BUFFALO, N.Y. - Freshman Grant Blakey and junior Mike Gurtler recorded two points apiece as the Mercyhurst College men's hockey team snapped a two-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over Atlantic Hockey foe Canisius Friday evening in Buffalo, N.Y. 

The Lakers improve to 13-16-2 on the season and 13-8-2 in AHA play, while Canisius falls to 13-12-4 overall and 11-9-3 in league action. More importantly, Mercyhurst now sits three points ahead of Canisius in the league standings.

Blakey and Gurtler scored back-to-back just four minutes and 47 seconds apart to help the Lakers overcome a pesky Canisius squad that held a 13-7 advantage in shots in the first period and 40-31 for the game.

Blakey got the Lakers going on an unassisted play late in the first period. On the penalty kill, Blakey knocked the puck away from a defenseman at the blueline and chased it down ice into Canisius territory, where he regained control of it and skated in one-on-one for the score with 2:52 remaining. It was his seventh goal of the season and moved his team-leading point-streak to four games. 

After the intermission, Mercyhurst expanded its lead to 2-0 when Gurtler took a pass from sophomore Derek Elliott and buried it past Canisius netminder Andrew Lowen with 1:55 elapsed off the clock. Blakey picked up the second assist on the play.

Canisius stifled the momentum shortly after, as Cory Conacher snuck a shot past the skate of junior Ryan Zapolski on a 5-on-3  power play at 7:07. 

Zapolski finished the game with 39 saves and helped the Lakers hold Canisius to a 1-for-5 mark on the power play.

Mercyhurst restored its two-goal advantage and closed out the game's scoring just over a minute later when senior Neil Graham netted the team's second short-handed goal at 8:09.

The Lakers and Golden Griffins close out the home-and-home series on Saturday, Feb. 13 with a 7:05 p.m. contest at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.