Woes continue with pair of losses

Erie, Pa., home of the Mercyhurst Lakers, is known for its wickedly cold winter weather. The Lakers showed anything but mercy to the women's hockey team this weekend as they gave Princeton an icy welcome to the northwest corner of Pennsylvania, defeating the Tigers twice in front of sellout crowds. The pair of losses extended the Tigers' current losing streak to four .

The weekend did not get off to an auspicious start, as No. 1 Mercyhurst (14-1-1 overall) soundly defeated the Tigers 6-1 on Friday night and proved why they are ranked first in the nation. Despite this discouraging loss, No. 10 Princeton (8-4-2, Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Hockey League) rebounded the next afternoon and showed an extraordinary amount of heart in Saturday's game.

The teams were deadlocked in a scoreless match at the end of regulation. The Tigers were well on their way to earning a tie in the overtime period, but Mercyhurst freshman Meghan Agosta ended the Tigers' hopes as she netted the game's only goal with 37 seconds remaining on the clock. Despite this heartbreaking loss, the Tigers did not return to Princeton completely empty-handed. Coach Jeff Kampersal was encouraged by the team's ability to regroup and rebound after the tough loss on Friday.

"I am really proud of our players," Kampersal said. "After experiencing some frustrations Friday night, the girls came back on Saturday and gave their hearts and souls to win the game. We came up short, but it was not for a lack of effort."

The effort and perseverance the Tigers displayed will surely continue to shape the young team for the duration of the season.

Power plays hurt Princeton

The Tigers have struggled on special teams as of late, and Friday night proved no different as Mercyhurst capitalized on two power-play opportunities and managed to score two shorthanded goals on the way to victory.

Both teams had 10 shots in the hard-fought opening period, but Mercyhurst sophomore Valerie Chouinard broke the stalemate with less than two minutes remaining in the frame on an assist from Agosta. The game remained close for the majority of the second period as the Tigers and Lakers traded goals. Agosta scored her first goal of the game midway through the period, but Princeton responded minutes later as freshman forward Melanie Wallace scored her third goal of the season at 13:57, which would prove to be the Tigers' lone goal of the game. Senior defender Dina McCumber and freshman defender Stephanie Denino, who tallied her first collegiate point, assisted Wallace on the goal.

Mercyhurst broke the game open toward the end of the second frame with a pair of goals in the final two minutes and 20 seconds when Chouinard and Agosta both registered their second goals of the game. Two tallies coming late in the third period, scored by assistant captain Stephanie Jones and junior Kristen Erikson, ensured victory for the Lakers.

After suffering such a discouraging defeat, the Tigers could have easily abandoned all hopes for the weekend. In a display of unbreakable will, however, the Tigers bounced back after Friday's game only to lose in the waning seconds of overtime on Saturday afternoon.

Every Tiger put forth her best effort in the second round of the doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, but the true hero of the day was freshman goaltender Brittany Parisi, who faced the fury of the Merchyhurst offense and was forced to make 47 saves during three periods. Unfortunately, Agosta eliminated Princeton's hope for a tie or win when her dramatic gamewinner and 12th goal of the season eluded Parisi with 37 seconds remaining in overtime. Agosta received a pass from senior Stefanie Bourbeau and blasted a high-powered shot from the top of the left faceoff circle above the Parisi's shoulder to give the Lakers the victory.

Princeton's performance against the Laker power play dramatically improved from Friday's game. In the first period alone, Mercyhurst found itself in a man-advantage situation five separate times, but the staunch Princeton defense held its ground. By the end of the game, Princeton had held the Lakers scoreless on 10 power-play opportunities.

The majority of the game was played in Princeton's defensive end, as Parisi faced 18 shots in the first period, nine in the second and 20 in the third. Mercyhurst goaltender Laura Hosier was rarely challenged throughout the game, facing only nine shots, two of which came in the overtime period.