Complete Game Notes

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will get an early, non-conference test this Friday and Saturday when they travel to #16 Ferris State for a weekend series. Faceoffs from the Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Michigan are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. both nights.

The Lakers (0-1-0, 0-1-0 AHA) are coming off a season-opening 2-1 setback at the hands of Atlantic Hockey rival, Niagara, last Saturday in Niagara Falls. Mercyhurst dropped to 4-9-1 lifetime against Niagara and dropped to 0-14-1 in its last 15 season openers. The only non-loss during that stretch occurred on October 2, 2010 with a 4-4 overtime tie against Michigan. The Lakers actually defeated the Wolverines in that game via shootout, but it goes down as a tie in the record books. The last regular season-opening victory for Mercyhurst came on October 24, 1997 - a 7-2 victory over Buffalo State.

The Purple Eagles scored a goal in each of the first two periods and then held off the Lakers' rally. Niagara led 2-0 before sophomore Ryan Misiak got the Lakers on the board with 5:40 left in the second period with an unassisted tally. It was his first goal of the season and the seventh goal of his career. Mercyhurst killed off a five-minute major early in the third period then pulled senior goaltender Max Strang with 53 seconds left, but could not get the equalizer. The Lakers had chances, but Niagara netminder Carson Chubak stopped three Laker shots down the stretch to preserve the victory. Strang stopped 37-of-39 Niagara shots in the loss.

Mercyhurst went 20-16-4 last season - the program's first 20-win season and first trip to the Atlantic Hockey semifinals since the 2008-09 season.

Meanwhile, Ferris State (0-1-1, 0-0-0 CCHA) got only a tie in its opening weekend of the season at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on October 12 and 13. The Bulldogs dropped a 3-1 decision in Friday's game before bouncing back for a 2-2 tie on Saturday. Mercyhurst will be at RPI the weekend of November 16 and 17.

Kyle Bonis leads the Bulldogs with two assists in the first two games. Brandon Anselmi, Dakota Klecha, and Garrett Thompson each had a goal during the opening weekend.

The Bulldogs had an historic season in 2011-12. Ferris State won its second CCHA regular-season championship and finished as the national runner-up a year ago. The Bulldogs claimed the NCAA Midwest Regional title with two victories in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and then topped Union in the program's first-ever Frozen Four national semifinal game at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Ferris State suffered a 4-1 loss to Boston College in the national championship game on April 7 in Tampa to finish the most historic campaign in school history with a 26-12-1 overall record. The Bulldogs will celebrate their historic national runner-up finish from a year ago by hoisting new banners inside the facility on Friday night prior to the game with the championship rings being awarded following the contest.

Mercyhurst is 0-4 lifetime against Ferris State having last played on October 13 and October 14 in Big Rapids, Michigan. The Bulldogs won both games, 7-1 and 5-4 respectively.

These contests mark games two and three of the Lakers' 11 straight games on the road to start the regular season. Mercyhurst will have next weekend off before heading back into conference play at Sacred Heart University on November 2 and 3.

You can follow all of the action from Big Rapids, Michigan via the Bulldog Sports Network.