Offseason

• June 13: Mercyhurst Lakers assistant coach Paul Colontino has left the club to become head coach of the Robert Morris Colonials. He is the third head coach in Colonials history, after the resignation of Nate Handrahan, who left to assume the head coaching position at Ohio State.
• June 16: Head coach Michael Sisti announced the captains for the upcoming season. Senior Pamela Zgoda will serve as team captain. The alternate captains include Kelley Steadman, Bailey Bram and Jess Jones.
• August 5: Former New Hampshire All-American and Patty Kazmaier Award
  Patty Kazmaier Award
  The Patty Kazmaier Award is given to the top woman college ice hockey player in the United States. The award is presented during the women's annual ice hockey championship, the Frozen Four...
  
   finalist, Kelly Paton will serve as a volunteer assistant coach for the upcoming season.
• August 10: Three members of the Lakers are participating in their countries' training camps. Bailey Bram and Christine Bestland are on Canada's National Women's Under-22/Development Team roster. Kelley Steadman
  Kelley Steadman
  Kelley Steadman is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She play also for the Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockeyprogram.-Playing career:...
  
   was invited to the 2011 USA Hockey Women's National Festival.
• August 23: Former Canadian national women's team member Delaney Collins has been hired as an assistant coach for the Mercyhurst women’s team.

Recruiting

Exhibition

• September 17, 2011: Senior Bailey Bram registered a hat trick to go with her three assists, as the Lakers trounced the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's ice hockey
  Laurier Golden Hawks women's ice hockey
  The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's hockey team represented Wilfrid Laurier University in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. The Golden Hawks play their home games at Sunlife Financial Arena and are a a member of the Ontario University Athletics conference....
  
   program by a 10-2 tally. Her sister, Shelby Bram scored one goal while freshman Kristine Grenier also registered a hat trick in the match. Kelley Steadman
  Kelley Steadman
  Kelley Steadman is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She play also for the Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockeyprogram.-Playing career:...
  
   contributed with four assists.
• September 24, 2011: Sophomore Christine Bestland notched five points as the Lakers defeated the Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres of the PWHL by a 6-0 score. The Lakers scored four goals within a five and a half minute time span late in the second period.
• September 25, 2011: Freshman Caroline Luczak notched a goal, while registering three assists as the Lakers defeated the Toronto Jr. Aeros of the PWHL
  Provincial Women's Hockey League
  The Provincial Women's Hockey League is an amateur women's ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada that was founded in 2004. It is considered to be the highest level of young women's amateur ice hockey in Ontario, and is sanctioned by Hockey Canada and the Ontario Women's Hockey Association.-Teams...
  
  .

CWHL Exhibition

News and notes

• In the Lakers season opener on September 30, 2011, Bestland was named the game's First Star in a 4-0 shutout over the nationally ranked Quinnipiac Bobcats. Bailey Bram scored the game winning goal (it was the 61st goal of her career). Goaltender Hillary Pattenden earned her 13th career shutout (and 81st career win) while Bailey Bram scored the game winning goal.
• October 1, 2011: Bailey Bram played in her 100th career game for the Mercyhurst Lakers. Bram would be held pointless as the Lakers would lose the game by a 1-0 tally to Quinnipiac. It was Quinnipiac's first victory over Mercyhurst in twelve regular season matches.
• October 7, 2011: Freshman Kristine Grenier logs her first career NCAA goal in an overtime loss to Minnesota State.
• October 15, 2011: Bailey Bram registers a hat trick as the Lakers blanks the Providence Friars
  Providence Friars women's ice hockey
  The Providence Friars women's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents the Providence College. The Friars are a member of Hockey East...
  
   by a 5-0 tally.
• October 27-28: The series versus the Lindenwood Lady Lions ice hockey
  Lindenwood Lady Lions ice hockey
  The Lindenwood Lady Lions women's ice hockey team represents Lindenwood University located in St. Charles, Missouri. The Lady Lions currently participate in the NCAA Division I competition as of the 2011-12 season with no conference affiliation, making the program one of two Independent NCAA...
  
   program marked the first time that Lindenwood hosted an NCAA Division I opponent in their home arena. Mercyhurst would win the October 28 match by a 7-0 tally, in which Lakers freshman Shelby Bram would score her first career NCAA goal. The October 29 contest saw Mercyhurst emerge as the victor in a 14-0 whitewash. Kelley Steadman
  Kelley Steadman
  Kelley Steadman is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She play also for the Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockeyprogram.-Playing career:...
  
   would score four goals and notch an assist, while Jess Jones would earn a hat trick. The Bram sisters (Shelby and Bailey) each earned two goals.
• November 18-19: In a pair of victories over the Yale Bulldogs, Hillary Pattenden won two more games to give her a career total of 87. The total is four shy of career leader, Jessie Vetter of Wisconsin. In the 9-1 victory on November 18, she stopped 14 of 15 Bulldogs shots. The following day, she stopped 21 of 23 shots in a 6-2 victory. The goal she allowed on November 18 snapped a consecutive scoreless streak of 206:36. Previous to the goal, she had not allowed a goal since the third period of a 5-4 win over the MSU Mavericks (on October 8).
  • November 18-19: Bailey Bram increased her scoring pace by notching five goals to go with five assists in two victories over the Yale Bulldogs. In the 9-1 win on November 18, Bram registered two goals and logged two assists. The following day, she had a hand in all six goals (three goals and three assists) in the Lakers 6-2 win. Bram earned her fifth career hat trick and second of the season. In the two game set versus the Bulldogs, her plus minus rating was a +6, while her six point game on November 19 was the second time in the season that she registered at least six points in a game. Her first was a career-high seven points in a win over the Lindenwood Lady Lions. Statistically, she logged 14 goals and 11 assists in the first 10 games she played of the season.
• For the week of November 20, 2011, Hillary Pattenden earned two more victories. Said victories provided her with 89 career wins for her career. With the wins, the Lakers extended their winning streak to nine contests. Pattenden became two wins shy of tying the NCAA Division I record of 91 career wins, held by Jessie Vetter of the Wisconsin Badgers. In a November 22 triumph versus the St. Lawrence Skating Saints, she stopped 16-of-19 shots. The three goals she allowed were all St. Lawrence power play goals. The following day, she stopped 31-of 32 shots.

Schedule

Awards and honors

• Christine Bestland, CHA Player of the Week (Week of October 10, 2011)
• Chrstine Bestland, College Hockey America Player of the Week (Week of November 28, 2011)
• Bailey Bram, CHA Player of the Week (Week of October 31, 2011)
• Bailey Bram, CHA Player of the Month (Month of October 2011)
• Bailey Bram, CHA Player of the Week (Week of November 21, 2011)
• Shelby Bram, CHA Rookie of the Week (Week of October 31, 2011)
• Shelby Bram, College Hockey America Rookie of the Week (Week of November 28, 2011)
• Molly Byrne, CHA Rookie of the Week (Week of November 21, 2011)
• Hillary Pattenden, CHA Defensive Player of the Week (Week of October 3, 2011)
• Hillary Pattenden, CHA Player of the Month (Month of October 2011)