COLLEGE HOCKEY AMERICA WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS FOR GAMES THROUGH MONDAY, January 9, 2012

College Hockey America Players of the Week

Christine Bestland - Mercyhurst

Sophomore, Foward, Brunkild, Manitoba

Bestland had a four-point weekend during the first conference games of the season as Mercyhurst went 1-0-1 at Syracuse to open CHA play. Bestland had a goal and two assists in Friday’s 8-4 victory over the Orange, and then scored the game-tying goal just 1:16 into the second period in Saturday’s 1-1 overtime tie. In the process, Bestland extended her scoring streak to five consecutive games. Both of Bestland’s goals over the weekend came on the power play. She is second on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points, already surpassing the 42 points she scored as a freshman a year ago.

College Hockey America Goaltender of the Week

Kristen DiCiocco - Robert Morris

 Junior, Niagara Falls, Ontario

DiCiocco tallied a career-high 43 saves at Providence last Friday as she helped the Colonials rally and earn a come-from-behind victory in the series opener. She notched an amazing 20 saves during the third period while also holding the Friars scoreless on six power-play chances, including 3:18 of consecutive power-play time in the middle of the third period. With the win, DiCiocco also broke RMU’s single-season record for goalie victories, topping the mark that U.S. Olympian Brianne McLaughlin had initially set atop the charts. DiCiocco posted 23 saves the following afternoon while once again keeping Providence scoreless on the power play as she held them scoreless on 10 power-play chances on the weekend.

College Hockey America Rookie of the Week

Hailey Browne- Mercyhurst

Freshman, Foward, Oakville, Ontario

Browne, who has spent a majority of the season on Mercyhurst’s fourth line, stepped up this weekend at Syracuse, as the Lakers were looking for some offense to replace the nation’s leading scorer - senior Bailey Bram and her freshman sister Shelby Bram. Browne had her first career multi-point and multi-goal game on Friday night in Mercyhurst’s 8-4 win over Syracuse. She entered the weekend with one goal and two assists through the first 18 games of the season. She scored her first goal of the game, and second goal of the season late in the first period, putting Mercyhurst ahead for good. She then tacked on her second goal of the game late in the second period, which also proved to be her first career game-winning goal. She had four shots on goal and was a +1 for the weekend and now has three goals and two assists on the season.

College Hockey America Honor Roll

Kallie Billadeau, Syracuse (Sophomore, Goaltender, Minnetonka, Minn.)-Sophomore goaltender Kallie Billadeau played both games for the Orange this weekend, including one start against No. 5 Mercyhurst on Saturday … On Friday, she made 23 saves during the final two periods in relief of Jenesica Drinkwater … In Saturday’s game against the Lakers, she made 33 saves, including 26 straight to end the game and earn a point in conference play … Billadeau is 4-6-2 this season for Syracuse posting a 3.09 goals against average (fourth in the conference and 35th in the nation) and .897 save percentage (fourth in the conference and 32nd in the nation) … She also has 323 saves this season, which is third in the CHA.

Shiann Darkangelo, Syracuse (Freshmen, Foward, Brighton, Mich.)- Freshman center Shiann Darkangelo had one goal and one assist against No. 5 Mercyhurst last weekend, helping the Orange earn one point in conference play … In Friday’s game, she netted her second goal of the season five minutes into the game that tied the score at one … She would add her team-leading ninth assist of the season late in the second period on Jacquie Greco’s power play tally … Darkangelo was also a force in the faceoff circle throughout the weekend, winning 60.5% of her draws (23-of-38) … Darkangelo has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) for SU this season, which leads all Orange rookies … She is 41st in the nation among rookie scorers (0.48 points per game). 

Thea Imbrogno, Robert Morris (Sophomore, Foward, Etobicoke, Ontario)-Imbrogno tallied her sixth multi-point game of the season last Friday to help the Colonials to a come-from-behind victory at Providence to open the 2012 calendar year. She scored RMU’s opening goal in the middle of the second period and then provided the primary assist on the game-winning goal which occurred with fewer than three minutes to play in regulation. In the process, Imbrogno became the seventh Colonial to surpass the 50-point plateau for her career and just the eighth to hit the 20-goal mark as Robert Morris simultaneously remained undefeated on the road and broke the program record for road wins in a single season. 

