Erie, Pa. - #2 ranked Mercyhurst blanked visiting Maine for the second straight day, 5-0, before 445 fans at the Ice Center Saturday afternoon. The three shutouts to start a season is the first time in team history. The 2002-03 squad began its first three contests with two blankings.
Senior forward, and team captain, Stephanie Jones provided all the offense junior netminder Courtney Drennen and the team would need as Jones scored the first goal of the game and added another marker midway through the second period on the power play. Junior forwards Valerie Chouinard and Melissa Dianoski also scored, while freshman forward Vicki Bendus added a short-handed tally off a great pass by sophomore forward Meghan Agosta.
The game featured two new goaltenders from the previous night in Drennen and Sarah Bishop. The Lakers got to Bishop early as Jones scored just seven minutes into the contest and Chouinard's tally came just 30 seconds into the middle stanza. Bishop finished with 34 saves, while Drennen stopped all 18 shots. It was Drennen's first action of the season and she remains unbeaten in her collegiate career at 15-0-2.
Mercyhurst finished 1-for-4 on the power play while the Black Bears were 0-for-7 with the man advantage.
The Lakers will continue their four-game home stand with a pair of games against Boston University this Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m. respectively. It will mark the first meeting between the two schools. Friday's game will be the team's Skate for the Cure, a league-wide event that raises money and awareness for breast cancer research.