ERIE, Pa. – Sophomore goaltender Spencer Bacon, pressed into service in the third period after senior Jimmy Sarjeant gave up his fifth goal of the night, made some key saves and was rewarded with three goals as the Mercyhurst University men's hockey team rallied from a 5-4 deficit to defeat Army 7-5 on Saturday night and sweep the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) two-game series. The Lakers' first weekend sweep of the young season improved their overall record to 5-3-0 and their conference ledger to 3-1-0. Army lost for the fourth time in its last five games to drop to 2-6-1 and 2-5-1 respectively.



Both teams traded goals in the first period. Army, blanked 2-0 by Sarjeant and the Lakers despite 39 shots in the series opener on Friday, took the early lead when freshman defenseman Blake Box beat Sarjeant at 7:16. The Lakers got the tying goal at 14:55 when freshman forward Jonathan Charbonneau collected his third goal of the season, knocking in a centering pass from senior linemate Daniel Bahntge. Senior defenseman Tyler Shiplo had the second assist.

Mercyhurst outshot Army 10-6 in the first twenty minutes.

Army freshman winger Tyler Pham put the Black Knights back in front 2-1 when he converted a rare penalty shot at 5:10 of the second. The Black Knights opened a two-goal lead less than three minutes later when senior defenseman Maurice Alvarez cashed a power play opportunity, something Army couldn't do in six chances Friday.
But the resilient Lakers scored three unanswered later in the period to grab a 4-3 advantage.

Senior forward Chris Bodo scored on a rebound at 9:35. That was followed less than two minutes later when Kyle Just scored Mercyhurst's third power play goal of the campaign, sliding one past Gahagen from in close at 11:22. When Bodo tallied his second of the game at 15:38, Mercyhurst had its first lead at 4-3. But Army senior captain Josh Richards drew the Black Knights even at 4-4 when he converted a rebound of defenseman Mike Preston's shot at 17:15.

Mercyhurst outshot Army 15-10 in the second period.

The Lakers took a minor penalty at the end of the second. That infraction that would prove costly as Pham scored his second of the contest just 37 seconds into the third.

Exit Sarjeant; enter Bacon.

After killing off another penalty, the Lakers went back to work. Sophomore forward Kyle Dutra knotted the game at five when he scored his second goal of the season – and first since October 11 at Air Force – at 3:16. Dutra tallied on a wrap-around, returning the momentum to Mercyhurst. Junior defenseman Anthony Mastrodicasa then fired one a slapshot from the point that ricocheted off of a Black Knight defender and past Army sophomore goalie Parker Gahagen at 12:18, just 79 seconds after Army took a cross-checking penalty. The lamplighter gave Mercyhurst a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

Senior Ryan Misiak finished Army and the scoring as he collected his 99th career point by scoring into an empty net with less than ten seconds to play. The Lakers outshot Army 16-14 in the third and 41-30 for the entire 60 minutes.

Bacon stopped all 12 Army shots he saw in the third to pick up his first career win in just his second appearance in a Laker uniform - first this season. Gahagen took the Army loss for the second straight night.

Bahntge's lone assist Saturday moved him to within seven points of the century mark. Mercyhurst doubled its power play production in Saturday's game. The Lakers entered the contest with just two power play goals in 29 chances. Mastrodicasa's game-winner was the first of his career.

Bodo led the Lakers with two goals and an assist while Misiak also had a three-point effort with a goal and two helpers. Pham had a four-point night for Army with two goals and two assists.

Mercyhurst, winners of its last three games, improved to 33-9-4 all-time against Army and to 23-1-2 at the Ice Center. The seven goals scored were the most for Mercyhurst since a 7-1 win over Sacred Heart December 6, 2013, at the Ice Center.

The Lakers will take to the highway next weekend when they travel to Waltham, Massachusetts, for a pair of conference games against the Bentley Falcons. Faceoffs are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. both Friday, November 14 and Saturday, November 15.