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WORCESTER, Mass. - Fresh off its opening round sweep of Army in the opening round of the Atlantic Hockey Association tournament last weekend, the Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will take to road for the AHA Quarterfinals this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday against the Crusaders of Holy Cross. The best-of-three series will take place at the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Friday and Saturday's faceoffs are scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m., while Sunday's tilt, if necessary, will begin at 5:05 p.m.

Mercyhurst (16-15-5, 12-11-4 AHA) earned the right to advance to the second round after disposing of the Black Knights of Army in a two-game sweep last Friday and Saturday at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The Lakers came-from-behind to defeat Army 3-1 on Friday night, getting all three goals in the third period. Mercyhurst then completed the sweep with a 5-2 victory on Saturday.

Junior Kyle Just, sophomore Zac Frischmon, and sophomore Chris Bodo all scored third period goals for the Lakers in Friday's victory. Junior Jordan Tibbett turned aside 20-of-21 Black Knight shots. On Saturday, Mercyhurst got two goals each from senior Grant Blakey and junior Daniel O'Donoghue, while sophomore Ryan Misiak added an empty-netter to complete the sweep. Senior Max Strang stopped 36-of-38 Army shots on goal.

Mercyhurst has advanced to at least the quarterfinal round in every season of the ten-year existence of the Atlantic Hockey Association.

The series marks a rematch of last season's quarterfinals at the Mercyhurst Ice Center, when Mercyhurst earned a hard-fought, two games to one victory over the Crusaders. In that series, Strang stopped 111-of-115 shots on goal to help propel the Lakers to the AHA semifinals in Rochester, N.Y. for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

The Lakers are 27-12-5 lifetime against the Crusaders, including a 15-5-1 record at the Hart Center. Mercyhurst is also 4-1 in five games against Holy Cross in the postseason. The teams split a two-game set at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on January 11 and 12. Holy Cross took the first game by a 2-1 final before Mercyhurst responded with a 4-2 victory the following night.

Holy Cross (19-12-3, 15-9-3 AHA) earned an opening round bye, finishing third in the AHA regular season standings, and did not play last weekend. The Crusaders are 4-0-1 in their last five games, outscoring their opponents by a 20-10 margin. Ten of their 20 goals over the last five games have come on the power play (10-of-25).

The Crusaders are looking for back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in program history.

You can hear all of the action from the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts on WMCE 88.5 FM.

THE SERIES
Mercyhurst leads the all-time series with Holy Cross 27-12-5. The teams split a pair of meetings at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on January 11 and 12. The Crusaders won the first game by a 2-1 final before the Lakers responded with a 4-2 victory the following night. This marks a rematch of last year's best two-of-three quarterfinal series at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The Lakers won the series two games to one and advanced to the Atlantic Hockey Semifinals in Rochester, N.Y. Mercyhurst is 8-2-1 in the last 11 meetings with the Crusaders.

THE COACHES
Rick Gotkin is in his 25th season with Mercyhurst and has posted a career record of 450-321-65. 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. In Saturday's game two victory over Army, Gotkin became 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 836 career games coached. 

Paul Pearl is in his 18th season at Holy Cross and has compiled a career record of 282-269-66 with the Crusaders. He has been the man behind the bench in eight of the 10 most successful seasons in Holy Cross history, while he has had four teams post 20-plus win seasons. Pearl led the Crusaders to their first two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2003-04 and 2005-06, while he coached the Crusaders to their first ever NCAA Tournament win with a 4-3 overtime victory over Minnesota in Grand Forks, N.D., on March 24, 2006.

