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Sports
Women’s hockey regular season ends
By Sydney Dietz
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Over the weekend, the Women’s hockey team played their last two games of the season.
Both games were played against Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. This was the third time the Lady Lakers fought against the Lindenwood Lions this season.
The Lakers were able to win the first game, but unfortunately the Lions pulled out a win for the second. The first game was played on Friday, Feb. 18, at 6 p.m. The Lakers started the scoring early with sophomore forward Sara Boucher scoring the first goal.
Not long after, freshman forward Vanessa Upton scored her 18th goal of the season. Both goals were scored within the first four minutes of the game.
Boucher scored her second goal of the night eight minutes after her first goal. This goal resulted in a score of 3-0, with the Lakers in the lead.
The scoring in the first period continued with graduate student forward Kristy Pidgeon obtaining her 11th goal of the season.
The score was 4-0 going into the second period. The Lakers out shot the Lions with shots on goal being 18-13.
Despite the Lakers momentum going into the second period, Lindenwood got their first goal of the night. The Lakers were unable to score any points in the second period.
However, the scoring drought was over in the third period.
Boucher scored her third goal of the night at the 4:18 mark, resulting in a hat trick for Boucher and a score of 5-1.
“I was really excited scoring that third goal,” Boucher said. “It’s always an amazing feeling scoring a hat trick, especially in big games. My teammates really helped make that happen.”
The final goal of the night was scored by junior defenseman Jordan Morlock.
The final score of the game was 6-2, with Mercyhurst getting the win. Junior goaltender Jenna Silvonen made 26 saves out of 28 shots.
The second, and last game of the 2021-22 season was played on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 12:10 p.m.
The first period ended with a score of 0-0. Silvonen was in net, and saved all four shots taken by the Lions.
In the second period, co-captain graduate student Alexa Vasko scored the first goal of the game.
Only one minute later, Bouchar scored her fourth goal of the weekend resulting in a 2-0 score in favor of Mercyhurst.
This goal gave Bouchar 19 goal points, tying freshman forward Vanessa Upton.
The Lions started their scoring streak at the 14:33 mark in the second period. They scored three goals making the score 2-3 at the end of the second period.
The Lions scored one more goal in the third period, and ended up with the lead as the final buzzer sounded. The final score of the game was 4-3 in Lindenwood’s favor.
Although the regular season is over for the Women’s hockey team, they will still continue to play hockey. They will compete in the College Hockey America Championship.
The Lady Lakers will be traveling to Syracuse, New York, for the annual CHA Postseason Tournament. The Lakers have a Bye in the first round. “I’m proud of the success we have had so far this season, but are not done yet. We have came along way since the beginning of the year and I can’t wait for what we will bring this weekend at the CHA championship,” said Boucher.
When asked what the team will do to prepare for the first CHA game Boucher said, “We’ve been doing a lot of things right as a team over the course of the season. In preparation we are going to continue to build on these things to gain momentum going into this weekend. Personally, I’m going to make sure I sleep lots and stay hydrated over the week so I can preform my best.”
The Lakers will be the third seed and will play against Penn State in the semifinals on Friday, Feb. 25, at 4 p.m.
Hurst Athletics photo
Sophomore defenseman Jersey Phillips looking for the puck in a game against Lindenwood University.
Olympian Erin Johnson makes history
By Bella Lee
Staff writer
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics started on Friday, Feb. 4, and just ended on Sunday, Feb. 20.
This year’s Winter Olympics saw many triumphs, from Shaun White competing at his fifth and final Olympics to Ireen Wüst becoming the most decorated speed skater of all time. However, one other speed skater was also able to make history, and that was Erin Jackson.
The last time that the USA won a gold medal in the women’s 500-meter speed skating race was way back in 1994.
Jackson, however, was able to claim victory with a run of only 37.04 seconds.
This made her not only the first American woman to win speed skating gold in nearly 20 years, but the first Black woman to ever do it for Team USA.
Shockingly, Jackson, who made her Olympic debut in Pyeongchang in 2018, almost missed her chance to make it to the Olympics this year.
During the trials, she stumbled, putting her in jeopardy for missing the competition. However, her savior came in the form of Brittany Bowe, who sacrificed her spot on the Olympic team so that Jackson could have her chance at chasing Olympic gold.
Bowe called it, “the right thing to do.”
“Just for her to do something like this for me, it’s amazing,” Jackson stated. “I’m just incredibly grateful. I’m really humbled, and she’s just an amazing person.”
Jackson hails from Ocala, Florida, dubbed the “Horse Riding Capital of the World” and pretty much the last place you would expect a speed skater to come from.
Jackson did not even make her start with speed skating, surprisingly; she used to be a world-renowned incline skater who had won 12 world championship medals and 47 national titles. In fact, her first time stepping onto the ice was just months before the Pyeongchang Olympics were slated to begin. Jackson qualified for the Pyeongchang Olympics after just four months of rigorous training.
“I lived and trained in Salt Lake City, which is the fastest ice in the world, so realistically if you’re not going to get the time in Salt Lake City, you’re not going to get it in Milwaukee, which is where we had the Olympic trials,” said Jackson.
With her appearance in Pyeongchang, Jackson also became the first Black woman to make the USA speed skating team.
While she finished 24th in the Olympics four years ago, she was able to quickly rise through the ranks and take gold this year.
Before Jackson, the speed skater making headlines was Shani Davis, who at the 2006 Turin Olympics became the first Black athlete to win any individual gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
It is almost with total certainty that he is very proud of the history that Jackson made at the Beijing Olympics.
The USA ought to be proud of her capability that she will most certainly carry in the future Olympics.
