HAMILTON, N.Y. (11/4/2006)—Mercyhurst College’s Valerie Chouinard scored a pair of goals to lead the third-ranked Lakers to a 3-1 victory over Colgate University this afternoon in non-conference women’s ice hockey action. Mercyhurst remains unbeaten at 9-0-1, while the Raiders fall to 2-6-1 overall.

 

The two teams traded shots in the early going of the first period before Chouinard put the Lakers in front, 1-0, at the 16:07 mark. Chouinard collected a rebound off of an initial save by Colgate goaltender Brook Wheeler (Brussels, Ont.) and slipped it past her stick side for the one-goal lead. Stephanie Jones and Julia Colizza had the assists on the tally.

 

Mercyhurst added on to that lead just 30 seconds into the second period when Stephanie Jones lit the lamp for the Lakers. Jones fired in a pass from Chouinard, beating Wheeler low to make it 2-0.

 

The Raider defense stayed strong over the course of the next 19 minutes to head into the final session trailing 2-0. Colgate rookie Katie Stewart (Exeter, Ont.) cut the lead in half 7:48 into the third stanza, beating Mercyhurst goalie Laura Hosier with a slapshot from the left side of the ice just in front of the blue line. Sophomore Sam Hunt (Calgary, Alta) and sophomore Kiira Dosdall (Fairfield, Conn.) picked up the assists on the goal.

 

Nearly five minutes later, the Lakers iced the victory as Chouinard tallied her second score of the contest off of a rebound to make it a 3-1 game.

 

Mercyhurst held a 29-15 advantage in shots for the game, including an 11-2 margin in the second period. The two squads combined for 47 minutes in penalties, with the Raiders posting eight penalties for 19 minutes and the Lakers getting whistled for 10 penalties for 28 minutes.

 

Wheeler finished with 26 saves, while Hosier made 14 stops.

 

The Raiders return to action on Nov. 10 and Nov. 11, traveling to ECACHL foes Harvard and Dartmouth at 7 p.m., and 4 p.m., respectively.