Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – Four different players posted multiple points, including a goal and three assists from junior forward Vicki Bendus, and Mercyhurst College used a five-goal first period to defeat Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 5-1 on Saturday. The top-ranked Lakers remain unbeaten at 4-0-0, while the Engineers fall to 2-2-2 on the season.

Despite a high-intensity start by Rensselaer, the Lakers got things going in the opening stanza, jumping out to a 2-0 lead within the first eight minutes of the game. Sophomore forward Jess Jones (Picton, ON/Prince Edward Collegiate) opened the scoring at 6:26 after swatting a high cross from Bendus (Wasaga Beach, ON/Aurora Panthers) past the reach of RPI netminder Sonja van der Bliek (Toronto, ON/Toronto Jr. Aeros).

Bendus made it a two-goal advantage less than a minute later after she collected the puck low in the slot off a pass from behind the goal line by Kelley Steadman (Plattsburgh, NY/Northwood School) and slid it under the Engineers goalie.

RPI broke through with its first goal of the weekend at the 9:22 mark after junior Kendra Dunlop (Granum, AB/Warner Hockey School) converted a cross-ice pass from rookie Taylor Horton (St. Thomas, ON/Bluewater Hawks) and shot it in from the edge of the near circle.

The Lakers wasted little time in regaining a two-score lead, tallying the fourth goal of the game just 16 seconds after the Engineers goal. Freshman Laura Jones (Bloomington, IL/NAHA) recorded her first career marker after her shot went between the legs of the RPI goalie and trickled into the net.

Mercyhurst took a 5-1 lead into the first intermission after goals sophomore Bailey Bram (Ste. Anne, MB/Balmoral) and Steadman came at 14:04 and 17:11, respectively. Bram notched her second of the season after re-directing a shot by Samantha Watt (Cermona, AB/Oval X-Treme) underneath van der Bliek. Steadman slammed home a pass from Bendus at the right circle.

Despite the four-goal deficit, the Engineers fought hard through the remaining 40 minutes, outshooting the Lakers, 20-16 during that stretch. Senior Whitney Naslund (Bloomington, MN/Bloomington Jefferson) nearly helped get RPI on the board with 2:20 remaining in the second stanza after she carried the puck down the right side and slid it to sophomore Alisa Harrison (Vienna, VA/Washington Pride) in the slot.

Harrison's initial shot was blocked, but she was able to get a stick on her own rebound, which was snapped up quickly by the glove of Lakers' goalie Hillary Pattenden (Surrey, BC/Pacific Steelers Midget AAA).

Rookie Janessa Haller (Anoka, MN/Anoka) had the Engineers best chance in the final stanza, but Pattenden held strong, stopping 32 of the 33 shots she faced.

Rensselaer, which finished with a 33-30 advantage in shots, saw van der Bliek make 25 saves in 56:40 minutes of action. Freshman Shannon Ramelot (Bloomfield, MI/Honeybaked U19), played 2:49 of relief at the end of the first period and was not forced to make any saves.

The Engineers return to action next weekend as they host Syracuse for a two-game series on Family Weekend. Friday's game is at 2:30pm, while Saturday's contest starts at 2pm. Mercyhurst is in action next weekend as well at Cornell for a pair of games.