The Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey team is a college ice hockey program representing Mercyhurst University. They compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition as a member of the Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) conference. They play in Erie, Pennsylvania at the Mercyhurst Ice Center, located on the Mercyhurst campus.
The program started in 1999 and Michael Sisti was named its coach, and to date, remains the team's only coach. From 2000 to 2002, the Lakers were part of the Great Lakes Women's Hockey Association (GLWHA). The team won two GLWHA championship in 2001 and 2002.
The Lakers joined the joined the College Hockey America (CHA) conference for the 2002–03 season. The conference merged with the Atlantic Hockey Association shortly after the 2023–24 season to form the new Atlantic Hockey America.
History
1999 to 2002: Great Lakes Women's Hockey Association The Mercyhurst women's ice hockey program predates NCAA governance in the sport. The GLWHA was formed by Mercyhurst University, the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio and Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, while the Title IX law protecting equity in sports was making major changes to women's athletics.
Michael Sisti had been an assistant coach with the Mercyhurst men's team since 1993 was named the inaugural head coach for the women's team in 1999. Prior to his time with Mercyhurst, Sisti spent three years as an assistant men's coach at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. He also played four years with Canisius as a forward, graduating in 1990.
Mercyhurst was immediately successful in their first season in the GLWHA, finishing with a 23–6–0 record. They recorded 17 shutouts and scored 10 or more goals on six occasions. The team also scored in all but three games that season.
They were less successful in the 2000–01 regular season, finishing 14–16–3 while playing more established programs. Scoring was also a problem as the team was shut out six times. However, they were regular season champions and made the playoffs. The team went on to the GLWHA championship but fell 1–2 to the University of Findlay.
The team added freshman goaltender Desirae "Desi" Clark in the 2001–02 season. She split the season with Tiffany Ribble, a junior, and together they helped backstop the team to a 24–8–1 record, winning first in the conference for the second straight year. The team returned to the GLWHA championship game, playing Findlay for the second consecutive year. Chrissy Yule would score the game-winning goal in the third period and the Lakers would go on to win the GLWHA championship, beating Findlay 4–2. Britney Millar had three points in the game (2G, 1 A) and was named the playoff MVP. Ribble, Clark was named to the All-GLWHA First Team alongside defender Jenn Jeffrey and forward Sara McDonald.
College Hockey America through 2005–06
With women's hockey under the NCAA taking off, women's conferences began merging with the existing men's conferences to strengthen the NCAA tournament. College Hockey America, a men's-only league at the time, began forming a women's conference to begin in the 2002–03 season. The conference would comprise Mercyhurst, Findlay and Wayne State from the GLWHA, and Niagara University from the ECAC conference.
In the first four years of the conference, Mercyhurst dominated the competition. Within the conference, they were 38–1–3, winning every regular season, and every tournament. Their overall record was 102–29–13 for the same period. However, in the first two years of the conference, the CHA as a smaller conference struggled in qualifying for the NCAA women's ice hockey tournament against much more storied conferences, like the ECAC and the WCHA. The 2005 NCAA tournament expanded the number of qualifying teams from four to eight teams and the Lakers qualified for the first time. The Lakers faced Harvard University in the NCAA quarterfinals on March 19. The ensuing game was one of the most bitterly fought in tournament history, with Harvard prevailing 5–4 in the third overtime period. During that game, Clark set an NCAA single game save record of 78 stops. The record stood until Kaitlyn Daly broke it with 89 saves in 2018.
Following the success of the 2004–05 season, the Lakers looked to carry the momentum into the 2005–06 season. While the team lost Clark and two of the team's top scorers, Teresa Marchese and Sara McDonald, in the off-season, they added Valerie Chouinard as one of the six 2005 commitments. In the USCHO's initial poll, the team was ranked fifth in the; the highest ever preseason ranking for the Lakers. The Lakers continued their success in the CHA, finishing first in the conference for the fourth straight season with a 10–0–2 conference record. The team qualified for the 2006 NCAA tournament as the seventh seed and would face the second seed Wisconsin Badgers in the quarterfinals. The Lakers fell to Wisconsin in double overtime despite outshooting them 38–35.
The Meghan Agosta years
By the mid-2000s Mercyhurst College (it would become Mercyhurst University in 2012), had several advantages in recruiting: The college itself, a small Catholic institution with very good academics; The success and graduation rate of its athletes; and, the overwhelming success of the team. The campus location near Lake Ontario was attractive to young women from Ontario, New York and Pennsylvania, a large pool of talent.
In 2006, the Lakers attracted Megan Agosta, perhaps the most sought-after talent in the NCAA. Even before attending college, she had won an Olympic gold medal at the 2006 Turin games with Team Canada as a 19 year old; the youngest player on the team. She became one of the best players of the decade in NCAA play.
