WEST POINT, N.Y. – Senior goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant stopped 34 shots in his return to the Laker lineup on Friday night, lifting the Mercyhurst University men's hockey team to a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Army at Tate Rink. Mercyhurst improved to 6-4-2 overall and 4-2-2 in the Atlantic Hockey Conference standings. The Black Knights, meanwhile, dropped to 4-11-2 overall and 4-9-2 in conference play.

The victory was Mercyhurst's eighth straight over Army in the all-time series. The Lakers are 15-0-4 in the last 19 meetings between the two schools and have not lost since a 4-3 setback on January 10, 2009 in West Point.

Sarjeant, who missed two-and-a-half games with an injury, started for the first time since November 14 at Bentley. His 34-save performance on Friday night improved his record to 5-3-0 this season and to a perfect 4-0-0 lifetime against Army. In five career starts against the Black Knights, Sarjeant has allowed just nine goals on 155 shots (.942 save percentage).

Senior Matthew Zay, who entered the contest with just one goal on the season, buried his second of the year at the 10:01 mark of the opening period when he beat Army netminder Parker Gahagen for the only tally of the first twenty minutes. Seniors Zac Frischmon and Grant Gettinger picked up the assists.

Army held a sizeable 12-5 shot advantage in the opening period.

Senior Ryan Misiak, who has seamlessly transitioned to defense over the last few weeks, tallied his third goal of the season at the 14:24 mark of the second period to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead. Misiak's defensive partner, senior Tyler Shiplo, and sophomore Stephen Hrehoriak had the helpers.

But, the hosts would finally solve Sarjeant just under three minutes later when C.J. Reuschlein cashed in during a Black Knight power play at 17:23. Reuschlein's third goal of the season was assisted by Joe Kozlak and Gahagen.

Shots favored Army in the middle stanza by a 14-7 count.

The score remained 2-1 in favor of Mercyhurst until redshirt senior Kyle Just scored, what proved to be the game-winner, at the 16:22 mark to give the Lakers a two-goal cushion. Zay and freshman Jonathan Charbonneau had the assists on Just's third goal of the season and his second game-winning tally.

Army made things interesting when Kozlak scored his third goal of the season, with Gahagen pulled for an extra attacker, with 38 seconds left in regulation. But, Sarjeant and the Lakers held off the Black Knights over the final few seconds to skate away with the team's third consecutive win at Tate Rink.

Sarjeant, named the game's First Star, stopped 12 shots in the first, 13 in the second, and nine in the third for his fifth win of the season. Gahagen, meanwhile, faced just 19 Mercyhurst shots and turned aside 16 to fall to 4-6-1 on the year.

The Laker netminder was able to preserve a win despite Mercyhurst being outshot 36-19 and losing 46-of-67 faceoffs on the night.

Zay finished the night with a goal and an assist – his first multiple-point effort since recording a pair of assists against the Black Knights on November 8. The goal was his first since scoring against Merrimack on October 24. The senior forward now has three goals and ten assists in 11 career games against Army.

Army scored the only special teams' goal of the night, going 1-for-5 on the power play. The Lakers were 0-for-6.The two teams will conclude the weekend series on Saturday night in West Point. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.