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ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey will look to get back on track when it hosts long-time rival Rochester Institute of Technology on Friday and Saturday, February 15 and 16. Faceoffs are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from the Mercyhurst Ice Center both nights.

The Tigers lead the all-time series against the Lakers 28-15-6, including a 12-6-3 mark at the Division I level. However, Mercyhurst narrowed the gap earlier this season with a 5-3 victory at the Frank Ritter Arena in Rochester back on November 9. Sophomore Daniel Bahntge had two goals to lead the Lakers, while senior goaltender Max Strang stopped 39 Tiger shots

The Lakers (14-11-3, 12-7-2 AHA) had a bit of a slip up last weekend, earning just one point in a two-game series against the Falcons of Air Force. Despite that, Mercyhurst remained in second place in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings, one point ahead of Air Force and four points ahead of a three-way tie that includes Holy Cross, Canisius, and surging Connecticut. All told, second-place Mercyhurst and tenth-place Army are separated by just eight points in the standings.

Sophomore Ryan Misiak was named Atlantic Hockey's Travel Team USA Player of the Week for the second week in a row. Misiak had a goal and three assists in three games last week, scoring at least one point in all three games. His goal against Robert Morris in last Tuesday's 8-1 victory was a shorthanded game-winner. It was his first career shorthanded goal and his team-leading third game-winner of the season. He leads the team with 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points, including 10 points in his last six games.

Strang is 8-3-2 in his last 13 appearances, posting a 1.73 goals against average and a .945 save percentage during the stretch. He has allowed two or fewer goals in 11 of his last 13 appearances. The other two, he allowed three goals. During the stretch, Strang has lowered his goals against average from 3.81 to 2.38 and has upped his save percentage from .891 to .927.

The Tigers (10-13-5, 8-9-4 AHA) enter the weekend series in eighth place in the standings, but just six points behind Mercyhurst for second. RIT split a weekend series at Robert Morris last Friday and Saturday, losing 3-0 on Friday before bouncing back for a 4-3 victory on Saturday. Friday's loss was just the second time that RIT had been shutout this season. The Tigers have very balanced scoring, with 12 players scoring at least 10 points, and five with at least 20 points. Mike Colavecchia leads the Tigers with 11 goals while the defenseman duo of Chris Saracino and Greg Noyes are the highest-scoring defensive tandem in the nation. Saracino has 25 points to lead the Tigers in scoring, while Noyes has 22 points this season.

Following this weekend, Mercyhurst will play home-and-home series against Niagara next Friday and Saturday, and then Robert Morris on March 1 and 2 to close out the regular season.

THE SERIES
RIT leads the overall series with Mercyhurst 28-15-6, dating back to the Division III ECAC West days. The Tigers are 12-6-3 against the Lakers since 2005. Earlier this season, the Lakers defeated the Tigers by a 5-3 final at the Ritter Arena in Rochester, NY. Sophomore Daniel Bahntge had two goals to lead the Lakers, while senior Max Strang had 39 saves. Last season, the teams went 1-1-1 against each other. Mercyhurst won 2-1 in Erie last season, then suffered a 5-1 loss in Rochester before bouncing back for a 2-2 tie the following night.

THE COACHES
Rick Gotkin is in his 25th season with Mercyhurst and has posted a career record of 448-317-63. He is the only coach in NCAA history to take the same program to the NCAA Division III, Division II, and Division I national tournament. Gotkin is also the all-time winningest coach for any Mercyhurst program in school history. He took over for Fred Lane, who coached Mercyhurst's inaugural season in 1987-88. Gotkin is 26th all-time, among all coaches, with 448 career victories and needs two wins to become the 26th coach in history, at any division, to reach 450 career victories. Next up on the career wins list - Murray Armstrong, who won 463 games at Denver from 1956-57 until 1976-77. Gotkin is 11th among active coaches with 828 career games coached. 

Wayne Wilson is in his 14th season as head coach of the RIT men's hockey team, fresh off of leading his Tigers to their third straight appearance in the Atlantic Hockey Association Championship game in 2011-12. The Tigers recorded at least 19 wins for the sixth straight season last year, finishing 20-13-6. During his tenure at RIT, Wilson has guided the Tigers to a 265-140-44 record.

