COLLEGE HOCKEY AMERICA WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS FOR GAMES THROUGH MONDAY, November 28

College Hockey America Players of the Week

Christine Bestland  - Mercyhurst

 Sophomore, Foward, Brunkild, Manitoba  

Bestland had three goals, including both game-winning goals, and two assists in two mid-week victories over St. Lawrence University. Mercyhurst won by the scores of 5-3 and 4-1 as Mercyhurst extended its winning streak to nine games. The sophomore had a goal and an assist in the Lakers 5-3 win on Tuesday night. She assisted on the Lakers’ game-tying goal early in the second period, and then scored the game-winning goal 1:08 into the third period. She had three shots and was a +3 on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Bestland scored a pair of first period goals, the second of which also proved to be the game-winner. She then had an assist on the Lakers’ third goal of the day. Bestland is second on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points.

College Hockey America Goaltender of the Week

Kristen DiCiocco - Robert Morris

 Junior, Niagara Falls, Ontario  

DiCiocco was selected as the Laurie Belliveau Outstanding Goaltender of the Nutmeg Classic and helped RMU break its program record for longest winning streak this past week. She tallied 30 saves last Tuesday against Colgate while playing all 60 minutes to help the Colonials to the win. DiCiocco then became just the third Colonial ever to record multiple shutouts in a single season when she blanked Yale Friday evening in the Nutmeg Classic. She posted a 1.67 GAA for the week and currently ranks seventh nationally with her 1.71 mark for the season.

College Hockey America Rookie of the Week

Shelby Bram - Mercyhurst

Freshman, Foward, St. Anne, Manitoba

Bram accounted for four assists, including an assist on both game-winning goals, in the two victories over St. Lawrence this week. She had two assists in each of the Lakers’ 5-3 and 4-1 victories over St. Lawrence. Bram had an assist on the tying goal early in the second period and then assisted on Mercyhurst’s game-winning goal in Tuesday’s 5-3 victory. Then, she picked up two assists in the first period on Wednesday, including one on Mercyhurst’s game-winning goal. Bram now leads all Mercyhurst rookies with 13 points this season (four goals, nine assists).

College Hockey America Honor Roll

Kaillie Goodnough, Syracuse (Freshman, Defense, Mannsville, N.Y.)- Freshman defenseman Kaillie Goodnough had a goal and an assist on Friday against Rensselaer in the first game of the weekend series at Houston Field House … Goodnough’s goal, the eventual game-winner, came 7:38 into the third period with a slapshot from the point, prompting an Engineer goaltending change … She also assisted on Megan Skelly’s third goal of the season earlier in the game … Goodnough has three goals and three assists this season, which is second among Orange defensemen and tied for sixth in the conference.

Thea Imbrogno, Robert Morris (Sophomore, Foward, Etobicoke, Ontario)- Imbrogno tallied points in all three Colonial games this week, including notching a pair of multi-point performances. She provided the primary assists on back-to-back scores in the second period to break a 1-1 tie with Colgate last Tuesday, giving Robert Morris a lead it would not relinquish. In the Colonials’ first round game of the Nutmeg Classic, Imbrogno put home a third-period tally to break a scoreless tie, and it held up as her first-career game-winning goal as RMU broke its school-record for longest winning streak with a 1-0 victory over Yale. She concluded the week with a goal and a shorthanded primary assist in the championship game against Quinnipiac to record her fifth multi-point game of the season. Imbrogno moved into sole possession of eighth place all-time in both points and goals at RMU with her performances this past week.

Hillary Pattenden, Mercyhurst (Senior, Goalie, Surrey, British Columbia) – Pattenden earned two more victories this week, giving her 89 for her career, as the Lakers extended their winning streak to nine straight games with 5-3 and 4-1 victories over St. Lawrence. Her win total is two shy of tying the NCAA Division I record of 91 held by former Wisconsin goaltender Jessie Vetter. She stopped 16-of-19 shots in Tuesday’s 5-3 win over St. Lawrence, with all three goals coming during a St. Lawrence power play. She then stopped 31-of 32 shots in Wednesday afternoon’s victory over the Saints. All told, Pattenden stopped 47-of-51 shots (.922) as she inches closer to the all-time wins record.

Rebecca Vint, Robert Morris (Freshman, Foward, Caledon, Ontario)- Vint began the week with a bang, scoring a pair of goals, including the game-winner, to help Robert Morris pull away from Colgate in a 5-2 victory. With that effort, she extended her point streak to 11 games to break the previous school record. That performance also gave Vint back-to-back multi-goal contests for the first time this season and also was her seventh multi-point game in her first 11 outings. She then provided the lone assist of the game Friday against Yale in a 1-0 Colonial victory to move her point streak to 12 games. Vint’s efforts this week pushed her into the top 10 in single-season school history in both points and goals with 17 regular-season games still to play.