ABOUT MERCYHURST
The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team picked an opportune time to snap its eight-game winless skid, sweeping the Black Knights of Army two games to none in the opening round of the Atlantic Hockey Association playoffs. Mercyhurst is now on a four-game unbeaten streak (2-0-2) after ending the regular season with a pair of ties against Robert Morris. The Lakers earned their first win of the season when trailing after two periods (1-9-0) on Friday night, scoring three times in the third period to erase a 1-0 deficit and take game one of the series. Mercyhurst led from start-to-finish on Saturday in knocking off the Black Knights by a 5-2 final to complete the sweep. Mercyhurst moved to 16-15-5 overall on the season. Saturday's victory marked the 450th career win for head coach Rick Gotkin. He became the 26th coach ever, at any division, to win 450 career games in college hockey. Gotkin is 14 victories behind Murray Armstrong, who coached at Denver from 1956-57 to 1976-77 for 25th on the all-time wins list. On Friday, the Lakers trailed 1-0 entering the third period, before junior Kyle Just finally solved Army goaltender Rob Tadazak at the 10:38 mark of the third. It was Just's fourth goal of the season. Then, sophomore Zac Frischmon gave Mercyhurst its first lead of the night, with what proved to be the game-winning goal at the 14:34 mark of the third. It was Frischmon's first collegiate game-winning goal in what was his 73rd career game. It was just his third goal of the season and only his fifth career marker. Sophomore Chris Bodo added an empty-netter to seal the game one victory. Junior Jordan Tibbett earned the win between the pipes for the Lakers – his first victory since December 15 when he stopped 42 shots in a 3-1 win at Clarkson. He stopped 20-of-21 Army shots on goal. On Saturday, Mercyhurst led from start-to-finish, getting two goals apiece from senior Grant Blakey and junior Daniel O'Donoghue in the 5-2 win. It was Blakey's first multiple goal game of the season and his first since scoring a pair of goals in a 9-4 win over Connecticut on January 8, 2011. The senior captain now has 10 goals this season, just one shy of tying his career-high of 11 he scored as a freshman. Meanwhile, O'Donoghue scored twice and now has established career highs in goals (12), assists (22), and points (34) this season. Sophomore Ryan Misiak added an empty-netter to seal the victory. Senior Max Strang stopped 36-of-38 shots in the win to improve to 12-9-3 on the season. He needs 23 saves to become just the fourth goaltender to record 2,000 career saves in a Mercyhurst uniform at the Division I level – Ryan Zapolski (3,360), Peter Aubry (2,372), and Andy Franck (2,276). The win was the 30th victory of Strang's career (30-28-6). O'Donoghue and junior Kyle Just led the Lakers with four points over the weekend. Frischmon, who tied a career-high with two assists on Saturday, and Blakey, chipped in with three points apiece. Junior defenseman Nick Jones had a +7 rating in the two games while his defensive partner, freshman Anthony Mastrodicasa, was a +6. Both players were on the ice for all five of Mercyhurst's goals on Saturday. Mercyhurst improved to 29-9-4 lifetime against Army, including 21-1-2 in games played at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The Lakers also improved to 6-0-0 lifetime in postseason contests against the Black Knights. The Lakers have ten players with at least 10 points this season, including nine of those players with at least 20 points. Sophomore Matthew Zay leads the way with 12 goals and 26 assists for 38 points. Misiak is right behind with 37 points, while O'Donoghue has 34. Seven players have scored at least 10 goals this year, including 17 goals from both Bodo and Misiak.

ABOUT HOLY CROSS
The Crusaders, who are the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament, will return to action on March 15-17 for a best two-out-of-three quarterfinal series versus No. 6 seed Mercyhurst at the Hart Center in Worcester. The Crusaders earned a first round bye and home ice advantage by finishing in the top four of the standings. Mercyhurst swept a best two-out-of-three first round series versus Army. Last year, the Lakers won a quarterfinal series at the Mercyhurst Ice Center versus the Crusaders. The Lakers won the first game, 2-1, while the Crusaders took the second by a 3-1 score. Mercyhurst then won the third game, 3-1. Holy Cross is 1-4-0 versus Mercyhurst in postseason season play including a 4-3 overtime loss in the AHA semifinals on March 18, 2005 in Northford, Conn. The Lakers also defeated HC by a 10-3 score in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament in Erie on March 11, 2000.  The Crusaders' 19-12-3 record is their best after the first 34 games since the 2005-2006 season when they were 23-9-2. The Crusaders, who went 20-15-4 last year, are looking to earn back-to-back 20 win seasons for the first time in program history.  The Crusaders are 4-0-1 in their last five games. Holy Cross has outscored its opponents by a 20-10 margin during this stretch. The Crusaders are 10-25 on the power play for a .400 percentage.  The Crusaders have a 15-12 (.556) all-time record in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament as they have won two titles (2004 & 2006). The Crusaders are 7-10 (.412) all-time in Atlantic Hockey Tournament quarterfinal round games. Holy Cross has advanced to the semifinals four times and has failed to reach the semifinals five times. Holy Cross is 10-1 (.909) all-time in Atlantic Hockey Tournament games played at the Hart Center. Sophomore Matt Ginn (Lindsay, Ontario) now has 905 saves this season which is a new program record. Paul Pijanowski set the previous saves record in 1984-1985 with 872. Ginn is now 18-11-3 on the season. His 18 wins are second for a Division I season at the school. He is already second all-time on the school's Division I career victories list with 35. His 1,534 career saves are third.  Senior Rob Linsmayer (Winnetka, Ill.) has played in 147 career games which are second all-time in program history. He has 31 goals and 68 assists for 99 career points. His 68 assists are ninth on the school's all-time Division I list, while his 99 points are 10th.  Senior Kyle Fletcher (Kanata, Ontario) and Linsmayer are tied for the team-lead this season with 26 points. Senior Brandon Nunn (Fairport, N.Y.) has a team-best 15 goals, while Linsmayer leads the team with 19 assists.  The Crusaders are 9-5-2 at home this season with wins versus UConn, Bentley, RIT, No. 15 Niagara, AIC, Sacred Heart and Army, two wins versus Penn State, ties versus RIT and Robert Morris and losses versus Army, Robert Morris, Niagara, Bentley and UConn.