Box Score

ERIE, Pa. - Sophomore Daniel Bahntge recorded his second career hat trick and sophomore Chris Bodo chipped in with a pair of goals, leading the Mercyhurst men's hockey team to a 7-2 defeat of American International College on Saturday at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The victory earned Mercyhurst a weekend split and moved the Lakers back to the .500 mark at 6-6-1 overall. Mercyhurst improved to 6-3-0 in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings. The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, dropped to 4-8-3 overall and 1-6-3 in conference play.

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 with a pair of goals, tying him 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.

Mercyhurst opened the scoring on a goal by sophomore Zac Frischmon at the 9:21 mark of the opening period. Freshman Kyle Cook won a battle for the puck along the right wing boards and then found Frischmon in the slot. Frischmon deposited the puck between the legs of AIC's starting netminder Ben Meisner for his first goal of the season, and just his third career goal. Meanwhile, Cook, who has suited up for every game this season, recorded his first collegiate point with the helper.

However, the lead was be short-lived, as AIC tied the contest at 1-1 just 54 seconds later. Alexander MacMillan picked up an errant Mercyhurst pass in his own zone and then skated coast-to-coast, beating Mercyhurst's senior netminder Max Strang top shelf with a backhander to knot the game.

Shots in the opening period favored Mercyhurst by a 12-5 margin.

The Lakers, however, would break the game open in the second period with four goals to take a 5-1 lead after forty minutes.

Bahntge started the scoring at the 8:29 mark of the middle stanza with his fifth goal of the season, flipping a shot just under the crossbar and over the shoulder of Meisner. Sophomore Matthew Zay found Bahntge stationed in front of the AIC goal and the sophomore from Westlake, Ohio did the rest. Junior Trent Frey had the other assist on the goal.

Then, at the 13:09 mark, Bodo got on the board with his sixth goal of the season, giving Mercyhurst a 3-1 lead. Freshman Justin Stevens took the initial shot that was stopped by Meisner. The rebound, however, went right to the stick of Bodo who buried it for his first of two goals on the afternoon. Junior Kyle Just had the other assist. Just now has seven points in his last five games.

Senior Grant Blakey got into the scoring act at the 14:56 mark of the second period with his fourth goal of the season. Sophomore Tyler Shiplo and junior Daniel O'Donoghue had the assists on Blakey's goal. Shiplo took a shot from the right point that was redirected right to Blakey's stick on the doorstep. The shot forced Meisner out of position and Blakey's sent the puck into the empty net for a 4-1 Laker lead.

Mercyhurst was not finished as Bodo would cap off the second period scoring with a power play goal at the 18:24 mark. With the Lakers on a 5-on-3 power play, Bodo cashed in a brilliant centering feed from sophomore Nardo Nagtzaam for his seventh goal of the season. Zay would also picked up an assist, his second of a career-high three assists on the afternoon.

Mercyhurst outshot AIC 16-11 in the second period.

The lead would balloon to 7-1 after Bahntge completed his hat trick with a pair of goals at 5:59 and at 6:28. His first goal of the period seemed like a harmless snapshot from the right wing circle, but appeared to have changed direction off an AIC defenseman and past Meisner for a 6-1 Mercyhurst lead. Freshman Mychal Monteith earned his first collegiate point with an assist on the goal. Bahntge finished off his three-goal game 29 seconds later, tucking a rebound past Meisner for a 7-1 Mercyhurst advantage. Zay and sophomore Ryan Misiak had the assists.

AIC would get a goal back at the 16:21 mark when Jason Popek beat Strang, but the damage had already been done. Brandon Fagerheim had the lone assist.

AIC outshot Mercyhurst 12-10 in the third period, but the Lakers held a 38-28 shot advantage for the contest. Strang turned aside 26 Yellow Jacket shots to improve to 4-3-0 on the season and, more importantly, 4-1-0 in conference play. Meanwhile, Meisner made 24 saves in suffering his seventh loss of the season. Chandler Long came on after Mercyhurst's final goal of the day and stopped seven Laker shots.

Mercyhurst went 1-for-4 on the power play and is now 11 for its last 30 opportunities (36.7%). The Yellow Jackets went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

The Lakers will go right back on the road for a single, non-conference game against Clarkson on Saturday, December 15. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from Potsdam, New York.