BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will renew its long-time rivalry with Canisius College on Saturday night at the new HarborCenter. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:35 p.m.
The Lakers and Golden Griffins were scheduled to play a home-and-home series beginning on Friday night at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. But, due to the ridiculous amount of snow in the Buffalo area, Canisius could not make the trip to Erie, forcing a postponement on Friday's game. However, with I-90 reopening on Friday afternoon, the Lakers will make the short trip to Buffalo to get one game in this weekend.
No make up date has been announced for Friday's cancellation.
LAST WEEKEND ...Mercyhurst went 0-1-1 at Bentley last weekend, playing to a 4-4 overtime tie last Friday before suffering a 5-4 overtime loss on Saturday. The Falcons scored with 33 seconds remaining in the overtime period to earn the victory. Mercyhurst dropped to 29-12-8 lifetime against Bentley but will have an opportunity to see the Falcons again on January 30 and 31 in Erie.
THE SERIES VS CANISIUS ...Mercyhurst is 40-29-9 lifetime against Canisius dating back to the Division III ECAC West days in the late '80s and early '90s. Mercyhurst has lost five of the last eight meetings between the two schools including a 7-2 decision in the AHA Championship two seasons ago and a 5-4 double overtime loss in the AHA Semifinals last season. This weekend will mark the 79th and 80th meetings between the two schools.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS ...Canisius enters the weekend series with a 4-5-3 overall record and a 3-3-2 league record. Last weekend, the Golden Griffins played to a 3-3 overtime tie against RIT before dropping a 3-0 decision to the Tigers on Saturday - both played at the new HarborCenter in Buffalo. The Golden Griffins are on a six-game winless streak (0-3-3) and have not won since defeating American International on the road by a 4-2 final on October 25.
Sophomore Shane Conacher, the younger brother of NHLer Cory Conacher, leads Canisius in scoring with four goals and eight assists for 12 points. Senior Cody Freeman and junior Ralph Cuddemi have each chipped in with four goals and five assists for nine points. Junior Keegan Asmundson has seen the most time in goal, posting a 2-4-2 record with a 3.07 goals against average and an .899 save percentage. Freshman Reilly Turner is 2-1-1 with a 2.95 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
The Golden Griffins are 11-of-51 on the power play (21.6%) and have killed off 42-of-49 opponent chances (85.7%).
WELCOME TO THE CLUB ...Senior forward
Matthew Zay scored with 32 seconds left in regulation against Merrimack on Friday, October 24 to force overtime and to become the 17th player in the Division I era at Mercyhurst to record 100 career points. It was Zay's first goal of the season and the 34th of his career. He now has 104 points in 122 career games with the Lakers and has scored 90 points in his last 84 games after registering just 14 points in 36 games as a rookie.
Last Saturday against Bentley, senior
Ryan Misiak earned an assist early in the second period to join Zay in the 100-point club. In 128 career games, Misiak has 39 goals and 61 assists for 100 points. He has 81 points in his last 92 games.
The most players on one Laker team to join the 100-point club is three, set in 2004-05 (T.J. Kemp, Rich Hansen, David Wrigley) and 2005-06 (Scott Reynolds, Scott Champagne, and Dave Borrelli).
POWER PLAY ON FIRE ...After starting the season 2-for-29 on the power play through the first seven games, the Lakers have been on fire with the man advantage over the last three contests, going 7-for-13 to increase the team's percentage from 6.9% to 21.4% in the span of three nights. Last weekend, the Lakers went 5-for-8 against Bentley, including a perfect 3-for-3 on Saturday. Sophomore
Kyle Dutra leads the team with a pair of power play goals while seven others have one each.
PENALTY KILLING UNIT COLD ...Meanwhile, the Lakers have struggled on the penalty kill through ten games, allowing ten goals in 41 opponent chances (75.6%). That percentage ranks the Lakers 52nd in the country. Mercyhurst has also not registered a shorthanded goal through the first ten games. Last season, Mercyhurst killed off 83.5% of opponent power play chances and also led the country with ten shorthanded goals.
