Box Score

ERIE, Pa. – Mercyhurst and Canisius played through nearly five periods of thrilling playoff hockey, with the Golden Griffins edging the Lakers, 5-4 in double overtime Saturday, March 13 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Canisius swept the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal series, advancing to the AHA semifinals, while Mercyhurst has concluded its 2009-10 season.

Mercyhurst finishes the season with a 15-20-3 record, having hosted an AHA Quarterfinal series for the third season in a row, with a fourth-place finish in the AHA regular season standings. Canisius moves on to the conference semifinals with a 17-14-5 mark.

Each team posted a four-goal rally, as Mercyhurst reeled off four markers for a 4-1 lead and Cansius scored the final four goals of the game. The teams combined for seven power play goals on the evening, including five during a special teams-filled second period. The Lakers scored a season-high four power play goals, all during the second stanza, while Canisius scored three goals with a man-power advantage to force overtime.

Canisius won the game exactly seven minutes into the second overtime session, as Ben Parkerls shot found its way past Mercyhurst goaltender Ryan Zapolski for the 5-4 Golden Griffins win. The visitors generated several quality scoring chances leading up to Parker's game-winning tally, which capped a breathtaking postseason contest.

Zapolski made a career-high 63 saves, keeping the Lakers in the game with several remarkable saves, including several game-saving stops in extra time. His 63 saves are the most by a Mercyhurst goaltender during the NCAA Division I era. Canisius netminder Dan Morrison stopped 44 shots, giving him 85 saves over the weekend series.

For the game, the Golden Griffins outshot the Lakers, 68-48, registering 30 shots while on the power play.

Canisius scored the game's first goal, as Dave Kostuch made it 1-0 at 13:07 of the first period, a score which stood through the end of the first frame.

The second period saw the teams total 13 power play chances, and many stretches of 5-on-3 hockey. Mercyhurst went 4-for-7 on power plays and Canisius converted 1-of-6 on the power play during the second session.

The Lakers scored their first power play goal of the game 47 seconds into the second period, as Matt Fennell rifled a shot from the slot past Morrison, tying the game at 1-1. Mercyhurst then took advantage of several minutes with 5-on-3 opportunities, beginning at 5:28 when Grant Blakey gave the Lakers a 2-1 lead with his 11th goal of the season.

Fennell notched his second goal of the game just 17 seconds later, at 5:45, capitalizing on a two-man advantage that resulted from a major penalty. Fennell beat Morrison from the slot for a 3-1 Mercyhurst lead. Kevin Noble tickled the twine at 9:30 for the Lakers' third 5-on-3 tally of the period and, more importantly, a 4-1 Laker lead.

Canisius registered a power play goal at 12:03 of the second period, pulling to within two goals at 4-2.

During the third period, Mercyhurst committed two penalties, and Canisius made the most of each opportunity, scoring on both power plays to tie the game at 4-4, with the game-tying goal coming at 16:13.

The first overtime period saw each team make several odd-man rushes, nearly resulting in goals, but the first 20 minutes of overtime came and went without a game-winning goal.

The Lakers concluded their 2009-10 season with a 15-20-3 record, earning 15 conference victories while remaining one of the top team in the AHA. The Lakers staged a six-game winning streak early in the conference schedule to boost them into postseason contention. Head coach Rick Gotkin has earned 399 victories at Mercyhurst, the ninth-most among active NCAA Division I head coaches. Zapolski broke the single-season saves record with 1,109, while Mike Gurtler potted an NCAA-best-tying four shorthanded goals, including the program's first shorthanded hat trick during the Division I era.