Box Score

ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team scored three goals in the third period to win its fourth consecutive game by a 4-1 final over the visiting Pioneers of Sacred Heart University at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Saturday night. The win kept the Lakers in first place in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings with a 7-1-0 conference record. Mercyhurst improved to 9-7-1 overall on the season. Sacred Heart, meanwhile, dropped to 4-12-0 overall and 3-7-0 in conference play.

Junior Daniel Bahntge snapped a 1-1 tie at the 3:49 mark of the third period with his first of two goals on the night. It was his first game-winning goal of the season and the fourth game-winner of his career. Junior Matthew Zay followed with a shorthanded goal at the 8:59 mark and then Bahntge sealed the deal with a goal at 16:55 to send the Lakers to their fourth consecutive victory.

After starting the season with one goal and three assists in the first 13 games, Bahntge has exploded for six goals and two assists for eight points over his last four games. Bahntge is also a +8 over the last four contests.

After a scoreless first period that saw Sacred Heart outshoot Mercyhurst 19-13, the Lakers drew first blood on the power play at the 8:33 mark of the second period when junior Kyle Just scored his fifth goal of the season, and third on the power play, to give Mercyhurst a 1-0 lead. Just received a pass from senior defenseman Nick Jones at the right point and then wristed a shot towards the goal that somehow got through all the traffic in front and past Sacred Heart goaltender Alex Vazzano. Bahntge had the other assist on the tally.

The lead would be short-lived, however, as the Pioneers stormed right back just 32 seconds later to tie the contest at 1-1. Drew George tallied his team-leading fifth goal of the season, getting one past junior goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant at the 9:05 mark. Evan Jasper and Justin Danforth had the assists on the goal.

Shots again favored Sacred Heart by a 14-12 margin in the middle stanza.

The third period belonged to Mercyhurst. Bahntge gave the Lakers a lead they would never relinquish when he banged home a rebound at the 3:49 mark. Senior Daniel O'Donoghue and Zay worked the puck in front of the Sacred Heart goal and, when the puck squirted free, it ended up on the stick of Bahntge, who lifted it over Vazzano for his sixth goal of the season. With the assist, Zay extended his point-scoring streak to 14 consecutive games. He has scored at least one point in every game except for the season opener at Minnesota on October 11.

Zay then scored his ninth goal of the season, a shorthanded tally, at the 8:59 mark to give the Lakers a 3-1 advantage. It was Zay's third man-down goal of the season, tying him for the national lead in that department. Mercyhurst, in fact, has scored a shorthanded goal in each of the last four contests to give them eight on the season - tops in the country. Jones and O'Donoghue had the assists on the goal.

Bahntge sealed the win with his second goal of the night, and seventh of the season, at the 16:55 mark. Sophomore Anthony Mastrodicasa and junior Ryan Misiak had the assists on the goal.

Sarjeant was brilliant again for the Lakers, stopping 37-of-38 Sacred Heart shots on the night to improve to 9-3-1 overall and 7-0-0 in conference play. He lowered his goals against average to 2.40 and upped his save percentage to .926. In conference play, Sarjeant's numbers are even more eye-popping. To go along with his perfect 7-0-0 record, Sarjeant has a 1.72 goals against average and a .948 save percentage against AHA foes.

Vazzano suffered a tough luck loss for the Pioneers while stopping 35 shots. He fell to 2-10-0 on the season.

Mercyhurst was 1-for-4 on the power play and killed off all six Sacred Heart opportunities on the night. The turning point of the game came when the Lakers killed three successive penalties, all within a span of 1:50, near the midway mark of the third period. That proved to be the last hoorah for Sacred Hrart
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The Lakers will return home next Saturday, December 14, for a game against conference-rival Robert Morris at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.