ERIE, Pa. - The Robert Morris University women's hockey team lost to Mercyhurst University 5-3 Friday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The loss pushes RMU to 16-10-3 (10-4-1 CHA).

RMU went 2-7 on the power play as both Michaela Boyle and Lexi Templeman scored on the man advantage. Jaycee Gebhard figured in on all three RMU goals, opening the scoring and adding two assists. Goaltender Raygan Kirk made 28 saves in net for RMU.

In a game that mirrored last Saturday's effort against Penn State, the Colonials found themselves in an early hole after a few miscues and a failed power-play attempt against the Lakers.

After the conference-leading RMU man advantage failed to convert on an early roughing call on Mercyhurst, the Lakers earned their first zone time of the period and made the Colonials pay.

Maggie Knott put the Lakers ahead just 5:53 into the game after she shook loose a defender in the slot and buried a beautiful feed from Summer-Rae Dobson, 1-0.

Less than a minute later Emma Nuutinen made it 2-0, picking off an outlet pass deep in the Colonials zone and slipping a quick shot low on Kirk.

Despite the early deficit, the Colonials looked to their experience and leadership for a way out of a situation they've found themselves in several times already this season.  As she has done so often throughout her career, Gebhard provided the spark at the perfect time.

The senior captain walked right down the Mercyhurst slot and ripped a hard shot over the glove of Laker keeper Jenna Silvonen to cut it to 2-1 just minutes after Nuutinen made it 2-0.

Gebhard's goal stemmed the tide of what was a strong push from Mercyhurst to start the afternoon, titling the ice back for RMU a bit as the game settled into a much more even pace in the second.

RMU earned a brief 5-on-3 power play after back to back roughing minors on Merychurst negated their own power play, however they were unable to cash in on the two-man advantage.

Kirk was forced into a sharp save after some aggressive penalty killing sprung Dobson on a short-handed breakaway, luckily the freshman was up to the task.

Yet another power play midway through the frame produced RMU's best chances at tying, however blasts from Templeman and Emily Curlett missed their mark.

Mercyhurst pushed it to 3-1 at 14:00 after Megan Korzack managed to finish off a shot from Michele Robillard in the slot, crashing the crease and poking the loose puck through the feet of Kirk.

Gebhard nearly found the back of the net again with a turn-around shot in the slot with just over five minutes in the second, but Silvonen managed to get just enough on it to steer it wide.

After starting the day 0-4 on the power-play, the Colonials finally cashed in on their fifth try.  A timely, momentum-shifting goal from Michaela Boyle with just four seconds remaining in the second cut the Mercyhurst leads back to one after she managed to get a piece of a point shot from Emily Curlett that found its way thorough a maze of legs and past Silvonen.

They nearly equalized three minutes into the third after a great move from Anjelica Diffendal to dip her shoulder and move around a defender, however her shot slid wide.

The Colonials made their final push to tie things up as the third dragged on into its final minutes, however some untimely penalties on RMU and solid puck possession from Mercyhurst combined to keep the Colonials from establishing much rhythm.

Templeman nearly tied it short-handed, but her shot was blockered away by Silvonen in the slot.   
Robillard got the insurance goal for Mercyhurst with just over four minutes left, finishing off a nice short-handed rush with a couple of moves to beat Kirk and make it 4-2. A late power-play tally as Templeman finally cashed in kept it interesting, but a Nuutinen empty netter finally put RMU to bed.

The Colonials will return to action tomorrow when they close out the season series with Mercyhurst at 2 p.m.