Christine Bestland (10-13-23)

Syracuse –Sr. F Julie Rising (10-13-23), Jr. F Megan Skelly (7-9-16), Sr. D Ashley Cockell (5-9-14), Fr. G Jenesica Drinkwater (5-2-2, 2.39, .903), Fr. F Akane Hosoyamada (1-10-11),

Fast facts

Mercyhurst – The Lakers return to College Hockey America play after splitting four straight non-conference games (loss and win at St. Lawrence, a win at St. Cloud State and a loss to No. 2 Wisconsin. … The Lakers allowed seven goals in the loss to Wisconsin, the most since a 7-3 loss to Providence on Jan. 12, 2008. … They have won all nine career meetings with the Orange by a combined 47-12 score. … Senior F Vicki Bendus (11-20-31) and junior F Bailey Bram (9-14-23) will miss a second straight weekend of games. They are representing their native Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team at the MLP Cup, which began Tuesday and concludes Saturday in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. … Pattenden’s goals-against average and save percentage has dropped out of NCAA Division I’s top 20. … Pattenden stands eight wins shy of equaling 2008 graduate Laura Hosier’s school record of 74. She has a season and a half left to equal Wisconsin alumnus Jessie Vetter’s Division I record of 91. … Michael Sisti (296-82-26) needs four wins to become the sixth women’s coach to reach 300. … Scanzano needs three points to join Agosta (255) and Valerie Chouinard (201 from 2005-08) as the only players in program history to reach 200. Scanzano has hat tricks in two of the last three games. … Senior D Cassea Schols (4-11-15) is tied for fourth nationally in points by defensemen (0.83 per game). …  Junior F Jess Jones (7-9-16) is day to day with an undisclosed injury. … The Lakers are holding their annual Skate for the Cure event to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer this weekend. They will wear pink sweaters. Fans can purchase $5 raffle tickets for a chance to win an autographed sweater. Proceeds from the raffle and ticket revenue from both games will be donated to a charity at the 2011 CHA Championship in March.

Syracuse – The Orange are winless in three straight games (0-2-1) and six of their last eight (2-4-2). But the two wins were in their only conference games of the season (3-0 and 5-3 vs. Wayne State Dec. 3-4). … Sophomore F Isabel Menard (11-17-28) and senior F Stefanie Marty (5-7-12) will miss the series. They are representing Canada and Switzerland, respectively, in the MLP Cup. … Cockell, who transferred from Mercyhurst this season, is tied for third in CHA and tied for eighth nationally in points by a defenseman (0.78 per game). … Drinkwater leads the CHA in goals-against average.

Up next: vs. Brown at Tullio Arena (Jan. 14-15, 2 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Mercyhurst College women’s hockey team started the New Year strong.

The Lakers scored three goals in the first period and added five in the third to secure an 8-1 win against St. Cloud State Saturday on the opening day of the Easton Holiday Showcase at National Hockey Center.

The No. 4 Lakers (14-3-0) conclude tournament play today at 1:07 p.m. against second-ranked Wisconsin (17-2-0), a 7-2 winner against No. 10 Northeastern (10-5-4) on Saturday. The Lakers and Badgers meet for the first time since Wisconsin’s 5-0 win in the

Jesse Scanzano (Contributed/Mercyhurst College)

2009 NCAA Division I championship game.

That will be a much tougher test than Mercyhurst faced against St. Cloud State (0-17-1), the only winless Division I men’s or women’s program in the nation. Jesse Scanzano had three goals and an assist to move within four points of joining teammate Meghan Agosta (260) and former Laker Valerie Chouinard (201 from 2005-08) as the only players in program history with 200 points.

Agosta, the nation’s leading scorer with 43 points, contributed five assists while freshman Christine Bestland had two goals and an assist. Jess Jones and Cassea Schols had a goal and assist apiece.

Mercyhurst went 4-for-8 on the power play and outshot the Huskies 50-21.

- Victor Fernandes