BODO OFF TO FAST START ...Senior
Chris Bodo is off to an impressive start to the season as he tries to make a run at 100 career points. After tallying a career-high tying three points (two goals, one assist) in the final game against Army, Bodo had two more goals and an assist in the weekend series against Bentley. He now leads the Lakers with six goals this season and also leads the squad with nine points. His two goals on November 8 was his first mutliple-goal game since recording his first collegiate hat trick in a 4-2 victory at Holy Cross on January 10, 2014. The St. Thomas, Ontario native now needs five goals to reach 50 for his career and he needs 18 points to reach the century mark. In 127 career games, Bodo has 45 goals and 37 assists for 82 points.
RILEY STRIKES ...Redshirt freshman
Jack Riley scored his first collegiate goal last Friday night in the Lakers' 4-4 overtime tie against Bentley. His goal late in the second period gave Mercyhurst a 3-2 at that point. He would later notch the lone assist on senior
Chris Bodo's game-tying goal with 9:41 left in regulation. In nine games this season, Riley has one goal and three assists for four points. He played the first seven games of the regular season a year ago before missing the remainder of the year with an injury. He had one assist in those seven games.
THAT LINE IS WORKING ...The line of senior
Chris Bodo (six goals, three assists), junior
Alec Shields (two goals, five assists), and senior
Zac Frischmon (two goals, six assists) is off to a blazing start. The trio has played together in eight of the Lakers' ten games this season and have combined to score 22 points in those eight games. Led by Bodo's two goals and one assist, the line combined to score six points in the weekend series at Bentley.
LUCKY SEVEN ...Mercyhurst outscored Army 7-5 on Saturday night, November 8, at the Mercyhurst Ice Center to mark the most goals the Lakers have scored this season and the most since scoring seven goals in a 7-1 win against Sacred Heart on December 6, 2013. Senior
Chris Bodo led the way with two goals while senior
Ryan Misiak, redshirt senior
Kyle Just, junior
Anthony Mastrodicasa, sophomore
Kyle Dutra, and freshman
Jonathan Charbonneau tallied the others.
44 SECONDS ...Mercyhurst scored two goals on Friday, November 7, against Army, which proved to be all senior
Jimmy Sarjeant would need as he stopped 39 shots for his second career shutout. Those two goals came in the span of 44 seconds late in the first period when freshman
Kane Elliot notched his first collegiate goal (also the game winner) and senior
Zac Frischmon scored his first goal of the season. Sarjeant did the rest, stopping 29 shots over the final two periods to preserve the shutout.
BACON SIZZLES IN RELIEF ...Sophomore
Spencer Bacon was pressed into services in the third period on Saturday, November 8 against Army after senior
Jimmy Sarjeant had allowed five goals on just 18 shots. Just 37 seconds into the third period, after Sarjeant allowed his fifth goal, Bacon entered with the Lakers trailing 5-4. Mercyhurst scored three goals down the stretch and Bacon stopped all 12 shots he faced to earn him his first collegiate victory.
It was only his second collegiate appearance with his only other outing coming in relief at Ohio State on December 30, 2013. In that contest, he stopped nine of ten Buckeye shots.
Last weekend, Bacon came on in relief again on Friday after Sarjeant had to leave the game with an injury. The sophomore then earned his first collegiate start on Saturday, stopping 36 of 41 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss.
RIGHT WHERE HE LEFT OFF ...During Mercyhurst's playoff run last season,
Alec Shields emerged as an offensive threat in the Laker lineup. After recording two assists in his first 18 games last season, Shields had five points in his last four games, with four of those points coming in three playoff contests. His first collegiate goal was a game-winner in game two of the AHA Quarterfinals against Holy Cross. He also scored a pair of goals in the AHA Semifinal loss to Canisius.
