Complete Game Notes

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will renew its longtime rivalry with Canisius College on Saturday night at the Buffalo State Ice Arena in a crucial Atlantic Hockey Association contest. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

In what was supposed to be a home-and-home series this weekend, the Lakers were originally scheduled to square off with the Golden Griffins on Friday night at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. However, with the water main break in the City of Erie forcing the closing of the Mercyhurst campus, that game has now been pushed back to Tuesday night, January 29, at the Ice Center. That faceoff is also scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Mercyhurst (11-9-1, 9-5-0 AHA) and Canisius (8-11-5, 7-6-2 AHA) are both right in the hunt for a top-four playoff spot and a first-round bye in the Atlantic Hockey Association tournament, which is set to begin in roughly six weeks. The Lakers, with 18 points, are tied for second place in the conference standings with Holy Cross. The Golden Griffins currently sit in seventh place with 16 points in the tightly bunched standings - second place through tenth place are separated by a mere five points.

It will mark the 72nd meeting between the two schools in the all-time series. The Lakers hold a 38-24-9 advantage over Canisius, including a 3-2 overtime victory at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on December 18.

The Lakers are coming off of a weekend split at Connecticut last Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the Lakers fell behind 4-0 near the midway mark of the second period, but made a game of it in the third period, getting to within a goal on two separate occasions. The comeback bid fell short, however, as Mercyhurst lost by a final of 5-4. On Saturday, however, the Lakers bounced back, behind a 40-save performance from senior Max Strang, with a 5-0 blanking of the Huskies.

Strang was named the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week for the second time this season. All told, he stopped 47-of-48 shots over the weekend (.979 save percentage) and posted a 0.66 goals against average. Over his last six outings, Strang is 5-1-0 with a 1.61 goals againat average and a .954 save percentage.

Senior Paul Chiasson had a five-point weekend with three goals and two assists. With his series, Chiasson now needs just one point to become the 15th player in the Division I era at Mercyhurst to score 100 points for his career. He would become the first Laker since Scott Pitt and Steve Cameron both reached the milestone during the 2010-11 season.

Juniors Nick Jones and Daniel O'Donoghue chipped in with four points apiece over the weekend. Jones picked up his first goal since November 24 on Saturday, as part of a career-high three points. Meanwhile, O'Donoghue has 11 points in six January games and is on a five-game point-scoring streak.

Canisius, meanwhile, dropped a pair of contests last weekend at Bentley by the scores of 3-2 in overtime and 7-2. Canisius dropped to 0-7-0 in one-goal games this season and fell to 0-3-5 in games decided in overtime. Junior Kyle Gibbons leads the Golden Griffins with ten goals and six assists for 16 points this season. He led Canisius with three points in the two-game series with the Falcons last weekend.

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THE SERIES
Mercyhurst leads the overall series with Canisius 38-24-9. Saturday's contest will mark the 72nd meeting between the two schools - marking the most frequent opponent in Mercyhurst's history. The Lakers defeated Canisius, earlier this season, by a 3-2 final in the final game of the 2012 portion of the regular season on December 18. Sophomore Matthew Zay scored at the 2:58 mark of overtime for the Laker victory. The series dates back to November 19, 1988, when Canisius handed Mercyhurst a 4-2 loss in Buffalo. Last season, Mercyhurst took 2-of-3 from Canisius, winning 6-4 in Buffalo on December 9, losing 2-1 on February 24 in Buffalo, and winning 5-0 on February 25 in Erie.

THE COACHES
Rick Gotkin is in his 25th season with Mercyhurst and has posted a career record of 445-315-61. 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 26th all-time, among all coaches, with 445 career victories and needs five wins to become the 26th coach in history, at any division, to reach 450 career victories. He is 11th among active coaches with 821 career games coached. 

Dave Smith is in his eighth season as the head coach at Canisius. He has posted a record of 93-149-37 with the Golden Griffins. He became Canisius' third head coach back in 2005 after serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Rick Gotkin at Mercyhurst. His most successful season came during the 2009-10 campaign, when he led Canisius to a 17-15-5 - the most wins in nine years for the Golden Griffins.

