Complete Game Notes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will be on the road, once again, this weekend for a single game against Atlantic Hockey Association rival, Air Force. The teams will square off on Friday night, Novmber 30, beginning at 9:05 EST (7:05 MST).

Mercyhurst is 9-10-2 lifetime against Air Force, but is 6-2-1 at the Cadet Ice Arena in Colorado Springs.

The Lakers (4-5-1, 4-2-0 AHA) are coming off a weekend split last Friday and Saturday at Bentley University in Watertown, Massachusetts. Mercyhurst earned a 4-3 overtime victory last Friday courtesy of a goal by senior Grant Blakey 2:33 into the extra period. Sophomore Chris Bodo had a pair of power play goals while junior Daniel O'Donoghue scored the other Mercyhurst goal during regulation. Bentley returned the favor with a 5-1 victory over the Lakers last Saturday. Junior Nick Jones scored the lone Mercyhurst goal in the setback.

Air Force (3-6-3, 2-3-1 AHA) is off to a slow start in 2012-13, as evidenced last weekend with a pair of losses against Connecticut. It was the first time the Falcons were swept by UConn in the series history between the two schools. Air Force has won five of the last six Atlantic Hockey Association titles, including last season's 4-0 victory over RIT in the title game.

The last time these two teams met was in the Atlantic Hockey Association Semifinals held at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York last March. Air Force skated away with a 5-2 victory over the Lakers, ending Mercyhurst's season with a 20-16-4 overall record.

You can follow all of the action from the Cadet Ice Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado using the following links:

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THE SERIES
Air Force leads the overall series 10-9-2. The teams split four games last season with the Lakers earning a 3-2 victory in the only game played in Erie last season. Air Force earned an 8-0 victory in game one played in Colorado, before the Lakers bounced back with a 2-1 win the following, thanks to 50 saves from goaltender Max Strang. The teams met again in the AHA Semifinals at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. last March, with the Falcons skating away with a 5-2 victory, ending the Lakers season. Mercyhurst is 9-7-2 in regular season meetings against the Falcons, including 6-2-1 in Colorado. All but five of the 21 previous games between the two schools have been decided by two goals or less.

THE COACHES
Rick Gotkin is in his 25th season with Mercyhurst and has posted a career record of 438-311-61. He is the only coach in NCAA history to take the same program to the NCAA Division III, Division II, and Division I national tournament. Gotkin is also the all-time winningest coach for any Mercyhurst program in school history. He took over for Fred Lane, who coached Mercyhurst's inaugural season in 1987-88. Gotkin is 27th all-time, among all coaches, with Bill Wilkinson with 438 career victories. He is 11th among active coaches with 810 career games coached. 

Frank Serratore is in his 16th season at Air Force with a record of 258-256-54 record (568 games). He is the winningest coach in the history of Air Force hockey, having led Air Force to five Atlantic Hockey Association championships and five NCAA tournament appearances in the last six years. In his 20th season as a collegiate head coach, Serratore has an overall record of 307-348-63 (718 games).

ABOUT MERCYHURST
Mercyhurst earned a weekend split at Bentley this past Friday and Saturday in games #9 and #10 of the team's 11-game road trip to start the 2012-13 season. Mercyhurst earned a 4-3 overtime victory on Friday night before suffering a 5-1 loss on Saturday. The Lakers are now 28-11-6 lifetime against the Falcons after the split. Mercyhurst got an overtime goal from senior Grant Blakey, 2:33 into the extra period, on Friday night for the team's first overtime win since defeating Holy Cross on January 20, 2012. It was Blakey's third career game-winning goal and his first since scoring in overtime against Holy Cross on January 15, 2011 during his sophomore season. Sophomore Chris Bodo had his first multiple-goal game of the season, and just the second of his career in the victory. He scored a pair of power play goals, one in the second period and one in the third period for his first multi-goal game since December 3, 2011 at Army. Bodo was held scoreless in his first four games but has scored four points in his last five contests. Junior Daniel O'Donoghue had the other goal in Friday's win. O'Donoghue was held without a point in his first five games but now has four points over the last five contests. On Saturday, junior defenseman Nick Jones had the Lakers' lone goal in Mercyhurst's 5-1 loss. Senior Max Strang got the win on Friday with a 27-save performance. He improved to 3-3-0 on the season. Junior Jordan Tibbett stopped 32 in Saturday's loss to drop to 1-2. Tibbett has allowed seven goals in 64 shots over his last two games (.891 save percentage) after allowing one goal in 54 (.981 save percentage) shots over his first two. Mercyhurst's power play has been coming on as of late, scoring at least one power play goal in four straight games. During the stretch, the Lakers are 5-of-16 (31.3%) after starting the season 3-for-23 (13.0%). Mercyhurst is now converting at 20.5% on the season. Sophomore Ryan Misiak had his first point in four games over the weekend with an assist on Saturday. He continues to lead the team with three goals and seven assists for ten points. However, nine of his points came in the first six games, with at least one point in all six of those contests. Sophomore Daniel Bahntge has been held scoreless for four straight games after putting together a five-game point scoring streak. Senior Paul Chiasson is 12 points away from reaching 100 career points. Meanwhile, head coach Rick Gotkin picked up career win #438 on Friday and is a dozen victories away from 450 for his career. Mercyhurst will play its final game of the team's 11-game road trip to start the season next Friday, November 30 at Air Force. Mercyhurst is 9-10-2 lifetime against the Falcons. Mercyhurst will be home for the first time in the regular season on Friday, December 7 and Saturday, December 8 against American International.

ABOUT AIR FORCE
Air Force was swept at UConn for the first time ever. AFA entered the series with a six-game unbeaten streak (3-0-3) at UConn. However, the Huskies won 2-1 and 3-2 in overtime in Connecticut.  AFA has lost three straight for the first time since early in the 2010-11 season when the Falcons lost four straight.  AFA suffered its first overtime loss of the season with a 3-2 loss at UConn last Saturday. It was AFA's fourth overtime game of the season. The Falcons are now 0-1-3 in overtime this season.  Senior defenseman Eric Artman scored his first goal of the season in Saturday's loss. The goal was the first shortie of his career. The goal gave AFA a 2-1 lead in the second period on Saturday, the Falcons' first lead of the series.  Cole Gunner had an assist on Friday and leads the team with seven this season.  Air Force returns homes to host Mercyhurst and RIT this coming weekend. The Falcons host Mercyhurst on Friday, Nov. 30, at the Cadet Ice Arena. AFA holds a 10-9-2 lead in the all-time series vs. the Lakers. The team split four games last season, but Air Force beat Mercyhurst, 5-2, in the AHA semifinals. AFA then hosts RIT on Sunday, Dec. 2, at Cadet Ice Arena. The Falcons hold a 17-14-2 lead in the all-time series. Last season, the team met four times and the Falcons won three of the four. AFA swept the series at the Cadet Ice Arena and also beat the Tigers, 4-0, in the AHA Championship game.