Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst College men's hockey team registered its ninth six-goal outing of the season Friday evening, as the third-seeded Lakers defeated No. 6 Army, 6-2, in the opening game of the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Playing in front of more than 1,200 fans, the Lakers increased their record to 20-14-3, hitting the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2005-06.

Junior Matt Fennell scored two goals and added an assist and sophomore Scott Pitt registered four helpers. Senior Brett Robinson also tallied three points, knocking home a goal and dishing out two assists.

Mercyhurst jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first period. Fennell put the home team up 1-0 with his third goal of the season on the power-play at 13:46 while senior Matt Pierce made it 2-0 with his 23rd less than four minutes later at 17:01. Army cut the deficit in half to end frame as Bryant Skarda found the back of the net with just 38 seconds remaining.

The Lakers regained their two-goal cushion midway through second period. Freshman Phil Ginand netted the eventual game-winner when he deflected in sophomore Jeff Terminesi shot on the power-play at 10:04. It was his fourth game-winning marker and 15th overall of the season.

Mercyhurst capped off the game with three scores in the third. Sophomore Dan Bremner and Robinson pushed the score to 5-1 with back-to-back goals at 1:52 and 2:29. After a tally from Owen Meyer at 4:51, Fennell closed out the game with his second on the power-play at 7:01.

The Lakers outshot the Black Knights 41-30 and converted 3-for-5 on the power-play.

Sophomore Ryan Zapolski improved his record to 16-4-3 with 28 saves.

Both teams return to action tomorrow night for game two of the series at 7:35 p.m. at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. With a win, the Lakers will advance to play in the AHA Semifinals in Rochester, N.Y.