ABOUT MERCYHURST
The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team earned a weekend split at Connecticut over the weekend, losing Friday's contest by a 5-4 final before bouncing back with a 5-0 blanking of the Huskies on Saturday. The Lakers are now 11-9-1 overall and 9-5-0 in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings. Mercyhurst moved into a tie for second place, with Holy Cross, in the conference with 18 points. On Friday, Mercyhurst fell behind 4-0 near the midway mark of the second period, but got to within a goal early in the third before UConn scored to take a 5-3 lead. Mercyhurst would get another goal to pull within one late, but could not get the tying goal. Seniors Grant Blakey and Paul Chiasson, along with sophomores Matt Zay and Ryan Misiak scored the Mercyhurst goals. Junior Jordan Tibbett started and allowed four goals on 16 shots in 28:02 of action. However, senior Max Strang got saddled with the loss, despite allowing just one goal over 31:27 of action. It was Strang's first loss since losing 4-2 at Rensselaer on November 16. On Saturday, Strang turned aside 40 shots for his second shutout of the season, and the fifth of his career, as the Lakers defeated UConn 5-0. Strang stopped nine shots in the first period, 15 in the second, and 16 in the third for his second shutout of the season. The senior from Gilbertsville, Pa. also accomplished the feat at Sacred Heart on November 2 with a 28-save performance. Strang has won five of his last six decisions and is now 8-4-0 on the season. He improved to 7-2-0 against conference opponents this season, posting a .939 save percentage and a 2.07 goals against average against Atlantic Hockey foes. All told, Strang stopped 47-of-48 shots over the weekend (.979 save percentage), allowing one goal in 91:27 (0.66 goals against average). Over his last six outings (five starts), Strang is 5-1-0 with a 1.61 goals against average and a .954 save percentage (185-of-194). Senior Paul Chiasson had two goals and an assist on Saturday after scoring a goal and an assist on Friday. His three points on Saturday tied a career-high and was his first three-point game since registering three assists in a 5-1 first round playoff win at Robert Morris on March 5, 2011. Chiasson finished the weekend with three goals, two assists, 11 shots on goal, and a +3 rating. His five points give him 99 career points - just one point shy of becoming the 15th player in the Division I era at Mercyhurst to reach the century mark. Junior defenseman Nick Jones had a four-point weekend, including a goal and two assists on Saturday. His three-point game on Saturday marked a career-high for the junior defenseman. He had scored two points on seven different occasions prior to Saturday. His goal was his fourth of the season and his first goal since scoring Mercyhurst's only goal in a 5-1 loss at Bentley on November 24. It was his first multiple point game since picking up two assists in the game three victory over Holy Cross in last season's AHA quarterfinals on March 11, 2012. Junior Daniel O'Donoghue also had four points over the weekend (all assists) and now has 11 points in six January games. Zay and Misiak had a goal in each game, with Zay's goal on Saturday proving to be the game-winner. Of his 12 career goals, five have been game-winners. The sophomore, who had 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 36 games as a rookie, has already supassed his point total from a year ago with seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points this season.

ABOUT CANISIUS
The Griffs (8-11-5, 7-6-2 Atlantic Hockey) lost a pair of games at Bentley this weekend, losing the two contests in completely different ways. On Friday, the Falcons earned a 3-2 overtime victory before posting a 7-2 win on Saturday.  Friday's loss continued a season of bad luck for the Griffs in close games. Canisius is now 0-7-0 on the season in one-goal contests, while also falling to 0-3-5 in overtime games (all three losses coming in Atlantic Hockey play). The three extra-session defeats is already the most for Canisius since the 2000-01 campaign. Saturday marked the first regulation loss for the Griffs in Atlantic Hockey play in more than two months (Nov. 16). The seven goals allowed were also almost twice their previous high allowed (the Griffs had allowed four goals in only one other contest this season).  Junior Kyle Gibbons led the Griffs with three points on a goal and two assists during the weekend. The junior now leads the team with 16 points and 10 goals this season. His short-handed tally on Friday marked the first time in the program's history that Canisius scored a short-handed goal in three-straight games. Prior to the run, the Griffs had gone 47-straight games without a man-down tally.  In addition, on Saturday, Cory Conacher '11 became the first former Griff to appear in an NHL game. The 2010 Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year, Conacher recorded two points, one goal and one assist in his debut for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 6-3 win over Washington.