Complete Game Notes

POTSDAM, N.Y. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will travel to Potsdam, New York for a single, non-conference game against the Golden Knights of Clarkson University on Saturday, December 15. Faceoff from the Cheel Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

The two teams have met five times in the overall series, with all five prior contests taking place in Potsdam. Clarkson has won all five games, outscoring the Lakers 24-7 in the process. However, the two teams have not played each other since January 2 and 3, 2004, with the Golden Knights winning 4-3 in overtime and 8-2.

The Lakers (6-6-1, 6-3-0 AHA) are coming off of a weekend split against American International College in the first home games of the regular season last Friday and Saturday. The Yellow Jackets took the first game by a 7-3 final before the Lakers returned the favor with a 7-2 win on Saturday. Three sophomores - Chris Bodo (5th), Ryan Misiak (4th), and Tyler Shiplo (3rd) scored for Mercyhurst on Friday. Sophomore Daniel Bahntge recorded his second career hat trick on Saturday, while Bodo added a pair of goals in the victory. Sophomore Zac Frischmon and senior Grant Blakey had the other tallies for Mercyhurst.

Mercyhurst went 3-for-8 on the power play over the weekend and now own the third-best power play in the country at 26.4%. The Lakers trail only Union (29.4%) and Boston College (27.4%) in power play percentage. Meanwhile, Bodo has five power play goals on the season, tying him for third in the country in that department.

The Golden Knights (4-7-5, 3-3-1 ECAC) are coming off of a pair of victories last week against St. Lawrence. Freshman goaltender Greg Lewis turned aside 59-of-61 shots in the two games (.967 save percentage) to earn the ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week honors. Lewis has played in 15 of the team's first 16 games of the season, starting 14 of those contests. He has a 2.67 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.

Jarrett Burton leads Clarkson with seven goals on the season, with Joe Zarbo closely behind with six. Junior Allan McPherson leads the Golden Knights in scoring with 14 points (three goals, 11 assists), while Burton follows closely with 13 points (seven goals, six assists).

You can follow all of the action from the Cheel Arena in Potsdam, New York using the following links:

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THE SERIES
Clarkson leads the overall series 5-0-0 against Mercyhurst, with all five previous meetings played in Postdam, New York. The two teams have not played since January 2 and 3, 2004 at the Cheel Arena, with Clarkson sweeping the Lakers - 4-3 in overtime and 8-2. Clarkson also defeated Mercyhurst 2-0 and 8-1 on January 4 and 5, 2002, and edged the Lakers 2-1 in their first meeting back on October 21, 2000.

THE COACHES
Rick Gotkin is in his 25th season with Mercyhurst and has posted a career record of 440-312-61. 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 440 career victories. He is two wins shy of passing John Dunham (Trinity 1974-2007) for 26th on the all-time list. He is 11th among active coaches with 813 career games coached. 

Casey Jones is in his second season with the Golden Knights and has posted a record of 20-24-11. A native of Temsicaming, Quebec, Jones guided Clarkson to its best record in four seasons in 2011-12 and was named a finalist for the Tim Taylor ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year.