College Hockey America Team Notes

MERCYHURST: Mercyhurst improved to 10-2 overall this season and extended its winning streak to nine straight with 5-3 and 4-1 victories over St. Lawrence on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon contests. The Lakers still have a losing record against the Saints in their history, improving to 10-13-2 lifetime against St. Lawrence. However, Mercyhurst is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings between the two schools. Sophomore Christine Bestland had three goals, including both game winners, and two assists in the two games and now is on a six-game scoring streak. She has at least two points in the last six games, and has reached three or more points in five of the last six contests. Bestland is second on the team with 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists). Senior Bailey Bram had another big weekend, contributing two goals and five assists. She is on a nine-game scoring streak and has reached three or more points in six of those nine games, including five in a row. She now leads the team with 32 points (16 goals, 16 assists) and she leads the country in points per game, averaging 2.67 points per contest. Only Wisconsin’s Brianna Decker (18) and Minnesota’s Amanda Kessel (17) have more goals than Bram, but they have played 15 and 16 games respectively. Quietly, also on a nine-game scoring streak is senior Jess Jones, who had an assist in each of the two games this week. She ranks third on the team with 20 points (six goals, 14 assists). Senior Kelley Steadman is fourth on the team in scoring with 17 points (10 goals, seven assists), but had her eight-game scoring streak snapped in Wednesday’s win. Freshman Shelby Bram now leads all Mercyhurst rookies with four goals and nine assists after posting back-to-back two-assist efforts against St. Lawrence. She is on a seven-game scoring streak, and has multi-point efforts in the last five games. Senior goaltender Hillary Pattenden posted two more victories, stopping 47-of-51 shots against St. Lawrence, to give her 89 career wins. That number is two shy of the NCAA Division I record of 91 held by former Wisconsin goaltender Jessie Vetter. Mercyhurst is second in the nation in both scoring offense (5.33) and scoring defense (1.33), and they also lead the nation in power play percentage at 33.9% (19-of-56). The Lakers have a rough four-game stretch beginning next Friday and Saturday, December 2 and 3 against #3 Cornell at the Mercyhurst Ice Center, and then they will travel to #4 Boston College on Friday, December 9 and Saturday, December 10.

NIAGARA: Niagara had the Thanksgiving week off…The Purple Eagles are currently 7-6-4, while they haven’t started CHA play yet…Head coach Josh Sciba currently has seven wins, ranking him fourth out of four Niagara coaches for wins in their first season…Sciba needs six more wins to overtake the Niagara record for coaching wins in the coach’s first season with Niagara…Niagara is 5-1-4 in its last 10 games, including a 2-1-3 stretch on the road in the team’s last six games away from Dwyer Arena…Niagara was last in action when they went 1-0-1 against the St. Cloud State Huskies, defeating them 5-1 and playing them to a 2-2 tie…Niagara is now 11-5-2 in its last 18 games at Dwyer Arena, dating back to the 2010-11 season…Niagara’s 7-6-4 record after 17 games is better than where the Purple Eagles were last year at the same mark, when the team was 3-11-3…Freshman Kalli Funk is playing well as of late, scoring three goals in her last five games. 

ROBERT MORRIS: Freshman Rebecca Vint (Caledon, Ontario / Brampton Junior Thunder) put home a pair of scores, including the game-winner, to break the Colonials’ school-record point streak as Robert Morris took down Colgate with a 5-2 victory last Tuesday … Junior Kelsey Thomas (Hamilton, Ontario / Hamilton Hawks) also extended her own career-long point streak thanks to a multi-point performance. Thomas had a goal and a game-winning assist to tally points in her seventh straight game … Sophomore Thea Imbrogno (Etobicoke, Ontario / Mississauga Jr. Chiefs) notched a third-period tally to break a scoreless tie, and it held up as her first-career game-winning goal as RMU broke its school-record for longest winning streak Friday with a 1-0 victory over Yale in the first round of the Nutmeg Classic. Robert Morris extended its program-record unbeaten streak to eight games, a stretch which occurred exclusively away from home, and  began the season with a 10-1-1 mark, its best 12-game start in program history … Vint, the Colonials’ leading scorer, provided the assist on the game-winning score to lengthen her program-record point streak to 12 games … Junior Kristen DiCiocco (Niagara Falls, Ontario / Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres) was between the pipes for all 60 minutes to earn her second shutout of the season. DiCiocco, who is seventh nationally in goals against average, became just the third Colonial ever to record multiple shutouts in a single season and has been a large reason why RMU has only allowed nine even-strength goals in its first 13 games … RMU scored a shorthanded goal in the final two minutes of regulation but was unable to complete its comeback attempt Saturday as it fell to Quinnipiac, 3-2, in the Nutmeg Classic Championship to close the week. Imbrogno had a goal and an assist in the setback for her second multi-point game of the week.

SYRACUSE: The Syracuse ice hockey team (6-10-0) split a two-game series with Rensselaer at Houston Field House last weekend, winning 4-3 on Friday and dropping a 2-1 decision on Saturday… Friday’s game saw the Orange score four second period goals from four different skaters, including Holly Carrie-Mattimoe’s team-leading seventh goal of the season … Carrie-Mattimoe is tied for 58th in the nation in goals per game (0.44), and leads the team with seven goals and three assists this season … Kaillie Goodnough scored the eventual game-winner for SU and added an assist … Goodnough has three goals and three assists this season, which is second among SU defensemen and sixth in the CHA … On Saturday, Syracuse fell behind 2-0 in the second period before Jordyn Burns netted her second goal of the season midway through the third period to cut the deficit to one … The Orange’s seven freshmen (Jordyn Burns, Shiann Darkangelo, Nicole Ferrara, Kaillie Goodnough, Casey Hirsch, Julie Knerr and Allie LaCombe) had six points last weekend, and have 42 of SU’s 102 points (41.2%) … Syracuse has won 51% of its faceoffs taken this season (468-of-917), led by Shiann Darkangelo’s 55.3% performance (172-of-311) … This weekend SU returns home to host future CHA rival Lindenwood for two games at Tennity Ice Pavilion.