ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team, in conjunction with the Erie County Convention Center Authority, formally announced on Tuesday afternoon that its originally-scheduled games against The Ohio State University on January 2 and 3, 2015, will be played at the Erie Insurance Arena.

Faceoff on Friday, January 2 is slated for 7:05 p.m. while the game on Saturday, January 3, will begin at 2:35 p.m. with the Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters in town that night for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff against the Windsor Spitfires.

The first annual "Snowtown Throwdown" will be sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings and proceeds from the two-game series will benefit The Warming Center hosted at the Mental Health Association of Northwest Pennsylvania. The official logo of the event will be released shortly.

"We are extremely excited to be hosting this event," said Mercyhurst head coach, Rick Gotkin, who is in his 27th season as the Laker boss and has amassed 476 career victories. "To not only have a nationally-recognizable school like Ohio State come to Erie to play, but to be able to do so at the beautiful Erie Insurance Arena is unbelievable."

"It is really a thrill for us again to be working with Mercyhurst University on major hockey games," said Casey Wells, the Executive Director of the Erie Convention Center Authority. "We had a wonderful experience with the women's hockey national championships a couple of years ago and we are looking forward to working with the men on this showcase event against a major university."

Both teams are receiving votes in the latest USCHO.com Division I men's hockey poll which was released on Monday afternoon. Ohio State, meanwhile, is also receiving votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, also released on Monday. The Lakers were picked to win the Atlantic Hockey Association regular season championship after claiming the regular season title last year for the first time since the league's inception in 2003-04. Mercyhurst's last regular season crown came in the 2002-03 season – its last of three consecutive MAAC Hockey League regular season championships.

Mercyhurst is 2-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in conference play through two weekends of the 2014-15 season. Last weekend, the Lakers split with Hockey East opponent, Merrimack, at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The Lakers split at Air Force to open the season back on November 10 and 11.

The Buckeyes, meanwhile, compete in the Big Ten Hockey League, which is only in its second year of existence. They opened the 2014-15 season with a 5-4 victory against Providence but have since dropped their last three contests. Ohio State returns 19 letterwinners from the 2014 Big Ten Tournament runner-up squad, including nine forwards, seven defensemen, and three goalies.

Mercyhurst is 1-4-0 in five previous meetings against Ohio State, but has never had the opportunity to play the Buckeyes in Erie. Last season, the Lakers were swept in a two-game series in Columbus. Mercyhurst's only victory against Ohio State was a 3-2 win in Columbus on October 24, 2003. Two of the five previous meetings have been decided by one-goal.

The Mercyhurst men's hockey program last played at the then-Erie Civic Center on November 30, 1991 when, still a Division III member, it defeated Wisconsin-Stevens Point by a 6-2 final. Eight nights later, the Lakers played in their new home, the Mercyhurst Ice Center, in front of a standing-room only crowd against Rochester Institute of Technology. The then-Erie Civic Center served as one of four different "homes" for Mercyhurst until the MIC opened in 1991. The Lakers played 32 games at the old Erie Civic Center from when the program started in 1987 to that final game in November of 1991. Mercyhurst went 22-8-2 in those 32 games. The team also played seven games at the JMC Ice Arena and two each at the Meadville Area Recreation Ice Skating Rink and at Steele Hall on the campus of Fredonia State University.

The now-Erie Insurance Arena recently went through a $42 million expansion and renovation project and is the home of three sports teams – the Otters, the NBA D-League's Erie BayHawks, and the Professional Indoor Football League's Erie Explosion. The arena holds more than 6,000 for hockey games and increases to roughly 9,000 patrons for concerts and other events.

Gotkin added, "It should be, and we are confident that it will be, a great event for not just Mercyhurst University and for our men's hockey program, but for the entire Erie community."
 
Gotkin and the Lakers have the luxury of returning 12 of their top scorers from an offense that averaged 3.6 goals per game last season. Senior Matthew Zay, who tied for the team lead with 43 points (17 goals, 26 assists), is coming off an All-AHA First Team year last season. Senior Ryan Misiak (13 goals, 25 assists) and senior Daniel Bahntge (15 goals, 17 assists) are expected to help shoulder the load offensively.

Last Friday against Merrimack, Zay became the 17th player in the Division I era at Mercyhurst to record 100 career points.

The Lakers also return senior goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant, who went 14-0-5 in league play last season and was named the AHA Goaltender of the Year and the AHA Player of the Year. His overall winning percentage of .724 ranked seventh in the country while his .930 overall save percentage was fifth in the nation. He was on the national ballot for the 2014 Hobey Baker Award and was one of 19 finalists for the inaugural Mike Richter Award, given to the nation's best goaltender. Sarjeant was on both the USCHO.com and the Mike Richter Award watch lists at the outset of this season.

Two former Lakers began the season at NHL camps: Daniel O'Donoghue (Arizona) and Nick Jones (San Jose) and are currently playing for those organization's AHL affiliates. Three current Lakers - Misiak, Zay, and senior Nardo Nagtzaam have taken part in NHL Development Camps while attending Mercyhurst. Nagtzaam competed in Washington Capitals camp in the summer of 2012, Misiak with the New Jersey Devils in 2013, and Zay with the Chicago Blackhawks last summer.

Senior Tanner Fritz is Ohio State's leading returning scorer after posting 32 points, tying for the team high with 24 assists, a season ago. He led the Big Ten in points per game a year ago. Senior Nick Oddo had 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) last year, while sophomore Nick Schilkey was among the rookie scoring leaders in the Big Ten with 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points. Sophomore goalies Christian Frey (2.27 gaa, .929 sv%), Matt Tomkins (2.78 gaa, .911 sv%), and Logan Davis (2.21 gaa, .909 sv%) all saw game action as rookies last year.

Five former Buckeyes are on NHL opening-day rosters: Ryan Kesler (Anaheim), RJ Umberger (Philadelphia), Matt Bartkowski (Boston), Nate Guenin (Colorado) and Tyson Strachan (Buffalo). Nine other Buckeyes began the year at NHL camps: John Albert (Winnipeg), Ryan Dzingel (Ottawa), Max McCormick (Ottawa), Curtis Gedig (Calgary), Cal Heeter (Toronto), Chris Crane (San Jose), Dave Steckel (Anaheim), Zac Dalpe (Buffalo), and Rod Pelley (New Jersey).

"We think that this will position Mercyhurst University and the Erie Insurance Arena for great things to come," continued Wells. "Whether it be additional games against major universities – some of the best competition in the land, but perhaps regional tournaments as granted by the NCAA. We are thrilled to showcase our arena and to share it with our friends at Mercyhurst and the entire Erie community."
 
Ticket Pricing (Stay tuned to hurstathletics.com for the start of ticket availability)
$10 for adults (general admission)
$8 Promotional pricing with code (HurstHockey) – more details to follow
$6 Students with Student ID
$6 Children (16 and under) and Senior Citizens
$6 per ticket for groups (10 or more)
$25 for a Family Pack: (2 adults and 2 children)
 
$15 Adult two-day pass
$10 Child/senior citizen two-day pass