Complete Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. - For the fifth time this season, senior goaltender Max Strang stopped at least 40 shots in a game, finishing with 43 on Saturday night, and helping the Mercyhurst men's hockey team play to a 5-5 overtime tie at Holy Cross. With the point, the Lakers remain in first place in the Atlantic Hockey standings with an 11-3-3 conference record. Their 25 points are one point ahead of second-place RIT, setting up a weekend showdown next Friday and Saturday against the Tigers in Rochester, N.Y.

Mercyhurst is 14-9-3 overall, while the Crusaders are 10-11-2 overall and 8-6-2 in conference play.

Strang stopped 43-of-48 Holy Cross shots as Mercyhurst was outshot 48-21 for the game. The senior from Gilbertsville, Pa. stopped 16 shots in each of the first two periods and then 11 more in the third period and overtime combined.

Mercyhurst got goals from five different players in the stalemate, with only freshman Nardo Nagtzaam finishing with multiple points. Nagtzaam helped out on two of Mercyhurst's five goals on the night, giving him 23 points in 24 games as a rookie this season.

Junior Grant Blakey got Mercyhurst on the board with his fourth goal of the season at the 10:18 mark of the opening period. Nagtzaam had the lone assist on Blakey's goal, which he scored just 14 seconds after checking out of the Laker penalty box. Less than five minutes later, at the 15:02 mark, Brandon Nunn tied the game at 1-1 for Holy Cross with his seventh goal of the season. Rob Linsmayer and Luke Miller had the assists.

Holy Cross outshot the Lakers 17-7 in the opening twenty minutes.

The Lakers jumped out to a 3-1 lead with two goals in the opening 1:39 of the second period. With Mercyhurst on the power play, senior Kevin Noble scored his fifth goal of the season just 46 seconds in, marking a career-high for the Sparwood, British Columbia native. Nagtzaam and fellow freshman Daniel Bahntge had the assists. Then, 53 seconds later, freshman Chris Bodo got into the scoring act with his eighth goal of the season. Freshman Kyle Johnson and senior Derek Elliott had the helpers.

But, Holy Cross would not go away. The Crusaders would score three unanswered goals - Shayne Stockton at the 8:17 mark, Andrew Cox at 12:03, and Gianni Baldassari at 16:01 - to close out the second period with a 4-3 lead. Holy Cross outshot Mercyhurst again by a wide margin in the second period, 19-5.

Mercyhurst, who has shown resiliency all season long, fought back with two goals to start the third period and recaptured a one-goal lead. Junior Paul Chiasson scored his 10th goal of the season just 1:20 into the final period, tying the hockey game at 4-4. Chiasson joined Elliott has the only players to reach double figures in goals this season, as both players have tallied 10 goals on the year. Friday night's hero, sophomore Daniel O'Donoghue had the lone assist.

The Lakers would then take a 5-4 lead just 1:03 later on the sixth goal of the season from sophomore defenseman Nick Jones. Freshman Tyler Shiplo and sophomore Kyle Just had the assists on Jones' team-leading fifth power play goal of the year.

Holy Cross had an answer, though, as Kyle Atkins scored at the 4:51 mark, knotting the game at 5-5. Stockton had the lone assist.

Both teams would have opportunities during the remainder of the third period, and in overtime, but neither team could crack the scoreboard again.

Strang saw his record go to 12-9-3 on the season with his 43-save performance. Meanwhile, Derek Kump started for Holy Cross and stopped just 16-of-21 Mercyhurst shots on goal. He saw his record go to 1-1-1 on the season.

Mercyhurst finished 2-for-6 on the power play while Holy Cross went 1-for-4 with the advantage.

The Lakers will travel to Rochester, N.Y. for a first-place showdown with the Tigers of RIT next Friday and Saturday, January 27 and 28. Mercyhurst defeated RIT earlier in the season, a 2-1 victory back on October 28 at the Ice Center. In that game, Strang stopped a career-high 49-of-50 Tiger shots. Faceoffs from the Ritter Arena are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. both nights.