Mercyhurst Game Notes
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ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team returns to action on Friday and Saturday night for a pair of non-conference games against 14th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Faceoffs both nights are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The Engineers lead the all-time series 6-2-0 against Mercyhurst but will be making their first-ever trip to the Mercyhurst Ice Center. All eight games in the series have been played in Troy, New York. Last season, RPI swept a two-game series against the Lakers, winning by the scores of 4-2 and 4-1 last November 16 and 17. Both of Mercyhurst's wins in the all-time series came during Rensselaer's Holiday Tournament in 2003 and again in 2008.

Mercyhurst head coach Rick Gotkin was an assistant at RPI from 1986-88 before taking over the head coaching job at Mercyhurst for the 1988-89 season. The Engineers were 28-35-2 in Gotkin's two seasons there. The most famous RPI alum to play during Gotkin's stay was Joe Juneau, who went on to play 828 games in the National Hockey League for six different teams - most notably the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals. Juneau had 572 career points in the NHL. Also a member of those RPI teams was Ryan Kummu, who played three seasons for the Erie Panthers in the East Coast Hockey League.

The Lakers (4-6-1, 3-1-0 AHA) are coming off a 4-2 win over conference-rival Niagara on Tuesday night at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The Lakers and Purple Eagles were tied at 2-2 early in the third period before junior Zac Frischmon scored a pair of third period goals to lift the Lakers to their third conference win in four tries this season. It was Frischmon's first collegiate multiple-goal game and was his second career game-winning goal.

Dating back to last season, Frischmon has 12 points in his last 20 games. He scored nine points in his first 67 career contests.

Freshman Kyle Dutra and junior Matthew Zay also scored for the Lakers, who got 27 saves from junior goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant in the win. Sarjeant improved to 4-2-1 overall and has posted a 2.59 goals against average and a .924 save percentage, ranking third in the conference in both categories. In AHA action, Sarjeant is 3-0-0 with a 2.00 goals against average and a .943 save percentage - both of which are second in the league.

Zay and senior Daniel O'Donoghue lead the Lakers in scoring with 11 points apiece, with O'Donoghue leading the way with six goals this season. He needs 13 points to become the 16th member of the 100-point club in the Division I era at Mercyhurst. Junior Ryan Misiak and senior Nick Jones are next in line with nine points apiece, with Jones leading the way with eight helpers for the Lakers this season.

All told, 14 different players have scored at least one goal this season for Mercyhurst and 18 different players have registered at least one point.

The Engineers (6-4-2, 2-3-2 ECAC) are averaging 3.75 goals per game this season and are led in scoring by Ryan Haggerty who has scored 13 goals and four assists for 17 points. He was a member of the United States National Development Team prior to joining RPI. Four others have double-digit points this season - Brock Higgs (15), Matt Neal (13), Jacob Laliberte (11), and Mike Zalewski (10).

In goal, junior Scott Diebold has started 10 of the team's 12 games and has posted a 5-3-2 overall record with a 2.22 goals against average and a .918 save percentage. Sophomore Jason Kasdorf, a property of the Winnipeg Jets, has started twice and is 1-1-0 this season.

RPI is 3-3-0 on the road while the Lakers are 3-1-0 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center this season.

After this weekend, the Lakers will jump back into conference action to square off with the early-season surprise of the Atlantic Hockey Association - American International College next Friday and Saturday in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Yellow Jackets are 3-0-0 in conference play and 3-3-0 overall on the season.