Pittsburgh, Pa. – A promising first period for the Robert Morris University women's hockey team faded in the second when Mercyhurst scored three unanswered and five total goals in the frame to help the Lakers to a 6-3 win over the Colonials Saturday afternoon at 84 Lumber Arena.
 
The Lakers (14-10-4, 11-3-2) now hold a comfortable eight-point advantage over the third-place Colonials (14-11-5, 6-6-4) and are two points ahead of second-place Syracuse in the College Hockey America standings.
 
Freshman Kirsten Welsh, sophomore Katherine Murphy and junior Mackenzie Johnston scored for Robert Morris, with two of the three goals occurring on the Colonials power play. Welsh and Murphy each put together multi-point efforts as they both tallied an assist in addition to their goals. Murphy finished plus-one on the day and blocked one shot. Freshman Sarah Quaranta recorded two points on two power-play assists.
 
The first period was a bright spot for the Colonials after they had been shutout by CHA rival Mercyhurst, 4-0, the previous evening. On their first power-play chance and first shot of the game, Welsh's one-timer from just above the blue line hit the back of the net and lifted RMU to an early 1-0 advantage just over four minutes into the game. The Colonials carried the one-goal lead into the locker room at the first intermission, but could not hold onto it for the remaining 40 minutes of play.
 
Mercyhurst outscored Robert Morris in the second period, 5-1, and the Colonials would never recover. The Lakers outshot the Colonials in the second, 17-6, and capitalized on their power-play opportunities. Mercyhurst went 2-for-4 on the man advantage in the second period, and 2-for-8 on the night.
 
Johnston's goal with 6:18 remaining in the third period cut the Lakers' lead to two, but Mercyhurst's Jenna Dingeldein secured the victory with a late third period tally.
 
RMU was able to cash in on two of its seven power-play opportunities and has scored a power-play goal in three of  its last four games.
 
Freshman goaltender Lauren Bailey, in her second career start and fourth overall appearance, made a career-high 34 saves, including a solid 18 stops in the first period.
 
The Colonials embark on their final road trip of the regular season next weekend for a CHA series at Syracuse Friday, Feb. 12 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m.
 
 
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