This season, Shields has two goals and five assists for six points and has at least one point in six of the ten games this season. All told, dating back to last season, Shields has registered at least one point in 10 of 14 contests. In just 32 career games, the junior has five goals and nine assists for 14 points.
PICKING UP THE SLACK ...Junior
Anthony Mastrodicasa is taking over as the offensive-minded defenseman for the Lakers after the graduation of
Nick Jones, who left Mercyhurst as one of the highest-scoring blueliners in program history. Mastrodicasa was second to Jones in points by a defenseman last season after recording five goals and 13 assists as a sophomore.
After being held scoreless in the season-opening weekend at Air Force, Mastrodicasa tied a career-high with three points (one goal, two assists) in the 5-4 overtime loss to Merrimack on October 24. He added an assist in the 3-2 win over Merrimack on October 25 for a four-point weekend. On Saturday, November 8, the junior scored his first collegiate game-winning goal when he scored with 7:42 left in regulation. He is tied for sixth on the team in scoring with two goals and four assists for six points through eight games this season.
SPREADING IT OUT ...The Lakers have scored 31 goals through ten games and only senior
Chris Bodo (six), sophomore
Kyle Dutra (four), and freshman
Jonathan Charbonneau (three) have more than two goals on the season. In the opening weekend at Air Force, Mercyhurst had five goals by five different goal scorers. Against Merrimack, Mercyhurst had seven goals by seven different players, while against Colgate, the Lakers had two goals by two different players. Against Army, Mercyhurst had nine goals by eight different players (only Bodo had more than one goal) and then last weekend, six different players scored the Lakers' eight goals (Bodo and Dutra had two each).
The Lakers have 20 players with at least one point this season with only five players (including goaltenders
Jimmy Sarjeant and
Spencer Bacon), who have played in at least one game, not recording a point this season.
HOME ICE SUCCESS ...Mercyhurst improved to 23-1-2 lifetime against Army at the Mercyhurst Ice Center after sweeping the Black Knights on November 7 and 8. The only time the Lakers suffered a loss to Army on home ice was on February 25, 2006 - a 3-2 Black Knight victory.
WELCOME TO COLLEGE HOCKEY ...Freshman
Jonathan Charbonneau didn't take long to make his presence felt in the Mercyhurst lineup. After being held off the scoresheet in the season opener, Charbonneau had a goal and an assist in the Lakers' 4-2 win at Air Force in game two of the series. For his efforts, the St-Colombant, Quebec-native earned Co-Freshman of the Week honors from the Atlantic Hockey Association. He has scored at least one point in six of his first ten collegiate games and is tied for second on the team in scoring with three goals and five assists for eight points.
Defenseman
Tyler Enns recorded an assist and was a +3 in his only game in the Air Force series (game two).
Zach Todd took a whopping four games to pick up his first point - he earned an assist in the team's 3-2 win over Merrimack on October 25.
Kane Elliot scored his first collegiate goal (which proved to be the game-winner) on Friday, November 8 against Army - his second career game. Only
Patrick Piacentini, who has played in one game at Colgate, has not factored in the scoring among the newcomers who have dressed at least once.
SIGNATURE WIN ...Mercyhurst's upset win at fourth-ranked Colgate on Saturday, November 1, marked the highest-ranked team that the program has defeated since becoming a Division I member in 1999-2000. The highest-ranked foe that the Lakers knocked off prior to the win over Colgate was a 6-4 win over #7 Princeton on November 29, 2008 in the opening round of the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament. Mercyhurst defeated fourth-ranked Michigan in a shootout on October 2, 2010 to open the 2010-11 campaign. However, the game went down as a tie in the record books.
