Jan. 11, 2008

Stats

Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst junior goaltender Matt Lundin stopped 29 Army shots for his first shutout in a Mercyhurst uniform, fourth in his career, as the Lakers scored three times in the third period to defeat the Black Knights, 3-0, Friday evening at the MIC. With the win, Mercyhurst and Army are tied with 14 conference points apiece and snapped Army's three-game winning streak against the 'hurst. The Lakers improved to 6-13-2 overall (6-5-2 Atlantic Hockey), while Army dropped its third-consecutive contest and fell to 6-10-3 and 6-5-2, respectively.

After a scoreless first period in which Mercyhurst was outshot 11-2, the Lakers fired back in the middle stanza, but could not solve Army freshman Jay Clark. Matt Lundin saved the day for the Lakers, for the time being at least, as he stopped a 2-on-1 break for Army late in the period, then, stopped Cody Omilusik on a breakaway with seconds left in the period to keep the game scoreless.

Mercyhurst finally got on the board with a wicked one-timer by Brett Robinson that hit the inside left post, assisted by Ben Cottreau and Bobby Phillips. It was Cottreau's sixth-straight game that he has recorded a point. Thirty-two seconds later, Matt Pierce gave the hosts a 2-0 lead when he shot the puck at Clark, got his own rebound, then, behind the goal line, shot the puck which went off of Clark's back and into the goal.

Freshman Steve Cameron gave Mercyhurst some breathing room at the 17:37 mark as his slap shot went past Clark's glove hand and into the net.

The win was yet another against Army in the Ice Center, where MC owns a 10-1 record against the Black Knights in the friendly confines of the MIC. The win not only snapped a two-game losing streak, but also snapped Army's three-game winning streak in the all-time series. Mercyhurst continues to lead the all-time series 15-7.

It had appeared that Army drew first blood in the first period, but the net came off its moorings seconds before the puck crossed the goal line.

Army outshot Mercyhurst 29-22. Both teams struggled on the power play as Army was 0-for-7 while Mercyhurst was 1-for-4.

The shutout was the first for Mercyhurst since a 4-0 blanking at home against Army on Feb. 14, 2005.

Lundin's last shutout came when the Maine Black Bears defeated UMass-Lowell, 4-0 on Jan. 6, 2006.

Before the game, sophomore defenseman Matt Fennell was honored by Atlantic Hockey commissioner Bob DeGregorio as he was named the AHA Scholar Athlete of the Year. Fennell had a perfect 4.0 GPA in biology in the fall term.

Rick Gotkin, Matt Fennell and Bob DeGregorio

The teams will conclude the weekend series tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m.