ABOUT MERCYHURST
The Mercyhurst men's hockey team played its first home games of the regular season on Friday and Saturday and earned a split with visiting American International College. The Lakers lost the first game by a 7-3 count before bouncing back for a 7-2 victory on Saturday. The Lakers are now 6-6-1 overall and 6-3-0 in the Atlantic Hockey standings. Mercyhurst is now 33-6-1 lifetime against AIC, but the Yellow Jackets have won four of the last six meetings. A trio of sophomores registered goals in Friday's loss - Chris Bodo (5th), Ryan Misiak (4th), and Tyler Shiplo (3rd). Junior Jordan Tibbett suffered the loss, allowing five goals on 27 shots. Sophomore Jimmy Sarjeant came on in relief and stopped 17-of-18 shots in 27 minutes of action. Tibbett dropped to 2-3-0 on the season, while Sarjeant appeared in just his second game of the year. On Saturday, sophomores Daniel Bahntge and Chris Bodo combined for five goals as the Lakers bounced back with a 7-2 victory. Bahntge recorded his second career hat trick while Bodo added a pair of goals in the win. Bahntge scored his first goal of the game at the 8:29 mark of the second period, snapping a 1-1 tie, and started a string of six consecutive Mercyhurst goals. He completed his hat trick with a pair of goals 29 seconds apart in the third period, at the 5:59 and 6:28 marks respectively. His first collegiate hat trick also came at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on January 6, 2012 in a 9-1 victory over Sacred Heart. Bodo, meanwhile, continued his torrid stretch and his now tied with Bahntge for the team lead in goals this season with seven. After being held scoreless in his first four games of the season, Bodo has scored seven goals and three assists over his last eight games. Five of his seven goals have come on the power play, including one late in the second period on Saturday. He is now tied for third in the country with five power play goals this season. The Lakers' seven goals were a season-high and marked the most by a Mercyhurst team since an identical 7-2 victory over American International back on January 14, 2012 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Sophomore Zac Frischmon scored his first goal of the season to open the scoring. Senior Grant Blakey added Mercyhurst's other goal - his fourth of the year. Sophomore Matthew Zay had three assists. Freshmen Kyle Cook and Mychal Montieth picked up their first collegiate points in the win - each had an assist. Senior Max Strang earned the win, stopping 26-of-28 shots. He improved to 4-3-0 on the season. The Lakers went 3-for-8 on the power play in the two games and have now converted 11 of the last 30 opportunities (36.7%). The Lakers are 14-of-53 on the season (26.4%), which is tops in the conference and third in the country. Mercyhurst trails only Union (29.4%) and Boston College (27.4%). Mercyhurst was whistled for just four minor penalties in the two games and now average the third fewest penalty minutes per game in the country (9.0). Only Dartmouth (8.4) and Holy Cross (8.1) average fewer. Ryan Misiak continues to lead the team in scoring with four goals and eight assists for 12 points. Bodo, Bahntge, and Zay are tied for second with 10 points apiece. Eleven Lakers have at least five points this season.

ABOUT CLARKSON
Freshman goaltender Greg Lewis turned aside 59 of 61 shots (.967) combined in the Knights' two victories over St. Lawrence last week, allowing only one goal in each win.  He was named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week. He has played 15 of the first 16 games and has a .908 save percentage and a 2.67 goals against average en route to a 4-6-4 overall record. The Knights are receiving a balanced scoring effort this season as 16 Golden Knights have scored goals, led by Jarrett Burton with seven. Joe Zarbo, with three goals over the past four games, has six goals, including a team-high four power-play markers. Rookies Simon Bessette and Jeff DiNallo have also been hot. Bessette, who has four goals overall, has tallied three times over the past five games, including a score in both wins over St. Lawrence. DiNallo, who recorded his first career goal at Colgate (12/1), netted the game-winning goal in Saturday's victory over the Saints. Will Frederick enjoyed another big game at St. Lawrence on Wednesday with a three-point outing in the 4-1 win. He scored the game's opening two goals with first-period tallies and also set up a score. Frederick, who also recorded an assist in Saturday's victory in Lake Placid, has nine points (4-5) this year, equaling his point total from last season (3-6). Junior Allan McPherson leads the Green and Gold in scoring with 14 points, including a team-high 11 assists. Burton follows with 13 points (7-6) after posting six (2-4) last year. Clarkson's captain Ben Sexton, who has missed the past five games with an injury, is the only other Knight recording double figures, with 10 points (4-6) through 11 games. Pat Megannety leads the freshmen in scoring with five goals and three assists. Rookie defenseman Paul Geiger is Clarkson's top scorer from the blueline with six points (2-4). McPherson, Andrew Himelson, and junior defenseman Alex Boak share the team plus/minus lead at +8 each. Boak also has a team-high 45 minutes in penalties.