BAHNTGE ON THE BOARD ...Senior
Daniel Bahntge picked an opportune time to pick up his first goal, and his first point, of the 2014-15 season. His goal with 3:10 left in regulation on Saturday, November 1, at #4 Colgate proved to be the game-winner as the Lakers knocked off the Raiders, 2-1. It was Bahntge's 40th career goal with six of them being game-winning tallies. The senior has not missed a game in his collegiate career (132 games) and now needs four points to become a member of the 100-point club during the Division I era at Mercyhurst.
FRIDAY VS SATURDAY ...The victory against Army on Friday, November 7, was Mercyhurst's first win to open a series this season. Mercyhurst is 1-3-1 on Friday nights this season but is still being outscored by a 18-11 margin in series openers.The Lakers suffered their first loss on a Saturday last weekend at Bentley, but is still 4-1 in games on Saturday and have outscored the opposition on Saturdays by a 20-15 margin.
UP-AND-DOWN START ...The reigning Atlantic Hockey Association Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year, senior
Jimmy Sarjeant, has had a roller coaster start to the 2014-15 season. In the season-opening series at Air Force, Sarjeant managed to stop just 21-of-26 shots in a 5-1 loss on October 10 but then bounced back for a 40-of-42 save performance the following night - a 4-2 Laker win. Two weekends later, Sarjeant allowed five goals in an overtime loss to Merrimack before responding with 33 saves the following night - a 3-2 win. At #4 Colgate, Sarjeant and the Lakers allowed three first period goals in a 4-0 loss in the opener. He stopped 39-of-40 in the Lakers' biggest upset win in program history the following night - a 2-1 win. Then, last weekend, Sarjeant was brilliant in turning aside all 39 shots for his second career shutout on Friday against Army. However, on Saturday, Sarjeant didn't finish the game, giving way to sophomore
Spencer Bacon, after allowing five goals on 18 shots.
Consistency was the name of Sarjeant's game last season and if the Lakers are to repeat as conference champions and to make a run at the NCAAs, the senior will need to get back to that consistency that made him one of the top goaltenders in the country a year ago.
All told, Sarjeant is 4-3-0 with a 3.17 goals against average and a .911 save percentage this season.
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME ...Redshirt senior
Kyle Just recorded, what proved to be, his first collegiate game-winning goal in the 3-2 win over Merrimack on October 25. His first goal of the season and first, and only, game-winner in 115 career games. His deflection off of a centering feed from redshirt freshman
Jack Riley was originally waived off by the officiating crew but was overturned when the officials went to the video replay.
ALMOST THERE ...With
Matthew Zay and
Ryan Misiak joining the 100-point club, they are waiting on senior
Daniel Bahntge to join the parade. With three assists last weekend at Bentley, Bahntge has pulled to within four points of becoming the 19th member in the Division I era at Mercyhurst to reach the milestone. He has one goal and four assists this season and has 40 goals and 56 assists in 132 career games.
Senior
Chris Bodo is off to a blazing start and is attempting to make a run at becoming number 20. With six goals and three assists this season, Bodo now has 45 goals and 37 assists for 82 points in 127 career games.
WILD PERIOD ...A total of 12 goals were scored at the Cadet Ice Arena in the season-opening weekend between Mercyhurst and Air Force. Of the 12 goals, eight were scored in the second period, with six of those coming in the span of 3:21 of game action. On Friday night, Air Force snapped a 1-1 tie with three goals in the span of 1:18 late in the second period to break the game open. Mercyhurst returned the favor on Saturday night, scoring three goals in 2:03 to also break a 1-1 deadlock. Mercyhurst's four goals on Saturday all came in the second period and were scored in the span of 9:03.