With its building success and the addition of Agosta, Mercyhurst was once again ranked fifth in the USCHO preseason poll. The team would make its way to a #1 ranking, spending 11 weeks there in both the USCHO and USA Hockey polls. The Lakers finished the regular season with a program best 32–1–3 record; a record that still stands. The team qualified for the 2007 NCAA tournament as the second seed and would face the seventh seed Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinals. Despite leading for most of the game, the Lakers would fall in overtime for the third straight year.
Agosta received many personal accolades after a strong freshman season. She was named to the CHA and USCO First and All-Rookie Teams and to the RBK Hockey/American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Women's Division I All-American First Team as the only freshman named to either the first or second team. She was also named as the CHA Forward, Rookie and Tournament MVP as well as the USCHO Rookie of the Year. Agosta would be the first ever freshman to be a top three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award.
Mercyhurst continued recruiting strong prospects during the next two seasons. They added Vicki Bendus in 2007, who would win the 2010 Patty Kazmaier Award as the nation's top player, and was a top-10 finalist the following year, and forwards Bailey Bram, Kelley Steadman, Jess Jones, and goaltender Hillary Pattenden in 2008. Agosta was named team captain ahead of the 2008–09 season leading the team to a 16–0–0 conference record and an overall 29–5–0 record. The Lakers claimed their seventh consecutive CHA tournament trophy beating Wayne State 6–1, also giving Sisti his 250th career win.
The team qualified for their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament. The Lakers finally broke through during the 2009 NCAA tournament as they were able to make it past the quarterfinals into the Frozen Four. Agosta scored the game-winning goal with five seconds remaining in the semifinal game, to defeat Minnesota 5–4 to send the team to the championship game where they would go up against the first seed Wisconsin Badgers; the runner up the previous year. Despite outscoring the Badgers 37–32, the team was shutout fell 0–5.
Despite losing Agosta for the 2009–10 season to the 2010 Olympics, the Lakers continued their success. The Lakers started the season with a nine-game winning streak, losing their first game on October 31. They went on a 16-game streak before losing their next game. They were the top ranked team in the USA TODAY/USA Hockey Magazine poll for 22 consecutive weeks The Lakers again made it to the Frozen Four at the 2010 NCAA tournament. The team cruised through the quarterfinals, winning 4–1 over Boston University after scoring two quick goals in the first period. The Lakers would fall short in the semifinals, losing 2–3 in overtime to Cornell, who were making their first appearance in the tournament.
The silver lining to the season was Bendus being awarded the 2010 Patty Kazmaier Award, the first for Mercyhurst, edging out the other finalists Kelly Paton and Noora Räty. At the time of the award, she was the NCAA statistical leader in numerous offensive categories, including points, shortanded goals, and points per game.
Agosta returned as a senior for the 2010–11 season and had her best season offensively, finishing with 85 points (34 G, 47 A), finishing 27 points ahead of Jesse Scanzano, who had the second most points on the team. While the Lakers continued their regular season and CHA success, they failed to advance past the quarterfinals at the 2011 NCAA tournament.
In her collegiate career, Agosta would finish with 302 points (157 G, 145 A) in 134 games, setting many Mercyhurst, CHA, and NCAA records; many of which she still holds as of 2026. The team had a 118–22–6 record during this time, winning the CHA championship and qualifying for the NCAA tournament every year.
Post Agosta Era
Mercyhurst continued to be successful, if no longer dominant in the CHA conference. The Lakers lost their first CHA Championship during the 2011–12 season but continued to qualify for the NCAA tournament. In 2013 and 2014, the Lakers appeared in back-to-back Frozen Four contests. These teams were led by forward Christine Bestland, a captain for two years, national recognition by USCHO. com, and two time MVP of the CHA conference. The Lakers earned their record-setting 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014.
Upon Bestland's graduation, Mercyhurst's successes were more modest, despite the leadership of forward Emily Janiga and defenseman Molly Byrne. The NCAA made the decision to award an automatic bid tournament to the winner of the CHA Championship beginning in the 2015 NCAA tournament. The CHA conference was previously represented with an at-large bid.
Mercyhurst failed to earn a berth in the national tournament in the 2014–2015 season for the first time in ten years after failing to reach the CHA Championship for the first time in the program's history.
From 2017 to 2019, the Lakers enjoyed success, but contended with rival CHA program Robert Morris for conference leadership. The 2016–17 team posted a 15–18–4 record, their first and only losing record since NCAA competition began in 2001–02, as of the end of 2020. Their 3rd place CHA finish was the lowest ranking in Mercyhurst history, but still good enough for the team to stay in the top tier of the conference.
In the 2017–18 season, Mercyhurst began to establish a resurgence of top-tier success, with the recruitment of freshman Alexa Vasko and three international medalists from the Finnish national team: forwards Vilma Tanskanen (2018–19) and Emma Nuutinen (2017–20), and goaltender Jenna Silvonen (2019–22). Tanskanen and Nuutinen were transfers from the North Dakota Fighting Hawks women's ice hockey team, following the abrupt cancellation of the University of North Dakota‘s program. Nuutinen had the additional accomplishment of earning an Olympic bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics.