Mercyhurst Game Notes
Ohio State Game Notes

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COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will play its final non-conference games of the regular season when it travels to Columbus, Ohio to square off with the Buckeyes of Ohio State to open the second half of the year. Faceoffs from the Value City Arena are scheduled for Saturday, December 28 at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday, December 29 at 8:05 p.m.

Ohio State leads the all-time series against Mercyhurst 2-1-0, but the teams have not squared off since the opening round of the Lefty McFadden Invitational in Dayton, Ohio on October 12, 2007 - a 2-1 win by the Buckeyes. Mercyhurst is 1-1 all-time in Columbus, having defeated the Buckeyes 3-2 on October 24, 2003 for the program's only victory against Ohio State. The Buckeyes won the opening game of the series by a 5-2 margin on November 30, 1999.

Since a 1-5 start to the 2013-14 campaign, the Lakers (9-7-2, 7-1-1 AHA) have gone 8-2-2 in their last 12 contests and enter the weekend series unbeaten in their last five games (4-0-1) and has received votes in each of the last two USCHO.com polls. In the team's last contest, Mercyhurst had to come-from-behind to play to a 5-5 overtime tie against Robert Morris on December 14. In that contest, senior forward Daniel O'Donoghue became the 16th player in the Division I era at Mercyhurst to record 100 career points after he picked up three assists on the night. O'Donoghue enters the weekend tied for 15th among D-I players at Mercyhurst with 100 career points (38g, 62a).

Junior forward Matthew Zay scored his second game-tying goal of the season at the 6:47 mark of the third period to force overtime. He finished the night with a goal and an assist to extend his point-scoring streak to 15 consecutive games. He has scored in every game he has played in this season except for the season-opening 6-0 loss at Minnesota. Zay enters the weekend third in the country in points per game (1.62), tied for fourth in assists per game (1.00), and tied for first in shorthanded goals (3). His 26 points prior to Christmas were the most by a Laker since Steve Cameron scored 26 during the 2008-09 season.

The trio of O'Donoghue, Zay, and junior Ryan Misiak has become a three-headed monster on offense for the Lakers, as each enter the weekend with at least 20 points on the season. Only Mercyhurst, Boston College, and Quinnipiac can boast that fact. The trio is the second-highest scoring threesome in the country with 71 points (Zay 26, O'Donoghue 24, Misiak 21), trailing Boston College's trio of Johnny Gaudreau (28), Kevin Hayes (24), and Bill Arnold (20) by one point.

Zay enters with a 15-game point-scoring streak while O'Donoghue (nine) and Misiak (five) are also putting scoring streaks on the line this weekend.

Mercyhurst boasts the fourth-highest scoring offense in the country, averaging 3.83 goals per game. After scoring just nine goals in the first five games of the season, the Lakers have tallied 60 goals over the last 13 games (4.62 per contest). Mercyhurst trails only Boston College (4.19), Minnesota (3.94), and Union (3.89) in scoring offense. Mercyhurst also leads the country with eight shorthanded goals this season - two more than Providence and Maine.

In goal, junior Jimmy Sarjeant has provided a spark for the Lakers. He has won eight of his last ten decisions (8-1-1) and sports a 9-3-2 overall record this season. He ranks 16th in the country with a .714 winning percentage. Overall, the Aurora, Ontario native has a 2.57 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.

Ohio State (8-6-0, 0-2-0 Big Ten) has not played since December 2, finishing up a two-game series with Michigan. The Buckeyes lost both games to the Wolverines to snap a five-game winning streak. Ohio State is 6-0 against teams from Atlantic Hockey this season, having swept Robert Morris (5-3, 4-3), Niagara (4-1, 6-1), and Canisius (3-0, 3-1), with five of the six games being played in Columbus.

Two players who are currently properties of the NHL's Ottawa Senators - Ryan Dzingel and Max McCormick - lead the Buckeyes in scoring with 18 and 16 points respectively. The duo has combined for 16 of the team's 50 goals this season. Alex Szczechura also has 16 points on four goals and 12 assists. Tanner Fritz is the only other Buckeye in double figures, chipping in two goals and 13 assists for 15 points.

In goal, the Buckeyes are young with two freshmen and a sophomore seeing all of the playing time. It appears that freshman Logan Davis has taken over the reins, posting a 3-2 record with a 2.21 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Matt Tomkins (Chicago Blackhawks) started early and posted a 5-3 record with a 2.76 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. However, Davis lost both starts against Michigan, but Tomkins has not started since November 9 against Niagara.