ERIE, Pa. – Senior defenseman Tyler Shiplo's second goal of the game, 3:09 into overtime, gave the Mercyhurst Unviersity men's hockey team a hard-fought 5-4 win over visiting Holy Cross and a two-game sweep of its Atlantic Hockey Conference (AHC) weekend series. The Lakers, 12-7-3 overall and 10-4-2 in the conference, remained in third place in the AHC, one point behind second place Canisius. Holy Cross has now lost four-straight one-goal games, two in overtime, and left Erie 8-10-5 and 7-5-5 respectively.

It was the first career multiple-goal game for the senior from Oakville, Ontario. He was playing in his 141st career contest on Saturday night. It also marked just the second game-winning goal of his career - his first came on November 9, 2012 against Rochester Institute of Technology. He entered the game with just one goal this season.

The resilient Lakers rallied twice from two-goal deficits.

Holy Cross scored a pair of even-strength goals, less than three minutes apart in the first period to take the early lead.  After a blocked shot from just inside the Holy Cross end, freshman forward Scott Pooley picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and beat Mercyhurst sophomore goaltender Spencer Bacon on a breakaway goal for his his sixth of the year at 7:46. Freshman winger Ryan Ferrill followed suit at 10:25 with his sixth of the season.

Bacon, making back-to-back starts for the first time in his collegiate career, allowed just one goal on 32 shots in Friday night's 2-1 victory over the Crusaders.

The Lakers got back into the contest just 30 seconds later (10:55) when yet another freshman, Jonathan Charbonneau, scored, after a brilliant breakout and rush up the ice by senior Ryan Misiak and junior Kyle Cook. The duo eventually found Charbonneau sprinting down the left wing who then one-timed a shot past Holy Cross freshman goaltender Paul Berrafato. The Lakers knotted the game in the last minute of the period when Shiplo converted a power play opportunity with a blast from the point through a screen. Senior captain Matthew Zay and Misiak helped on Shiplo's second goal of the season. 

Holy Cross outshot Mercyhurst 10-7 in the period.

The second period mirrored the first. Crusaders' junior defenseman Joe McNamara and junior forward Castan Sommer scored power play goals at: 16 and 5:20 respectively. But Lakers' senior forward Kyle Just scored with the man advantage at 7:52 while senior forward Daniel Bahntge tied the game again at 4-4 late in the period with an even strength goal at 19:15. Junior defenseman Anthony Mastrodicasa and Bahntge helped on Just's eighth of the season while Zay and Just collaborated on Bahntge's team-leading eleventh.

The Crusaders owned a 14-11 shot advantage in the second.  During the period, the Lakers relieved Bacon with freshman Brandon Wildung.

The Lakers had a slight 8-7 margin in third-period shots, but neither team could find the back of the net. That set the stage for Shiplo's overtime heroics - another slapshot from the point that went right through the five-hole of Berrafato. Freshman forward Jack Riley and sophomore defenseman Philippe Drouin assisted. Shiplo had Mercyhurst's lone shot in the extra period.

Just moments before Shiplo scored, Holy Cross' Matt Vidal hit the far post behind Wildung that would've ended the contest with a different result.

The Crusaders outshot Mercyhurst 32-27 and converted 2-of-5 power play chances. The Lakers finished 2 for 3.

Wildung (4-2-2) stopped all 15 shots he faced in 35:37 of activity. Berrafato (0-3-0) lost for the second night in succession. He stopped 22 Mercyhurst shots.

The Lakers will take to the highway next Friday and Saturday when they play conference games at Sacred Heart. The Lakers won two earlier meetings this month by scores of 7-2 and 4-2 at the Ice Center.

Notes:  The Lakers are now 35-13-5 all-time against the Crusaders…Shiplo registered his first multiple-goal game in 141 contests…The overtime win was the first for Mercyhurst since a 5-4 verdict against Holy Cross in the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals last March at the Ice Center…Shiplo's game-winning goal was the second of his career (November 9, 2012, at RIT)…Shiplo's only other goal this season came in a 5-4 loss at Bentley November 15…The Lakers have been outshot in 19 of 22 games this season…the Lakers' two power play goals Saturday marked the seventh game in which they had two-or-more man advantage goals