Lisa Mullan, Syracuse (Senior, Foward, Victoria, British Columbia)- Senior winger Lisa Mullan scored Syracuse’s lone goal against No. 5 Mercyhurst on Saturday to earn the Orange one point in conference play, and added an assist in the first game of the weekend set on Friday … Her assist on Friday came with the Orange on the power play late in the second period as teammate Jacquie Greco netted a score from the blue line that made it a two-goal game … On Saturday, Mullan gave SU a 1-0 first period lead during four-on-four play as she received a pass from Kaillie Goodnough, faked Mercyhurst goaltender Hillary Pattenden into committing to the left side of the net before Mullan quickly drew the puck to her backhand and shot it into the right side of the cage … Mullan has two goals and two assists in 12 games played after missing 11 games due to injury. 

Hillary Pattenden, Mercyhurst (Senior, Goaltender, Surrey, British Columbia)-Pattenden went 1-0-1, as the Lakers took three of four points at Syracuse to open up conference play for Mercyhurst. Pattenden picked up her 13th win of the season and her 93rd career victory on Friday night after stopping 19-of-23 Syracuse shots. She then stopped 14-of-15 in Saturday’s 1-1 overtime tie. All told, Pattenden stopped 33-of-38 (.868 save percentage) and had a 2.40 goals against average as Mercyhurst extended its unbeaten streak to five consecutive games.

Rebecca Vint, Robert Morris (Freshmen, Foward, Caledon, Ontario)- Vint hammered home a rebound with just 2:26 remaining in regulation to break a tie and lift Robert Morris to a 3-2 road victory against Providence last Friday. Vint’s game-winning goal was her team-leading third of the season and extended her current point streak to four games. She also moved into sole possession of third place on the Colonials’ single-season goals list with 16 while simultaneously helping RMU break the program record for road wins in a single season and remain undefeated on the road in 2011-12. Vint currently ranks fourth nationally among rookies, averaging 1.47 points per game.

College Hockey America Team Notes

MERCYHURST: Mercyhurst opened the 2012 portion of the regular season by taking three of a possible four points at Syracuse to begin conference play. The Lakers won 8-4 on Friday night and then played to a 1-1 overtime tie on Saturday afternoon. Mercyhurst had entered the weekend unblemished in the series history with Syracuse (14-0-0). The Lakers played the weekend without the services of the nation’s leading scorer, senior Bailey Bram and her freshman sister Shelby Bram, who were in Germany with the Canadian National Women’s Under-22 Team at the 2012 Meco Cup. Mercyhurst got the second career hat trick from senior Kelley Steadman in Friday’s victory. She finished with a four-point night. Meanwhile, freshman Hailey Browne, who has spent a majority of her season on Mercyhurst’s fourth line, had two goals including the game-winner for her first career multi-goal and multi-point game. She entered with a goal and two assists in the first 18 games of the season. Sophomore Christine Bestland had a goal and two assists, while freshman Molly Byrne and senior Jess Jones had three assists apiece. Senior Hillary Pattenden recorded her 13th win of the season and 93rd of her career on Friday. On Saturday, Mercyhurst had its second-lowest offensive output of the season in a 1-1 tie with Syracuse. The Lakers were shutout at home against Quinnipiac in the second regular season game of the season back on October 1. Bestland had the lone goal of the game on Saturday, extending her scoring streak to five straight games. Mercyhurst entered Saturday with 24 consecutive regular season wins in conference play, but saw that streak come to an end. The last blemish in a College Hockey America game for the Lakers came on January 30, 2010, when Mercyhurst lost 2-1 to Niagara. Despite the win streak coming to a close, the conference unbeaten streak remains intact at 25 straight contests, which is still well short of the longest Mercyhurst conference unbeaten streak. The Lakers went 36-0-4 from March 6, 2004 to February 8, 2008. Bailey Bram continues to lead the team with 21 goals and 27 assists for 48 points. Bestland is second with 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points, already surpassing the 42 points she scored as a freshman a year ago. Mercyhurst has 11 players who have reached double figures in points this season - Bailey Bram (48), Bestland (43), Jess Jones (32), Steadman (30), Molly Byne (22), Shelby Bram (17), Lauren Jones (15), Jill Szandzik (14), Christie Cicero (12), Pam Zgoda (11), and Vaila Higson (10). Steadman has reached a career-high in goals with 19 and points with 30, surpassing last year’s totals of 17 goals and 29 points. Lauren Jones scored her career-best ninth goal of the season on Friday and has tied her career-high with 15 points this season. The Lakers will play a home-and-home series with Niagara next Friday and Saturday. The two teams will be in Erie on Friday night and then will convene in Niagara Falls on Saturday afternoon.

