ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst College men's hockey team dropped a 5-2 decision to Canisius Tuesday evening in the Atlantic Hockey Association opener for both teams at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Senior Ryan Raven and freshman Taylor Holstrom both scored for the Lakers, who fall to 0-3-1 on the season and 0-1-0 in AHA play.

Mercyhurst and Canisius skated to a 1-1 tie in the first period after turnovers led to scoring opportunities for each team. Mercyhurst got on the board first while on the penalty kill when freshman Nick Jones picked off a pass in the neutral zone and sent it to Raven heading towards Golden Griffin territory. Raven took the feed at the blueline and split two defensemen for a one-on-one with goaltender Dan Morrison, scoring with just 2:18 elapsed in the frame. Canisius countered less than seven minutes later, as Kyle Gibbons stole the puck in front of the Laker net and jammed it past freshman Jordan Tibbett at the 10:42 mark.

Mercyhurst controlled the action in the first period holding a 10-4 advantage in shots while keeping play in Canisius' zone for most of the time.

After the break, though, the Golden Griffins stormed back with a 16-15 edge and took the lead on goals by Matt Zuke and Gibbons just 28 seconds apart.

Staring down the two-goal deficit, the Lakers pulled within a goal early in the third. Holstrom netted his second goal of the season when he knocked in a pass from senior Steve Cameron in the midst of a scrum on the door step with 15:35 to play. Senior captain Scott Pitt earned the second assist on the play, putting the initial shot on goal from the point.

Despite the score, Canisius would turn aside the Lakers with consecutive goals over the next 14 minutes. Eric Rex, a Fairview, Pa., native, made it a 4-2 game at the 8:55 mark, while Scott Moser iced the game on his first goal of the season with under two minutes to play.

Mercyhurst finished the game with a 37-32 advantage in shots and went 1-for-4 on the power play. Tibbett, making his third start of the season, made 27 saves in goal while counterpart Morrison recorded 35 stops. Along with the short-handed score, the Laker penalty kill held Canisius scoreless on six extra-man chances.

The Lakers have the next five days off before returning to action on Sunday, Oct. 24, when they host the United States Under-18 Team in a 7:05 p.m. exhibition matchup at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.