The St. Lawrence University women's hockey team scored a pair of power play goals to take a 2-0 lead in the second period against Mercyhurst College on Tuesday night in Erie, PA. However, the Lakers rallied in the third period, tying it midway through the stanza before Christie Cicero added the game-winner, her second of the game, for the home team with 1:13 to play, completing the rally and giving Mercyhurst a 3-2 win.

Senior co-captain Mel Desrochers and rookie Kirsten Padalis scored goals for the Saints (6-8-1) only 4:36 apart in the second period, while junior goalie Carmen MacDonald racked up 37 saves in the loss. Mercyhurst (9-5-2) finished with a 40-24 advantage in shots, with Amanda Makela turning in a 22-save performance.

"We deserved what we finished with tonight. I didn't even come close to having our team prepared to play Mercyhurst," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells. "We were fortunate to be in the game because of some solid goaltending and our power play. We will be ready to go tomorrow as we know Mercyhurst will come out with the same intensity that they had tonight.

The Lakers came out flying in the first period, owning a 13-3 advantage in shots on goal. However, MacDonald was sharp and kept the game scoreless though 20:00 minutes.

St. Lawrence would capitalize on back-to-back Mercyhurst penalties early in the second period to take the 2-0 lead. Desrochers scored her sixth of the season at 2:10, with assists going to Abbey McRae and Alex Moore, while Padalis followed at 6:46 on the power play with helpers from Brooke Webster and Kayla Raniwsky.

Mercyhurst would climb back into the game late in the second, scoring a power play goal of its own at 15:55 to cut its deficit in half, 2-1. Cicero's first of the contest was assisted by Christine Bestland and Emily Janiga and gave the Lakers momentum heading to the third period.

Kathy Donohue would tie the game at 2-2 at 9:44 on the power play for Mercyhurst, as the Lakers continued to pile up the shot advantage in the third, 16-11. Though St. Lawrence would have a power play late on a minor penalty against Shelby Bram, they were unable to take advantage against Makela. Bram would then set up the game-winner for Cicero at 18:47, as Mercyhurst would take its first lead of the game at 3-2. Though MacDonald was pulled for the extra attacker, the Saints were unable to level the scoring, giving the home team the non-conference win.

St. Lawrence finished 2-for-5 on the power play, while Mercyhurst was 2-for-7 on its chances.

The Saints and Lakers will meet in a rematch tomorrow, Wednesday, November 27 in Erie, PA at 3:00pm. It is the final game of 2013 for the Scarlet and Brown.