EXHIBITION OPENER ...Mercyhurst opened the 2014-15 season on October 5 with a 6-1 victory over Ryerson University of Toronto at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. After a scoreless first period, the Lakers scored four times in the second, three of which came during a 75-second span midway through the frame. Freshman
Jonathan Charbonneau put Mercyhurst on the board with a power play goal before Ryerson tied it at 1-1 just over three minutes later. Seniors
Ryan Misiak,
Zac Frischmon, and Ed DeWald scored 75 seconds apart to give the Lakers a 4-1 lead after two. Sophomore
Philippe Drouin and
Stephen Hrehoriak closed out the scoring in the third. Misiak led the offense with a goal and three assists, while Charbonneau, DeWald, and Drouin had one goal and one assist each. Sophomore
Spencer Bacon started in goal and stopped 14-of-15 shots in nearly 30 minutes. Freshman
Brandon Wildung closed out the contest by stopping all 17 shots he faced.
NON-CONFERENCE SLATE ...Since joining the Division I ranks in the 1999-2000 season, the Lakers have struggled against teams out-of-conference. Mercyhurst is 21-92-11 against non-conference opponents in its Division I history and posted a 2-8-1 non-conference mark last season. The Lakers earned victories over Merrimack and Rensselaer and a tie at Alaska in 2013-14. This season, Mercyhurst is 2-2-0 out of conference, having split against Merrimack and at #4 Colgate.
SEASON OPENING STRUGGLES ...Since joining the Division I ranks in 1999-2000, Mercyhurst has not fared well in season openers. In fact, Mercyhurst is 0-15-1 in its 16 season-opening games since becoming a Division I member. The only non-loss in those 16 games was a 4-4 overtime tie at Michigan to open the 2010-11 season. The Lakers eventually defeated the Wolverines in a shootout but the game went in the record books as a tie. Mercyhurst has been outscored 68-30 in those 16 contests.
AYE, AYE CAPTAIN ...Head coach
Rick Gotkin announced that senior forward
Matthew Zay will serve as this year's team captain, while seniors
Ryan Misiak and
Tyler Shiplo will be the assistants.
Zay, a native of Glendale, New York, entered the 2014-15 season needing just four points to become the 17th player in school history, at the Division I level, to record 100 career points. He has led the Lakers in each of the last two seasons in scoring, including a career-high 43 points last year. He was a First Team All-Atlantic Association selection and was named the team's Best Forward at the annual postseason banquet last season. Zay participated in the Chicago Blackhawks Prospect Development Camp over the summer.
Hailing from Shelby Township, Michigan, Misiak entered needing just five points to reach the century mark in his career. He had a career-high 25 assists last season, helping him tie his career-best of 38 points he also recorded as a sophomore. He led the Lakers with 29 points against conference opponents last season and was named an All-AHA Second Team honoree in 2012-13. Misiak attended the New Jersey Devils Prospect Development Camp in the summer of 2013.
Shiplo, who calls Oakville, Ontario, home, is one of two senior defensemen this season for the Lakers. He scored a career-high five goals last season and entered his senior campaign needing one point for 50 in his career. Last season, Shiplo was fifth on the team with a +13 plus/minus rating and was second on the squad with 66 blocked shots.
MUCH BETTER IN CONFERENCE OPENERS ...In contrast to Mercyhurst's 0-15-1 record in season openers since becoming a Division I program in 1999-2000, the Lakers have fared much better in conference openers. Since the 1999-2000 campaign, Mercyhurst is 10-5-1 in its conference opening contests and have outscored the opposition by a 55-40 margin.
MERCYHURST PICKED TO WIN AHA IN PRESEASON POLL ...For the first time since the 2006-07 season, Mercyhurst was picked to win the Atlantic Hockey Association according to the annual preseason coaches' poll. The Lakers garnered six first-place votes en route to the top spot in the voting. Coming off of the team's first-ever AHA regular season championship last season and first since winning the last of three MAAC Hockey League regular season titles in 2002-03, Mercyhurst has much of its team returning from a year ago. Last year's AHA representative in the NCAA tournament, Robert Morris, came in second and received three first-place nods. Air Force, Niagara, and Bentley rounded out the top five.
