Mercyhurst Game Notes
Niagara Game Notes

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ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will be returning to action on Tuesday night, November 19, when it hosts conference-rival Niagara University at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Mercyhurst is 7-11-1 all-time against Niagara, but just 4-11-1 since the 1996-97 season. The schools met three times during the Lakers' first season of varsity hockey in 1987-88. Niagara has won five of the last six meetings and sports a 6-3-0 record against Mercyhurst since joining the Atlantic Hockey Association for the 2010-11 season.

Niagara swept three games from the Lakers last season winning by the scores of 2-1 (October 13), 4-2 (February 22), and 4-2 (February 23).

The Lakers (3-6-1, 2-1-0 AHA) enter the contest having not played since a 4-3 loss at Canisius on November 9, marking Mercyhurst's first conference loss of the season. The night before, the Lakers rallied for a 3-2 win over Rochester Institute of Technology in the team's last game played at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

Freshman Kyle Dutra scored his first collegiate goal, also proving to be his first career game-winner to lift Mercyhurst to the win over the Tigers on November 8. Junior goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant stopped 37-of-39 RIT shots to pick up his third win of the season and his second in conference play.

Sarjeant has taken over the reins as the number-one goaltender for the Lakers and has posted excellent numbers. The junior from Aurora, Ontario is 3-2-1 with a 2.68 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. He ranks third in the Atlantic Hockey Association in both categories. Meanwhile, in conference action, Sarjeant is 2-0-0 with a 2.01 goals against average and a .948 save percentage - second in the conference in both categories. He was named the AHA Goaltender of the Week two weeks in a row - November 5 and November 12.

The Mercyhurst offense, which scored just nine times in the first five games of the season, have scored 21 goals in the last five, including a season-high eight goals at home against Air Force on November 2. The Lakers also averaged just 23.4 shots on goal per game over the first five, but are averaging 34.2 shots on goal per game over the last five.

Junior Matthew Zay, who missed the last two games, still leads the Lakers in scoring with four goals and six assists for ten points in eight games. He ranks tied for 26th in the country in points per game (1.25). Senior Daniel O'Donoghue leads the team with six goals while senior defenseman Nick Jones leads with eight helpers. Both are tied for second on the team in scoring with nine points apiece.

The Purple Eagles (3-6-1, 3-1-1 AHA) will begin an eight-game road trip on Tuesday night. Niagara does not return home to the Dwyer Arena until January 10 and 11 when it hosts American International.

Last weekend, Niagara snapped a five-game winless streak by sweeping the Black Knights of Army by the scores of 5-0 and 8-3. In the first game, the Purple Eagles got goals from five different players and freshman netminder Jackson Teichroeb stopped all 23 shots for his first collegiate victory and his first collegiate shutout. In the final game of the series, Hugo Turcotte recorded his first career hat trick and added an assist in the 8-3 victory.

Turcotte and Ryan Rashid lead the Purple Eagles in scoring with eight points apiece. Both players have four goals and four assists. Meanwhile, Niagara has two freshmen goaltenders that have split time equally through the first ten games of the season. Teichroeb has started five games and is 1-3-0 with a 3.25 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. Fellow rookie Adrian Ignagni has also started five contests and is 2-3-1 with a 3.56 goals against average and a .890 save percentage.

Special teams have killed the Purple Eagles through the first ten games of the season. The Niagara power play is just 3-for-45 on the season (.067) and the penalty killing unit has allowed 15 power play goals in 50 opponent chances (.700).

After Tuesday's conference tilt, the Lakers will go back into non-conference action when they host the tenth-ranked Engineers of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23. Faceoffs from the Mercyhurst Ice Center are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. both nights. It will mark the first time that RPI has visited Erie.