ERIE, Pa. (Interstat) — Mariia Polozkova scored two goals and added an assist, and Mercyhurst defeated Syracuse 5-2 on Saturday at Mercyhurst Ice Center in a women’s NCAA Division I hockey game.

Mercyhurst (3-3) salvaged a split of the two-game series after falling 3-1 in the opener a day earlier. Syracuse (3-1) won that game and opened the season with three straight victories, including a 3-0 shutout and a 4-1 win over Stonehill.

The Lakers had scored just seven goals in their first five games, getting shut out twice on a season-opening trip to Minnesota Duluth before sweeping RPI by 3-1 and 3-0 scores. Their five goals Saturday were a season high, and the win prevented Syracuse from sweeping the weekend series.

Polozkova, a 5-foot-8 right wing from Moscow, Russia, recorded a game-high six shots on goal after managing a combined seven shots over her first three games. Berlin Lolacher finished with a goal and an assist, and Halle Duchene collected three assists to pace a Mercyhurst offense that produced its highest output of the season.

Zoe Cramer opened the scoring 6:02 into the first period, with Duchene and Polozkova assisting. Avery Norman went off for tripping at 14:03, and the period ended with simultaneous minor penalties to Syracuse’s Jessica Cheung, for embellishment, and Mercyhurst’s Julia Perjus, for tripping. The Lakers led 1-0 after the first period.

Perjus doubled the lead 2:37 into the second period. Jackson Kinsler answered for the Orange at 5:23, converting assists from Emma Gnade and Rylee McLeod to trim the deficit to 2-1.

Polozkova restored the two-goal cushion at 9:53 of the second, with Maja Alenius and Lolacher assisting. She scored again as the period expired, with Duchene and Sophie Erlam earning assists, sending Mercyhurst into the third period with a 4-1 lead.

Kinsler scored her second of the game at 2:27 of the third period, with Gnade and Rachel Walsh assisting, pulling Syracuse within 4-2. The Orange did not score again, and Lolacher sealed the win with 1:07 remaining by finishing a Duchene pass.

Mercyhurst never trailed after scoring first, and a three-goal second period turned a one-goal game into a 4-1 lead. The Lakers outscored Syracuse 3-1 in the middle frame and matched the Orange 1-1 in the third.

Magdalena Luggin stopped 20 of 22 shots to earn the win in goal for Mercyhurst. Kinsler finished with two goals, four shots and a hit, and Gnade recorded two assists and two shots. Syracuse put 22 shots on goal.

Cramer added a goal and two shots for the Lakers, Alenius had an assist and two shots, Erlam posted an assist, three shots and two penalty minutes, and Perjus recorded a goal, one shot and four penalty minutes. Lolacher also put four shots on goal.

Kinsler, a 5-foot-7 right wing, accounted for both Syracuse goals. Gnade, a 5-foot-3 center, set up both of them, and McLeod and Walsh each collected an assist.

The second period featured a flurry of penalties, with Norman called for roughing at 2:22, Broderick for bodychecking at 6:43, Erlam for hooking at 7:19, Wiegand for tripping at 7:38, Perjus for unsportsmanlike conduct at 8:54, Costabile for illegal equipment at 13:48 and Fiala for hooking at 17:51.

The teams combined for 13 minor penalties and 26 penalty minutes. Mercyhurst was whistled seven times and Syracuse six. In the third period, Mercyhurst’s Kate Donegan was called for tripping and Sofia Nuutinen for interference, while Syracuse’s Jordan Blouin received a tripping minor.

Attendance at Mercyhurst Ice Center was 410. Syracuse returns home for a series against Penn State, while Mercyhurst’s next games are at Lindenwood.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a 4-1 Mercyhurst victory, and its ELO system gave the Lakers a 70.7 percent probability of winning.