PLENTY OF FIREPOWER RETURNING ...Mercyhurst has the luxury of returning 12 of its top scorers from an offense that averaged 3.61 goals per game and ranked third in the nation a year ago. Nine returners up front finished the 2013-14 season with double digit points, led by senior
Matthew Zay (17g, 26a), who tied for the team lead with 43 points. He was an All-AHA First Team choice after earning Third Team honors as a sophomore. He led the AHA outright in scoring during his sophomore campaign, becoming the first Mercyhurst player to accomplish the feat since joining the conference. Senior
Ryan Misiak (13g, 25a) established a career-high in assists and tied his career-high in points last season. He was an All-AHA Second Team member as a sophomore. Senior
Daniel Bahntge (15g, 17a) was a member of the AHA All-Rookie Team as a freshman. All three of them are within ten points of reaching the century mark for their careers. Redshirt senior
Kyle Just established career-highs in goals (8) and points (27) while senior
Nardo Nagtzaam (11g, 11a) tied his career-high in goals despite only playing in 23 games. Senior
Zac Frischmon (8g, 14a) had career-highs in goals, assists, and points. Sophomore
Kyle Dutra (7g, 15a) led all freshmen on the team in scoring and was the AHA Rookie of the Month for December. Senior
Chris Bodo (10g, 11a), junior
Kyle Cook (11g, 7a), and sophomore
Stephen Hrehoriak (6g, 7a) also finished in double figures a year ago.
GOTKIN CLIMBS THE LEADERBOARD ...Head coach
Rick Gotkin enters his 27th season as the Mercyhurst head coach. He is the only coach in NCAA history to take the same program to the NCAA tournament at all three divisions (D-III - 1991; D-II - 1993, 1995; D-I - 2001, 2003, 2005). He has guided the Lakers to a record of 479-340-73 and ranks 25th on the all-time list of NCAA coaches in victories. He ranks 12th among active coaches with his 479 victories and needs four wins to surpass Joe Marsh (St. Lawrence, 1985-2012) and to move into 24th on the all-time wins list. He is 21 wins shy of 500 victories with the Laker program.
17 NAMED TO AHA ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM ...Last June, Mercyhurst had 17 players named to the Atlantic Hockey Association's All-Academic Team, which was tied for sixth-most in the conference and part of a record 202 student-athletes to be named to the AHA All-Academic Team. Of Mercyhurst's honorees on the All-Academic squad, nine were repeat winners - tied for fifth-most in the conference. Senior
Nick Jones was one of ten players named Student-Athlete of the Year for maintaining for 4.0 GPA throughout the entire season. Earning spots on the AHA All-Academic Team were:
Spencer Bacon (Freshman / Victoria, British Columbia),
Kyle Cook (Sophomore / Middleburg Heights, Ohio),
Philippe Drouin (Freshman / Cumberland, Ontario),
Kyle Dutra (Freshman / Mississauga, Ontario),
Trent Frey (Senior / River Falls, Wisconsin),
Zac Frischmon (Junior / Ham Lake, Minnesota),
Grant Gettinger (Junior / North Olmsted, Ohio),
Stephen Hrehoriak (Freshman / Stittsville, Ontario),
Kyle Johnson (Junior / Buena Vista, Saskatchewan),
Nick Jones (Senior / Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania),
Kyle Just (Redshirt Junior / Arnprior, Ontario),
Anthony Mastrodicasa (Sophomore / Woodbridge, Ontario),
Ryan Misiak (Junior / Shelby Township, Michigan),
Mychal Monteith (Sophomore / Toledo, Ohio),
Daniel O'Donoghue (Senior / Port Jefferson Station, New York),
Tyler Shiplo (Junior / Oakville, Ontario), and
Matthew Zay (Junior / Glendale, New York).
GOING CAMPING ...Senior
Matthew Zay participated in the Chicago Blackhawks Prospect Development Camp over the summer, joining a list of current Lakers who have been to NHL camps in the past.