NIAGARA:  Niagara women’s hockey team is  7-9-5, 0-0-0 in CHA play…The Purple Eagles are off until Jan. 13, when they take on Mercyhurst in a home-and-home series, beginning in Erie, Pa. at 7 p.m…The Purple Eagles return home on Jan. 14 to take on Mercyhurst in a 2 pm matinee before the men’s hockey team takes on Army later that evening…Sophomore forward Jessica Hitchcock had a three-game point scoring streak snapped during Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Clarkson…At the end of the 2011 portion of the schedule, Hitchcock leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 16 points…Kelsey Welch, Jenna Hendrikx and Kaleigh Chippy are all tied for the team’s lead in assists with seven…Three out of Niagara’s next four games will be on the road, as they take on Mercyhurst in a home-and-home series and then head to Syracuse for a pair of games…Niagara will be on the road for six of its remaining 12 regular season contests, with just three games at Dwyer Arena between Dec. 12 and Feb. 3…The final 12 games of the season for Niagara are all against CHA foes. 

ROBERT MORRIS: Freshman Rebecca Vint (Caledon, Ontario / Brampton Junior Thunder) hammered home a rebound with just 2:26 remaining in regulation to break a tie and lift the Robert Morris to a 3-2 road victory against Providence Friday … The win was the Colonials’ 12th of the season, which ties the previous program record with 12 regular-season games remaining. RMU also remained undefeated on the road this season with that win as it improved to 7-0-1 in such contests, establishing a new school record for road wins in a season in the process … Vint’s game-winning goal was her team-leading third of the season and extended her current point streak to four games. She also moved into sole possession of third place on the Colonials’ single-season goals list with 16 … Junior Kristen DiCiocco (Niagara Falls, Ontario / Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres) was a key factor in the outcome as she posted a career-high 43 saves, including an amazing 20 in the third period alone. With the win, DiCiocco also broke RMU’s single-season record for goalie victories, topping the mark that U.S. Olympian Brianne McLaughlin had initially set atop the charts. DiCiocco also aided the Colonial penalty-kill corps to a perfect 6-for-6 mark when the Friars skated on the power play … Sophomore Thea Imbrogno (Etobicoke, Ontario / Mississauga Jr. Chiefs) tallied her sixth multi-point game of the campaign as she scored Robert Morris’ opening goal to even the game and then eventually added the primary assist on Vint’s winning score … A day after the Colonials took down Providence in the final 10 minutes of regulation, the Friars returned the favor to RMU Saturday as the hosts scored a late special-teams goal and added an empty-netter for a 3-1 victory … Despite the defeat, Saturday’s game marked the sixth-consecutive contest in which Robert Morris has rallied from a deficit to tie the score at some point during the game … Junior Kelsey Thomas (Hamilton, Ontario / Hamilton Hawks) tallied Robert Morris’ score to become the ninth Colonial in program history to hit the 20-goal figure.

SYRACUSE: The Syracuse ice hockey team (8-13-2, 0-2-2 CHA) went 0-1-1 against No. 5 Mercyhurst last weekend, dropping an 8-4 decision on Friday before earning its first point against the Lakers in program history with a 1-1 tie on Saturday … Syracuse received goals from five different scorers during the weekend … On Friday, the Orange trailed 4-2 after the first period before the Lakers continued their offensive explosion during the final 40 minutes … Shiann Darkangelo had one goal and one assist for the Orange, while Kallie Billadeau made 23 saves in relief of Jenesica Drinkwater (12 saves) … Darkangelo was also a force in the faceoff circle throughout the weekend, winning 60.5% of her draws (23-of-38) … Darkangelo has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) for SU this season, which leads all Orange rookies … She is 41st in the nation among rookie scorers (0.48 points per game) … Saturday saw the Orange take a 1-0 lead with a goal from Lisa Mullan with 2:56 left in the first period … Billadeau made 33 saves for SU, including 26 straight to end the game and preserve the draw … Billadeau is 4-6-2 this season for Syracuse posting a 3.09 goals against average (fourth in the conference and 35th in the nation) and .897 save percentage (fourth in the conference and 32nd in the nation) … She also has 323 saves this season, which is third in the CHA … Holly Carrie-Mattimoe is tied for 60th in the nation in goals per game (0.39), and is tied for the team lead with 14 points (nine goals, five assists) … She also has four power play goals this season, which is tied for 19th in the nation and sixth in the CHA ... The Orange’s seven freshmen (Jordyn Burns, Darkangelo, Nicole Ferrara, Kaillie Goodnough, Casey Hirsch, Julie Knerr and Allie LaCombe) have 63 of SU’s 143 points (44.1%) … Syracuse has won 52% of its faceoffs taken this season (696-of-1331), led by Darkangelo’s 57% performance (242-of-422) … SU will be off this weekend before returning to the ice on January 17 when the Orange hosts No. 3 Cornell at 7:00 p.m. from Tennity Ice Pavilion.