Syracuse University
#1 Mercyhurst
Orange Hosts No. 1 Team in the Country
1/21/2010 6:29:18 PM | Ice Hockey
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse University ice hockey team will play its biggest game in program history when it hosts top-ranked Mercyhurst for a pair of conference games on Friday, January 22 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, January 23 at 2 p.m. at Tennity Ice Pavilion. The Orange will be participating in 'Skate for the Cure,' which is an annual fundraiser to help raise breast cancer awareness, by selling t-shirts to fans. All proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society's Breast Cancer Foundation.
Fans in attendance will enjoy the music of SU's pep band, the Sour Sitrus Society, and will have an opportunity to take part in 'Chuck-a-Puck' between periods.
Friday's game will be broadcast online as the US College Hockey Online Game of the Week, while Saturday's game will have live audio streaming on SUAthletics.com via Orange All Access.
Orange 'Skates for the Cure'
The Orange women will participate in 'Skate for the Cure,' an annual fundraiser that all teams in the College Hockey America (CHA) conference participate in to raise breast cancer awareness. The team will be selling $10 t-shirts to benefit the American Cancer Society's Breast Cancer Foundation. Last Saturday, the Orange raised money at the Syracuse Crunch game when it sold raffle tickets to win either a Crunch or Orange women's team autographed stick. Additionally, the team auctioned off an authentic Orange jersey, which the players debuted at the game.
Last Time Out
The Orange closed out its non-conference schedule last weekend when it hosted Quinnipiac. Freshman Isabel Menard continued her eight-game point-scoring streak in SU's 4-3 overtime loss to the Bobcats on Friday. The Orange found chemistry in its first line as all three players scored in the team's sixth overtime game of the season. In addition to Menard, sophomore Lisa Mullan and freshman Holly Carrie-Mattimoe each scored one goal and one assist. It was Carrie-Mattimoe's fifth-consecutive game she had scored a goal. Mullan scored another goal against the Bobcats on Saturday afternoon as time expired, while Carrie-Mattimoe was credited with the assist.
Orange Against the Lakers
Mercyhurst holds the 4-0 advantage in the all-time series against Syracuse. The Lakers were the first CHA conference team the Orange hosted in its inaugural campaign. In the first meeting, sophomore Megan Skelly scored the team's first goal against the conference rival just 1:03 into the first period. Skelly also netted the first goal in the most recent meeting, while sophomore Kylie Klassen scored late in the third period in the Lakers' 9-2 victory.
Scouting Mercyhurst
The Lakers have been ranked No. 1 in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll for 14 consecutive weeks. They closed out their non-conference schedule last weekend, going 1-0-1 against then-No. 4 Clarkson to extend its unbeaten streak to 13 games and finish 13-1-2 against competition outside the CHA. Mercyhurst posted a 6-3 victory before skating to a 5-5 tie with the Golden Knights. Vicki Bendus leads MC with 17 goals and 25 assists for a team-leading 42 points. She is first in the CHA in points, assists, short-handed goals (5) and shots (5.38), while goaltender Hillary Pattenden has started all 21 games and has recorded a .916 save percentage and a league-leading 1.85 goals-against average for the Lakers.