ABOUT MERCYHURST
The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team went 1-1-1 during the week and maintained sole possession of second place in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings with 26 points. The Lakers are 14-11-3 overall and 12-7-2 in conference play this season. On Tuesday, Mercyhurst scored eight goals for the second straight game, getting goals from eight different players in an 8-1 win at Robert Morris. Mercyhurst knocked off Army the prior Saturday by an identical 8-1 final. The 16 goals in the two-game stretch were the most since scoring 17 goals in a weekend sweep at American International on December 5 and 6, 2008 (6-3 and 11-1). The two-game total is tied for fourth-most in the Division I era at Mercyhurst. The Division I record for Mercyhurst is 18 goals scored in a two-game stretch against Holy Cross (W 6-2) and Bentley (W 12-0) on October 27 and 28, 2000. The win extended Mercyhurst's unbeaten streak to four games, during which Mercyhurst had outscored its opponents 22-5. Mercyhurst got goals from seniors Paul Chiasson and Grant Blakey, juniors Daniel O'Donoghue and Trent Frey, and sophomores Daniel Bahntge, Chris Bodo, Ryan Misiak, and Matthew Zay. Zay finished the night with a goal and two assists while five other players had two points – O'Donoghue (one goal, one assist), Misiak (one goal, one assist), junior Kyle Just (two assists), junior Nick Jones (two assists), and sophomore Edward DeWald (two assists). The goal by Frey was his first of the season and his first in 37 games while DeWald earned his first career multiple-point game in the victory. On Friday, Mercyhurst jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after the opening period against Air Force, only to see the Falcons storm back with three in the second and an empty-netter in the third to take game one of the weekend series by a 4-2 final. Bahntge and Zay scored the Mercyhurst goals in the loss. It was just the second time over the last 12 appearances that senior goaltender Max Strang allowed more than two goals. He allowed three goals on 33 shots. On Saturday, the teams went back and forth, with Mercyhurst scoring first on a goal by Bodo – his 13th goal of the season to tie him with Chiasson for the team lead in that category. Air Force would score the next two goals, including the go-ahead goal with 4:17 left in regulation. But, junior Nick Jones scored the tying goal with just 2:26 left, sending the game to overtime where neither team could score. With the tie, Mercyhurst remained one point ahead of Air Force in the conference standings for second place. Mercyhurst is now 10-11-3 lifetime against the Falcons and 5-4-2 lifetime against Robert Morris after Tuesday's victory. Misiak leads the team with 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points – scoring at least one point in all three games during the week. He has a four-game point-scoring streak and has scored at least one point in nine of his last ten games. Zay is right behind with 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points. The duo combined for 11 goals and 22 assists for 33 points last season. Nine players have scored at least 13 points, while five of those have more than 20 points this season. Strang started all three games and posted a .941 save percentage (96-of-102) and a 1.96 goals against average. He has allowed two goals or fewer in 11 of his last 13 appearances. Mercyhurst returns home to take on long-time rival RIT next Friday and Saturday. The two teams met earlier this year in Rochester, with the Lakers winning a 5-3 decision. Bahntge had two goals, while Jones, O'Donoghue, and sophomore Tyler Shiplo had the other goals. Strang started the contest and stopped 39-of-42 Tiger shots. Even with the victory, the Lakers are just 15-28-6 lifetime against RIT, dating back to the ECAC West Division III days.

ABOUT RIT
The Tigers recorded a weekend split on the road at Robert Morris, lifting them for the time being into seventh place in the AHA standings. On Friday, RIT was shutout for just the second time this season, falling 3-0 to the Colonials, despite firing 34 shots on goal. The next night, RIT rallied from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits, roaring back to defeat Robert Morris, 4-3. Dan Schuler scored with 8:56 remaining in regulation to break the tie. Mike Colavecchia scored a goal and added two assists, while Matt Garbowsky dished out a career-high three assists. Adam Hartley also scored a power-play goal, as both teams tallied three power-play goals in the contest. RIT is now 3-5-3 all-time against the Colonials. Saturday's victory was the first for the Tigers at 84 Lumber Arena. The RIT power-play came into the weekend leading the nation at 26.0 percent. RIT's scored three power-play goals for the third time this season and continue to lead the nation with the man-advantage at 25.9 percent (28-for-108). The Tigers won for the third time this season when trailing by at least two goals in a game (Michigan, Oct. 11 and St. Lawrence, Jan. 4). RIT is generating tremendous scoring depth, as 12 players have at least 10 points. Five Tigers have between at least 20 points. Mike Colavecchia leads the 11 goals, including eight power-play goals, which is third best in Division I. Colavecchia has four different three-point outings this season. Matt Garbowsky has five points over his last three games (1-4-5). The Tigers are 11th nationally in scoring, averaging 3.21 goals per game. The duo of Chris Saracino and Greg Noyes continue to rack up the points from the blue-line. Saracino is third nationally in scoring by a defensemen, with 25 points in 28 games, while Noyes is right behind with 22 points, eighth nationally among all defensemen in scoring. They are the highest scoring defensive duo in the nation. In goal, Jordan Ruby has started RIT's last four games, going 2-2 with a 2.26 goals against average and .935 save percentage during that stretch. Ruby started the year with a 4.45 goals against average and .876 save percentage over his first six contests. RIT's penalty-killing unit is at 81.1 percent on the season. RIT plays its final six regular season games against AHA opponents, with three on the road and three at home. The Tigers finished 7-3-2 against the AHA's Eastern pod teams in 2012-13. Saturday's win was the first this season over a Western pod team this season. RIT currently seventh in the AHA standings with 20 points, but are just two points out of fourth. The Tigers return to action this weekend with a pair of road contests against Mercyhurst. On Nov. 9, Mercyhurst defeated RIT at Ritter Arena, 6-4. Greg Noyes and Matt Garbowsky recorded two points apiece in the loss for the Tigers. RIT is 28-15-6 all-time against the Lakers, as the two schools were also rivals at the Division III level in the ECAC West conference from 1988-99. The Tigers are 12-6-3 against Mercyhurst at the Division I level, including a 7-2-1 mark at the Mercyhurst Ice Center over that time period.