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ERIE, Pa. - With the Atlantic Hockey Association tournament just more than a month away, every game is crucial down the stretch, especially in the tightly-bunched conference standings.

Sitting in a tie for third place, the Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will look to keep pace with the top of the pack as it hosts the Black Knights of Army on Friday, February 1 and Saturday, February 2. Faceoffs, both nights, are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

The Lakers (12-10-1, 10-6-0 AHA) are right in the thick of things for a potential top-four spot and a first-round bye in the conference tournament. However, the separation between second-place Air Force (21 points) and tenth-place Robert Morris (15 points) is a mere six points.

The Black Knights (7-12-3, 7-7-3 AHA) enter the weekend in seventh place, but just four points out of second.

Mercyhurst holds a 26-9-3 lifetime advantage over the Black Knights, including an 18-1-1 edge at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The only loss by the Lakers against Army in Erie came on February 25, 2006 - a 3-2 Black Knight victory.

Mercyhurst is coming off of a 5-2 victory over Canisius at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Tuesday night. The Lakers fell behind 2-1 early in the third period, but Mercyhurst scored the final four goals of the contest to earn the victory. Senior Paul Chiasson scored the eventual game-winning goal at the 5:53 mark of the third period in what was his 50th career goal and his 100th career point. He became the 15th player in the Division I era at Mercyhurst to reach the century mark. Sophomore Matthew Zay registered a career-high four points (one goal, three assists) and junior Daniel O'Donoghue added his third shorthanded goal of the season in the victory. O'Donoghue is now tied for the national lead in that category.

O'Donoghue had 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in eight January games to earn the Atlantic Hockey Association Player of the Month award on Wednesday.

Senior goaltender Max Strang earned the victory on Tuesday and finished the month with a 4-2-0 record, a 1.81 goals against average, and a .947 save percentage to earn the conference's Goaltender of the Month honors.

Army comes into the weekend series on a five-game winless streak (0-4-1) and have not won since a 5-0 home shutout over Robert Morris on January 4. Andy Starczewski leads the Black Knights in scoring with six goals and 13 assists for 19 points. Freshman Thane Heller leads the team with eight goals.

Mercyhurst went 1-0-1 against the Black Knights last season, winning a 2-1 game on December 2, 2011, before playing to a 3-3 overtime tie the following night at Tate Rink.