Mercyhurst Game Notes
Holy Cross Game Notes

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WORCESTER, Mass. - The Atlantic Hockey Association-leading Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will look to keep its position atop the league standings when it travels to Worcester, Massachusetts to battle the Crusaders of Holy Cross in a two-game series beginning on Friday night, January 10, from the Hart Center. Start times on both Friday and Saturday nights are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The Lakers are 29-13-5 lifetime against Holy Cross, including a 17-6-1 record against the Crusaders at the Hart Center. Last season, Mercyhurst ended Holy Cross' year in Worcester by besting the Crusaders two games to one in the Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinals. The Lakers, who advanced to the AHA title game a year ago, have eliminated Holy Cross in the quarterfinals in each of the past two seasons.

Mercyhurst (11-9-2, 9-1-1 AHA) extended its lead atop the standings to three points last weekend with a sweep at Army by identical 3-1 finals last Friday and Saturday. It marked the first time since February 13 and 14, 2004 that Mercyhurst swept Army in West Point. The Lakers had been 7-8-2 lifetime at Army before last weekend's sweep. The win on Saturday was career win #464 for head coach Rick Gotkin, who moved into the top 25 all-time among coaching victories. He surpassed former Denver coach Murray Armstrong (1956-77) to move into 25th place on the all-time list.

The Lakers' 9-1-1 conference start is tied for the program's second-best record through 11 conference games since joining the Division I ranks in 1999-2000, and is the best start in program history since the inception of the Atlantic Hockey Association in 2003. The 2001-02 Lakers, who played in the MAAC Hockey League, started the year 9-0-2, while the 2000-01 squad, also a member of the MAAC, started 9-1-1.

Mercyhurst not only has a three-point lead in the standings, but they also boast several individual and team statistical leaders as well. Currently, junior Matthew Zay and senior Daniel O'Donoghue are tied for the conference lead in scoring with 18 points against AHA opponents. Junior goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant leads the league in conference goals against average (1.89), save percentage (.942), and winning percentage (9-0-1, .950). Meanwhile, as a team, the Lakers have the conference's best scoring offense (4.73), are tied for the best scoring defense (2.09), have the second-best power play (27.3%), and have the second-best penalty killing unit (86.0%) through the first 11 league games of the year.

Zay leads the Lakers with 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points overall on the season, putting him third in the country in points and sixth in the nation in points per game. O'Donoghue is right behind with 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points, ranking fifth in the country in points and tied for 12th in the country in scoring average. Junior Ryan Misiak gives the Lakers three 20-point scorers this season as he has chipped in with seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points. The trio is the second-highest scoring threesome in all of college hockey, trailing only Boston College's Johnny Gaudreau (35), Kevin Hayes (30), and Bill Arnold (26).

Sarjeant, meanwhile, ranks 14th in the country in winning percentage, posting an 11-4-2 record for a .706 win rate. He has a 2.58 goals against average and a .922 save percentage overall.

Holy Cross (4-13-2, 3-7-2 AHA) enters the weekend in a tie for ninth place in the conference standings with eight points. The Crusaders have managed to score just 39 goals in 19 games this season (2.05 per game), with 25 of those goals coming in their 12 conference contests (2.08). Last weekend, Holy Cross was swept at home by Canisius, losing by the finals of 4-2 and 3-0.

The Crusaders, just 1-5-2 at the Hart Center this season, are led in scoring by Adam Schmidt, who has five goals and seven assists for 12 points. Matt Vidal is the only other player in double figures with four goals and seven assists for 11 points. Matt Ginn has seen every minute in goal for Holy Cross and is 4-13-2 with a 2.94 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.