Springfield, Mass. – Senior Matt Pierce scored three goals and the Mercyhurst College men's hockey team rolled to its fifth straight win with a 6-3 victory over Atlantic Hockey foe American International Friday evening in Springfield, Mass. With the win, the Lakers improve to 6-8-1 on the season and 4-2-1 in conference play.

Along with Pierce and his first career hat-trick, four other Lakers marked multi-point performances. Sophomore Mike Gurtler chipped in a goal and an assist for two points while sophomores Dan Bremner and Scott Pitt and junior Cullen Eddy added two helpers apiece.

Both teams traded goals in the first period to take a 2-2 score into break. Sophomore Brandon Coccimiglio netted his third goal of the season at the 11:01 mark to the tie the game at 1-1, while Pierce added his first of the night at 19:45 to clear the slate again.

AIC held a 17-10 edge in shots in the period but was limited to just the two goals thanks to a 15-save performance from sophomore Ryan Zapolski. Zapolski finished the night with 33 saves, stopping six in the second and 12 in the third. Counterpart Ramirez made 20 saves through 56:41.

Mercyhurst took command in the middle stanza, notching three straight scores to take a 5-2 advantage. Gurtler gave the Lakers their first lead of the game when he beat Dan Ramirez just 15 seconds into the period. Pierce followed suit with his second marker nearing the midway point on a short-handed opportunity while freshman Phil Ginand added a power-play goal at 17:19.

Pierce closed out the scoring in the third period, completing his hat-trick with under six minutes to play and wiping away a goal by Tom Mele that brought the Yellow Jackets within two earlier in the frame.

American International outshot the Lakers, 36-27, for the game. Mercyhurst saw its special teams excel in the contest, connecting twice on the power-play and holding AIC scoreless on three extra-man chances.

Mercyhurst returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 6 when the Lakers take on the Yellow Jackets in game two of the series at 7:05 p.m.