Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Game one of the critical two-game regular season finale went in the books on Friday night, but nothing was solved, and it will come down to Saturday night at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team played to a 3-3 overtime tie against the Colonials of Robert Morris at the 84 Lumber Arena in Pittsburgh on Friday night, extending the Lakers' winless streak to seven straight games (0-5-2). Mercyhurst is 14-15-4 overall and 12-11-3 in conference play. Robert Morris moved to 18-12-3 overall and 13-11-2 in the conference.

The playoff picture is still muddled heading into Saturday's regular season finale. With the Lakers gaining a point, and Connecticut playing to a 4-4 overtime tie against Sacred Heart, Mercyhurst still has a shot at a first-round bye in the Atlantic Hockey Association tournament. Mercyhurst needs to defeat the Colonials and then needs Sacred Heart to knock off Connecticut for Mercyhurst to earn the #4 seed in the tournament and a first-round bye.

The faceoff of the contest was delayed one hour due to game one of the Robert Morris-Lindenwood women's hockey first round series being decided in triple overtime. Robert Morris won the contest 2-1 at the 8:04 mark of the third overtime. But, the big story was that Lindenwood's netminder Nicole Hensley broke former Laker Desi Clark's NCAA record for saves in a game with 90 stops on Friday night. Clark stopped 78 in the triple overtime loss at Harvard on March 19, 2005.

The delay seemed to affect the Lakers early as Robert Morris jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway through the opening period. The Colonials struck first on the power play when Scott Jacklin scored his tenth goal of the season at the 5:31 mark. Andrew Blazek blasted a slapshot from the point that was redirected in front by Jacklin past Mercyhurst junior Jordan Tibbett for the 1-0 advantage.

The lead would expand to 2-0 at the 10:29 mark as the Colonials converted a 2-on-1 break. Cody Wydo and Adam Brace broke into the Laker zone with only sophomore Tyler Shiplo back for Mercyhurst. Wydo hit Brace with a centering feed, catching Tibbett out of position. Tyler Hinds had the other helper.

But, the Lakers would get one back at the 15:21 mark thanks to a trio of sophomores. Matthew Zay received an outlet pass up the left wing boards and made a sensational move on a Robert Morris defender. Zay then centered a pass that Daniel Bahntge was there to bang home in front of the Robert Morris netminder, senior Eric Levine, to cut the Colonial lead in half at 2-1. It was Bahntge's 13th goal of the season.

Mercyhurst outshot Robert Morris 13-9 in the opening period. Mercyhurst did have a goal disallowed when the puck was knocked in with a high stick by senior Paul Chiasson at the 1:19 mark. Junior Trent Frey hit the post just 3:15 in as Mercyhurst mounted a lot of the pressure in the opening twenty minutes.

Mercyhurst got its legs in the second period, taking a 3-2 advantage after forty minutes of action.

Senior Grant Blakey tied the contest at 2-2 just 32 seconds into the middle stanza, banging home a loose puck past Levine. Senior Paul Chiasson took the initial shot from between the circles but was blocked by a Colonial defender. The puck ended up on the stick of Blakey who deposited it into an empty net. Junior Daniel O'Donoghue had the other assist on Blakey's eighth goal of the year.

The Lakers mounted pressure in the Robert Morris zone for most of the period and it paid off again at the 7:49 mark. Sophomore Ryan Misiak received a centering feed from junior Kyle Just from behind the Colonial net. Misiak let go of a wrist shot from the right wing circle that beat Levine, giving the Lakers their first lead of the night. Sophomore Chris Bodo had the other assist on Misiak's 15th goal of the year – just one behind Bodo for the team lead.

Shots were even at 14-14 in the second period, but a majority of the Colonial shots were from long distance, easily stopped by Tibbett. The Lakers certainly owned a most of the play in the middle stanza, and it paid off with a lead heading to the locker room.

In the third, Robert Morris mounted the early attack and tied the contest at the 6:23 mark. The Colonials broke into the Laker zone on a 3-on-1 rush and got the tying goal from Colin South, banging home a rebound through the legs of Tibbett. The junior netminder made the first stop on Jeff Jones, but the rebound went right to the stick of South for the tying tally. Tyler Hinds had the other assist.

Both teams had near-misses in the waning minutes of the third. Blakey, looking for his second goal of the night, took a shot from the right-wing circle that went off the glove of Levine. The shot trickled behind the Colonial goaltender but was swept away by a defender before trickling across the goal line. Then with 30 seconds left, Robert Morris had a shot go between the legs of Tibbett from a bad angle and went right through the crease, avoiding another opportunity.

Robert Morris outshot the Lakers 11-10 in the third period.

In the overtime, the Colonials had the pressure early, but then the Lakers had a couple of chances towards the later stages. Zay had a chance with just over a minute left but missed the net short side on Levine. Then a rebound squirted free later in the overtime, but the Lakers could not get a stick on it.

Then, the save of the night came with 40 seconds left in the extra period. The Colonials had a 2-on-1 rush into the Mercyhurst zone. Zach Hervato took the shot, but Tibbett made a huge blocker save, forcing the shot wide and keeping the game tied. Junior defenseman Randy Cure was whistled for a penalty with 30 seconds left in the overtime, but the Colonials could not get a shot off.

Shots were even at two apiece in the overtime. Tibbett stopped 33-of-36 shots to earn the tie in goal. He is 3-6-1 on the season. Levine stopped 37-of-39 Laker shots to move to 17-10-3 on the season.

Robert Morris was 1-for-2 on the power play while the Lakers went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

The teams will conclude the regular season at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Saturday night for a 7:05 p.m. faceoff. The Lakers will honor four seniors prior to faceoff on Saturday – Grant Blakey, Charlie Carkin, Paul Chiasson, and Max Strang.