Mercyhurst Game Notes
Army Game Notes

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WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will look to snap a three-game winless streak when it travels to West Point, New York to take on the Black Knights of Army in a weekend series. Faceoffs from Tate Rink are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. both Friday, January 3 and Saturday, January 4.

The Lakers (9-9-2, 7-1-1 AHA) finished the non-conference portion of their regular season schedule last Saturday and Sunday with a pair of disappointing losses at Ohio State University. The bad news - Mercyhurst had its five-game unbeaten streak snapped and dropped out of the receiving votes section of the USCHO.com poll which was released on Monday. The good news – Mercyhurst remains in a tie for first place in the AHA standings with Bentley, coming in with a 7-1-1 conference record. The Lakers do have a game in hand on the Falcons, who enters weekend play with a 7-2-1 conference mark.

Mercyhurst leads the all-time series with Army by a 29-9-4 margin and is unbeaten in the last 14 meetings between the two schools (10-0-4). However, the Lakers are 7-8-2 lifetime against the Black Knights at Tate Rink. In fact, the Lakers last loss against Army came in West Point – a 4-3 setback on January 10, 2009. Last season, the Lakers went 3-0-1 against the Black Knights with Mercyhurst ending Army's season in the first round of the AHA playoffs last March. Mercyhurst swept the best-of-three series by the finals of 3-1 and 5-2 to begin its postseason run to the AHA title game.

Junior forward Matthew Zay leads the Lakers, and the conference, in scoring with 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points. He saw his 15-game point-scoring streak come to an end on Saturday in the opener against Ohio State, but bounced back on Sunday with a goal and an assist. He has scored at least one point in 16 of his 18 games played and is currently tied for third in the country in points per game (1.56).

Senior Daniel O'Donoghue is right on Zay's heels, posting eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points. After becoming the 16th player in the Division I era at Mercyhurst to record 100 career points against Robert Morris on December 14, the senior added a pair of assists in Sunday's loss against Ohio State to move into 13th place on the school's all-time Division I list. Like Zay, he had his season-high nine-game point-scoring streak snapped on Saturday.

Junior Ryan Misiak gives the Lakers a trio of 20-point scorers, contributing seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points this season. He tallied a power play goal in Saturday's setback.

Junior Jimmy Sarjeant leads the charge in goal for the Lakers, posting a 9-4-2 overall record with a 2.79 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. He stopped a career-best 42 shots at Ohio State last Saturday, but has allowed 11 goals over his last two starts. He is 7-0-1 against AHA opponents this season and his .667 overall winning percentage is tied for 16th in the country.

Army, meanwhile, enters the weekend at the other end of the standings. The Black Knights are 3-12-0 overall and 3-8-0 against AHA opponents. In the midst of a seven-game homestand, the Black Knights have won two of their last four times on the ice and are playing their first games since December 20. In his last time out, sophomore Shane Hearn recorded two goals in a 2-0 win over Canisius on December 7. He has registered at least one point in five of his last six games and leads the team with nine points on four goals and five assists.

Rookie C.J. Reuschlein continues to author a standout first collegiate season. The Flint, Michigan, native leads the team and all freshmen in the Atlantic Hockey Association statistics with six goals. Sophomore forward Willie Faust (3G, 4A) and rookie center Clint Carlisle (2G, 5A) have each registered seven points on the year.

In goal, junior Rob Tadazak has started all but one game this season. He owns a 4.44 goals-against average and an .873 save percentage. Rookie Parker Gahagen (5.27 GAA, .865 SV%) has appeared in three games and made one start.

Friday night's game will mark the annual House of Blues game in support of prostate cancer awareness. The first 1,000 fans through the turnstiles will receive a commemorative blue t-shirt, while everyone is encouraged to wear blue in support of the cause. Saturday night will be Scout Knight as area boy scouts will be in attendance. Friday night's game will mark the 500th game played in Tate Rink, which has served as the home of Army hockey over the last 28 years. The Black Knights, who moved from historic Smith Rink for the 1985-86 season under legendary head coach Jack Riley, own a 266-186-47 record when playing at Tate Rink.

Friday's game is also slated to air live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.