Sisti earns 300th career coaching win as Mercyhurst beats Brown 12-0

By ALEX SIBLEY­­
Asibley@Eriereader.com

Aside from winning game after game in his 12 years as coach of the Mercyhurst women's hockey team, Mike Sisti apparently can do another thing very well – keep a secret.
After the Lakers' 12-0 win over Brown University at the Tullio Arena Saturday afternoon, not a single skater from Mercyhurst knew that with the win Sisti earned his 300^th career victory­, the second fastest coach among women's Division-I hockey coaches to accomplish that milestone.
"He likes to keep those things to himself, he's pretty modest," said forward Bailey Bram, who finished the rout with two goals and four assists. "Not a lot of coaches have done that, so it's awesome for coach."
Bram, along with Meghan Agosta (four assists), Vicki Bendus (three goals, one assist) and Lauren Jones (two goals) made Sisti's record-setting victory about as anticlimactic as can be, as Brown had just 11 shots on goal, none of which were threatening.
"We had all four lines contributing today," Bendus said. "Our forecheck was really great. It was just nice to get him that (win.)"
After posting a 6-0 victory the afternoon before against Brown, the Lakers (18-4-0) wasted little time putting the Bears (2-14-3) into an early hole in the first period.
Defenseman Cassea Schols blasted a shot from just inside the blue line to start an offensive barrage that was followed by goals from Bendus and Lauren Jones to give the Lakers a 3-0 lead.
"Our only focus today was to just play well and keep getting better," said Sisti, who has been the only coach in the programs history.
Christine Bestland and Bram would extend the Mercyhurst lead in the second as they both recorded goals, making it a 6-0 advantage before the start of a wild third period.
The Lakers scored five goals in an eight minute span in the final 20 minutes to put the finishing touches on a weekend that saw the squad dominate the Bears from start to finish in each of the six periods played. In Friday's 6-0 win, the top line of Christie Cicero, Kelley Steadman and Agosta combined to register 10 points.
On Saturday, the second line flexed its muscle.
Bram, Bendus and Bestland combined for 14 points and at times made it look easy against a young Bears defense, which allowed 56 shots in the game. In the two games, Mercyhurst fired 114 pucks in the direction of three different Brown goaltenders.
When the dust finally settled in Saturday's shellacking, 12 different Lakers recorded a point, and all but two forwards found the scoresheet.
Saturday's game set a new milestone in the 12-year-old program – the 12 goals was the most against a D-1 opponent and fell one shy of the program record for most goals in a game, which came in a 13-0 win against Wisconsin Superior in 1999.
Lost in the offensive barrage this weekend has been the solid play of the Lakers' defensive unit. During this four-game win streak, Mercyhurst has held its opponent to just two goals and the goaltenders haven't allowed a puck to find the back of the net in the last 191:24. Additionally, the defense has surrendered just 59 shots, while the offense has generated 197 shots.
But regardless of the performance from the players, this game belongs to Sisti for etching his name in the rare 300 win club.
"He's a great coach," Bram said. "He's taught us so much. I'm happy for him, he for sure deserves it."

 

~~Alex Sibley covers sports for the Erie Reader, you can contact him at Asibley@Eriereader.com, or you can follow him in Twitter @ErieReaderSport