LET’S GO, LAKERS!
Feb. 27, West Chester, PA @ 12 p.m.: Women’s Lacrosse vs West Chester
Men’s lacrosse wins first home game
By Zach Dumais Opinion editor
The Mercyhurst University men’s lacrosse team took on the Lewis University Flyers on Monday, Feb. 21.
On a beautiful day for lacrosse, the Lakers had a dominant showing. It seemed as if very little could go wrong for Mercyhurst.
The final score ended up being 17-5 in Mercyhurst’s favor. Mercyhurst and Lewis University have a short matchup history as the two have only played each other twice.
Mercyhurst first played Lewis University on Feb. 15, 2020, and won 10-2.
The Lakers are now on a 2-game win streak against Lewis with their dominating win last week.
The Lakers have scored an astonishing 27 goals against Lewis in their two matchups. The matchup on Feb. 21 was held at Saxon Stadium at 2 p.m. The game started out well for Mercyhurst and they never looked back. Junior Myles Hamm had the game’s first goal which took him less than a minute into the game to score.
Junior Jonathan Scherer battling Lewis University at a home game played on Feb. 21.
Hurst Athletics photo
The Lakers would exit the first quarter, leading 3-2 after sophomore Ethan Landymore scored two more goals for Mercyhurst.
Mercyhurst played extremely well in the second quarter, holding the Lewis University Flyers scoreless.
Junior Brett Olney, the goalkeeper, led this defensive effort as he ended up with 16 saves out of 21 shots on goal.
The score going into the half was 7-2 for the Lakers. The Lakers only continued to get stronger throughout the game. Mercyhurst ended up scoring eight unanswered goals with the first four goals in the third quarter being added to the Lakers total. Myle Hamm scored two of these four goals and the score in the third would end up being 11-2. Hamm scored another two goals during the fourth quarter and the score ended up being a 17-5 total.
The Lakers played great as a team, but individual players naturally shined also.
Bryce Johnson led the team with five assists. Ethan Landymore had a team-high six goals along with an assist. Hamm finished the game with five goals, while sophomore Luke Ingianni had two goals.
Sophomore Braden McCard, senior Todd Redman, junior Bryce Johnson and senior Jacob Emerson all contributed to the effort with one goal each.
Mercyhurst dominated the Flyers on faceoffs, winning 21 of them while the Flyers only won 4.
Mercyhurst also controlled the game offensively with their sheer number of shots.
Mercyhurst had 52 shots compared to Lewis University’s 33 which contributed to their win. The win is very exciting for the Lakers as the Lewis University Flyers were ranked No. 17.
The next matchup for the Lakers is a highly anticipated semifinal rematch against the highly ranked Le Moyne Dolphins. The game will be held at a neutral site at 3 p.m. on Feb. 26.
Mercyhurst has never beaten the Le Moyne Dolphins in their four-game matchup history and lost 9-11 in the semifinal matchup last year. Their first matchup was in 2009 and they have only played each other on rare occasions.
The Lakers certainly hope to break this streak and get revenge in the 26th matchup.
Hurst basketball brings home a win against Edinboro
By Sydney Dietz Sports editor
It was a good weekend for Mercyhurst basketball, with both the Men’s and Women’s team bringing home a win.
The Women’s basketball team played on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 5:30 p.m. with the Men’s basketball team following at 7:30 p.m. The last time the Women’s basketball team faced Edinboro on Jan. 19, the game went into two overtimes. However, that was not the case for this game and the Lakers carried out a win with a final score of 76-66. The Edinboro Fighting Scots took the lead within the first ten minutes of the game and were ahead 21-15.
The Lakers started to make a comeback in the second quarter of the game. At 5:23, redshirt junior Julia Buchman had a layup tying the game with a score of 26-26. The Lakers then took the lead due to a three-pointer from redshirt freshman Grace Clary. Junior Jayde Boyd made a three-point shot giving the Lakers a lead of 32-28 at the end of the second quarter.
In the third quarter, redshirt freshman Grace Centrulla, Boyd and redshirt senior Emily Shopene all combined for 20 points. The Fighting Scots could only put up 19 points.
The score at the end of the third quarter was 51-48 in favor of the Lakers.
Mercyhurst Junior Jayde Boyd plays hard against the Edinboro Fighting Scots on Feb. 19.
Hurst Athletics photo
Edinboro took the lead early in the fourth quarter; however, the Lakers made a comeback with a score of 61-58. In the last few minutes of the game, the Lakers made seven free throws and Edinboro turned to a foul game in the final minute. The Lakers managed to pull out the victory with a final score of 76-66.
Their next game will be played on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 1 p.m. against Slippery Rock. The Men’s basketball team took the Owen McCormick Court right after the Women’s team celebrated their victory.
The Men’s basketball team had won all four games played against Edinboro earlier this season, and this game was no exception. The Lakers once again took the win with a resulting score of 91-63. During the beginning of the game, both teams were tied up. However, the Lakers took the lead at 15:44 due to a three pointer shot made by senior MiyKah McIntosh.
Mercyhurst had a 12 point run that resulted in a score of 17-9, in favor of the Lakers. The Lakers kept the lead, and the score at the end of the first half was 42-31. The Mercyhurst team maintained their lead during the third quarter.
Redshirt sophomore Jeff Planutis and freshman Pipeloluwa Ajayi both had breathtaking dunks. In the final minute of the game, Mercyhurst was up by 26, but that changed when graduate student Marcin Wiszomirski shot the three-pointer to top the final score of the game to 91-63. The Men’s basketball team will face Slippery Rock at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, with another back to back match after the Women’s basketball game.
