Mercyhurst Game Notes
Niagara Game Notes

Live Stats (Friday)
Live Stats (Saturday)

Live Video (Friday and Saturday)

ERIE, Pa. - Entering the final two weekends of the regular season, the Mercyhurst University men's hockey team has control of its own destiny. The road to the program's first-ever Atlantic Hockey Association regular season championship continues this weekend when the Lakers play a home-and-home series against the Purple Eagles of Niagara University. Friday's faceoff is scheduled for the Mercyhurst Ice Center while Saturday's tilt will be at Niagara's Dwyer Arena. Both start times are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Mercyhurst (17-12-5, 15-4-4 AHA) won three consecutive MAAC Hockey League regular season championships from 2001 to 2003 but has never claimed the regular season title in the Atlantic Hockey Association since the inception of the league in 2003-04. The Lakers hold a slim two-point margin over second-place Bentley in the AHA standings with four regular season games remaining.

Bentley plays Sacred Heart this weekend.

The first goal for the Lakers is to clinch a first-round bye in the AHA playoffs, automatically launching the team to a home series in the quarterfinal round. Mercyhurst needs a combination of three points (along with Robert Morris not gaining points) to clinch a first-round bye.

The Lakers are 8-11-1 lifetime against Niagara but just 4-11-1 in the last 16 meetings between the two programs. Three of Mercyhurst's wins came during the program's first season in 1987-88. Mercyhurst defeated Niagara earlier this season on November 19 by a 4-2 final at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Junior Zac Frischmon scored a pair of third period goals to snap a 2-2 tie in the victory.

Last weekend, Mercyhurst swept RIT in Rochester, N.Y., by the scores of 6-3 and 6-2, marking the first time in program history that the Lakers swept the Tigers in Rochester. It was also just the second regular season sweep of the Tigers by a Laker team - the first came during the 1990-91 campaign. Junior Nardo Nagtzaam had three goals and an assist in the two games while Frischmon added three goals in the sweep.

Senior Daniel O'Donoghue and junior Jimmy Sarjeant returned to the Laker lineup last weekend after missing time with injuries. O'Donoghue was held off the scoresheet but remains second on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points. Sarjeant, meanwhile, started Saturday's contest and stopped 43 RIT shots to remain unbeaten in conference play (13-0-3). He is 15-4-4 overall with a 2.32 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. Redshirt junior Jordan Tibbett won on Friday night and went 2-2-1 with a 2.38 goals against average and a .945 save percentage while Sarjeant was injured.

Junior Matthew Zay leads the Lakers in scoring with 16 goals and 24 assists for a career-high 40 points. He became the first Laker since Scott Pitt scored 41 points in 2010-11 to register at least 40 points in a season. All told, seven Lakers have recorded at least 20 points this season - tied for the most in the country with Union College.

Niagara (10-16-4, 10-9-4 AHA) enters in sixth place in the AHA standings and is attempting to sneak into a top four spot in the regular season and a corresponding first round bye. The Purple Eagles are in good shape for, at worst, home ice in the first round of the postseason.

Isaac Kohls leads the Purple Eagles with 22 points on the season, while Hugo Turcotte is right behind with 21 points. A pair of freshmen have split all of the minutes in goal for Niagara - Jackson Teichroeb (4-10-2, 2.96 GAA, .900 sv%) and Adrian Ignagni (6-6-2, 3.11 GAA, .900 sv%).