Nardo Nagtzaam participated in the Washington Capitals camp in the summer of 2012 while
Ryan Misiak was at the New Jersey Devils camp in the summer of 2013. Nagtzaam also played for his native country, Netherlands, in the IIHF World Championships (Division I - Group B) in Vilnius, Lithuania this past April. He was the only collegiate player on the Dutch roster.
SARJEANT ON USCHO.COM AND MIKE RICHTER WATCH LISTS ...Coming off of his brilliant 2013-14 campaign, senior goaltender
Jimmy Sarjeant was recognized as one of ten goaltenders to watch according to USCHO.com and one of twenty on the initial list for the second annual Mike Richter Award, given to the nation's top goaltender. Sarjeant, who was one of 19 finalists for the inaugural Mike Richter Award, posted an 18-5-6 overall record with a 2.46 goals against average and a .930 save percentage last season.
CHECKING IN ON O'DONOGHUE AND JONES ...At the end of last season,
Daniel O'Donoghue became the fifth player from Mercyhurst in the history of the program to sign an NHL entry level contract when he signed with the Phoenix Coyotes. O'Donoghue joined Jody Robinson (New York Islanders), T.J. Kemp (Edmonton Oilers), Jamie Hunt (Washington Capitals), and Cullen Eddy (Philadelphia Flyers) as the list of NHL signees. Hunt remains the only Mercyhurst alum to play in an NHL regular season contest when he played one game for the Capitals in the 2006-07 season. O'Donoghue, a native of Port Jefferson Station, New York, began the season with the Coyotes' AHL affiliate - the Portland Pirates. He played three contests with the Pirates at the end of last season. O'Donoghue played one game for the Gwinnett Gladiators in the East Coast Hockey League, tallying one assist. He since has rejoined the Pirates and has not scored in his first four games with Portland this season. Jones, meanwhile, signed a contract with the AHL's Worcester Sharks in the offseason. The Cranberry Township, Pa., native played two games with the Sharks at the tail end of last season. He is currently playing with the Indy Fuel in the East Coast Hockey League and is off to a terrific start, tallying one goal and five assists for six points in a dozen games.
WHO ARE THESE GUYS? ...As with every season, Mercyhurst has brought in a host of freshmen that will be looking to contribute at the collegiate level. Seven newcomers join the roster in 2014-15 - three forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender. Up front,
Kane Elliott played for the Milton Icehawks (OJHL) and scored 59 points (27g, 32a) in 51 games last season.
Jonathan Charbonneau played for the St. Jerome Panthers (QJAHL). He tallied 40 goals and 49 assists in just 42 games with the Panthers. Finally, head coach
Rick Gotkin's son,
Brandon Gotkin, joins the team after playing four seasons with the Cathedral Prep Ramblers in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League. He had a career-high 29 points during his junior season and registered 67 points and 149 penalty minutes in 72 career games. On the blueline,
Tyler Enns played three seasons for the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots (OJHL). He had 14 points in 31 games during the 2013-14 season.
Patrick Piacentini was a member of the North York Rangers (OJHL) for the past two seasons. He had 10 goals and 75 assists in 103 games with the Rangers during his career. Finally,
Zach Todd played with the Boston Jr. Bruins (USPHL) last season and recorded 12 goals and 21 assists. Prior to that, Todd played for the Brockville Braves in the CCHL and had 24 goals and 28 assists in 54 games with the team during the 2012-13 season.
Brandon Wildung is the lone new face between the pipes. He competed with the Minot Minotauros in the NAHL during the 2013-14 season. He went 14-17-3 with a 2.44 goals against average and a .918 save percentage. He also played with the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in 2012-13. While there, he went 11-6-0 with a 2.61 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Redshirt freshman
Jack Riley also rejoins the club this season after an injury forced him out of the Laker lineup for all but seven games in his rookie season a year ago. The son of Army coach Brian Riley, Jack had one assist in his seven games with the Lakers last season.
