Complete Box Score

ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst men's hockey team got an even strength goal from sophomore defenseman Nick Jones with 8:04 left in regulation, snapping a 1-1 tie, and lifting the Lakers to a 3-1 victory over visiting Sacred Heart at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Saturday night. The win, coupled with an Air Force loss to Holy Cross, moved the Lakers into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Hockey standings with a 9-2-2 conference mark. Mercyhurst is 12-8-2 overall on the season.

The Pioneers dropped to 1-18-1 overall and 0-12-1 in conference play.

This marks the earliest that the Lakers have reached 12 victories in a season since the 2005-06 season, when Mercyhurst got to 12 wins in 20 games. It is also the earliest since that 05-06 campaign that the Lakers have reached nine conference victories. The 2005-06 Lakers finished 22-13-1, bowing to Bentley in double overtime in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals.

Mercyhurst jumped out in front 1-0 thanks to a shorthanded goal from junior Grant Blakey at the 5:46 mark of the opening period. The junior from Canton, Michigan received a pass from freshman Daniel Bahntge and went top shelf on Sacred Heart goaltender Steven Legatto. It was the Lakers' second shorthanded goal in as many nights after not scoring a man-down goal through the first 20 games of the season. Junior defenseman Charlie Carkin had the other assist.

The shots favored Mercyhurst 15-14 in the opening period, and then 14-13 in the second period.

The score would remain 1-0 until the Pioneers finally broke through on senior goaltender Max Strang with 8:28 left in regulation. With Mercyhurst's Grant Gettinger in the penalty box, Sacred Heart's Tommy Castonguay one-timed a slapshot past Strang from between the circles to knot the game at 1-1. Drew George and Alex Stuart had the assists on the power play goal. It was the first power play tally that Mercyhurst has allowed in the last 26 opponent opportunities.

However, the tie game would be short-lived. Mercyhurst took control of the puck inside the Sacred Heart end, and sophomore Daniel O'Donoghue found Jones pinching in from his position at the right point. Jones would then one-time a shot past Legatto from the right-wing circle for his fifth goal of the season, just 24 seconds after the Pioneers had tied the game at 1-1. Sophomore Kyle Just had the other assist, his fourth point in four games since rejoining the Laker lineup.

Jones has scored five goals this season, with this being his first even strength tally of the year. He now leads the team with three game-winning goals.

Bahntge would cap off the night's scoring, and would cap off a huge weekend, with an empty net goal with 16 seconds left in regulation, sealing the Laker victory. Senior Patrick Goebel had the lone assist on the goal. A native of Westlake, Ohio, Bahntge followed up his first career hat trick on Friday night with a goal and an assist on Saturday. He has now taken over the team lead in scoring with eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points after his six-point series.

Sacred Heart outshot the Lakers in the third period, 13-12.

Strang was brilliant again between the pipes for Mercyhurst, stopping 39-of-40 Pioneer shots for his 11th victory of the season. He allowed just one goal all weekend in 100 minutes of action and stopped 51-of-52 Sacred Heart shots in the series. He lowered his conference goals against average to 1.87 (third in the conference) and upped his conference save percentage to .950, which ranks second.

Legatto was strong in defeat for Sacred Heart, posting 38 saves in the loss. He dropped to 1-13-0 on the season.

The first-place Lakers will return to the road next Friday and Saturday for a pair of conference games against American International College, who will enter the weekend with a 2-9-2 conference record. The Yellow Jackets, who have a non-conference game on Tuesday against Rensselaer, currently have a 3-14-2 overall record. Faceoffs both nights are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.