Mercyhurst's Kelley Steadman reached 30 goals on Friday as the Lakers captured their 12th straight College Hockey America regular-season crown. [Mercyhurst Athletics]
Mercyhurst's Kelley Steadman reached 30 goals on Friday as the Lakers captured their 12th straight College Hockey America regular-season crown.
Mercyhurst Athletics

Monday’s Light Skate: Lakers’ dozen

Mercyhurst just needed one goal to win, but senior Jill Szandzik potted two (the first multi-goal game of her career) and Kelley Steadman added her 30th of the season to lead the Lakers to Friday’s 3-0 victory against visiting Robert Morris.

With the win, the Lakers claimed their 12th consecutive College Hockey America regular-season title.

On Saturday, the teams shifted to RMU Island Sports Center in Pittsburgh, where the host Colonials’ Dayna Newsom scored on a backhand wrap-around with 3:09 remaining in regulation for a 4-4 tie.

Both teams will be idle until March 2-3, when RMU plays host to the CHA tournament.

Here’s a wrap-up of the test of the Pennsylvania hockey weekend that was:

Philadelphia Flyers, National Hockey League

Two goals from Jaromir Jagr were not enough in Saturday’s 6-4 matinee loss to the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. In February, the Flyers have just three wins in nine games. Defenseman Niklas Grossman, playing in his first game for Philadelphia since being acquired in a trade with Dallas, was plus-1 in 18:26 of ice time.

Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL

James Neal, who potted his 30th goal in Saturday’s win, signed a six-year contract extension that Pittsburgh announced prior to Sunday’s game. Neal had one assist in the Penguins’ 6-4 loss to host Buffalo. Brett Johnson gave up three goals on 12 shots before being relieved by Marc-Andre Fleury, who allowed three of his own on a dozen shots.

Hershey Bears, American Hockey League

Hershey’s offense turned decidedly bearish this weekend, generating only three goals as the Bears dropped two of three on the road. No doubt buoyed by the 2,000 rally towels handed out to a crowd of 9,397, host Providence on Friday mauled the Bears, 6-0. Goalies Dany Sabourin and Braden Holtby each allowed three goals. Holtby redeemed himself, however, in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Manchester, making 33 saves while Ryan Potulny potted both goals. On Sunday in Bridgeport, Conn., Chris Bourque staked the Bears to a one-goal lead with his 24th goal of the season in the second period, but the Sound Tigers tied it fewer than five minutes later and prevailed in a shootout, 2-1. Holtby had 37 saves and was the game’s No. 2 star.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, AHL

Alex Grant and Matt Rust each scored two goals Friday in the Baby Pens’ 6-1 road win against Binghamton. Nick Peterson had one goal and three assists. In Albany on Saturday, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lost 3-0, the team’s second shutout setback in three games. The Baby Pens and Hershey Bears have 67 points each through 53 games, two points behind front-running Norfolk (54 games played) in the East Division.

Reading Royals, ECHL

Reading heads into today’s Presidents’ Day matinee riding a three-game win streak, including Friday’s 4-2 victory at Trenton in which Jussi Rynnas made 48 saves to earn the game’s No. 1 star. At home on Saturday, a crowd of 6,921 turned out for Pink in the Rink (to promote breast cancer awareness) and a 4-0 defeat of first-place Wheeling. After breaking a skate in the pre-game introductions and missing the first 5:31 of the game, Rynnas stopped 31 shots for the win and the Royals’ first shutout of the season. In the two games, Yannick Tifu had five assists. The Royals’ record is 24-22-3-3, good for third place in the Atlantic Division.

Mercyhurst men, Atlantic Hockey

On the road against Air Force, Mercyhurst on Friday suffered its worst defeat since 2004, 8-0. However, the Lakers rebounded on Saturday behind senior goalie Max Strang’s 50 saves to claim a 2-1 win. The Lakers (17-13-4 overall; 14-7-4 in the conference) are tied with Bentley and Niagara with 32 points each, two behind first-place Air Force. The top four seeds earn first-round byes in the conference tournament.

Robert Morris men, Atlantic Hockey

In Rochester, N.Y., the Colonials earned 2-2 ties Friday and Saturday against RIT. On Friday, Ron Cramer picked an opportune time to end a 28-game goal-scoring drought, tying the game with 3:28 left in the third. Brooks Ostergard had 44 saves to earn the No. 1 star. He followed up with 40 saves on Saturday, in which it was RIT that tied the game in the third period. The Colonials are 14-13-5 overall, 12-8-5 in the Atlantic Conference.

Penn State University

Men: The Icers improved to 26-3-1 and extended their home winning streak to 18 with Friday’s 8-1 drubbing of Duquesne, outshooting the Dukes, 61-14. Chris Cerutti, who scored two goals, was among six honored seniors; the others were Kurt Collins, Paul Daley, Dan Loucks, Dan Petrick and Nick Servalli. The Icers, who play host to Kent State on Friday in their final regular-season game, are the No. 1 seed in the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Championships, which start March 2 in Cleveland.

Women: The Lady Icers, playing at home, swept Vermont by scores of 5-0 on Saturday and 4-2 on Sunday. With Sunday’s win, Penn State won the Eastern Collegiate Women’s Hockey League regular-season championship.

Erie Otters, Ontario Hockey League

On the road, Erie lost Friday, 9-3, to Kingston and Sunday, 6-1, against Ottawa. In the latter, Devin Williams stopped 41 shots in his first game since his record-setting 61-save performance on Wednesday. On Sunday, the Otters were 0-for-9 on the power play. The Otters play a rare weekday matinee at 2 p.m. today on the road against Belleville.

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