MILFORD, Conn. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team hits the road this weekend for a two-game series against the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University at the Milford Ice Pavilion. The two teams met just two weeks ago at the Mercyhurst Ice Center with the Lakers earning a sweep over the Pioneers. Faceoffs are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. both nights.

The Lakers (12-7-3, 10-4-2 AHC) lead the all-time series against the Pioneers (6-15-3, 5-10-3 AHC) by a 23-19-3 margin and the teams are going in opposite directions. Mercyhurst is 7-3-1 in its last 11 games while Sacred Heart is 1-9-1 during the same stretch. Mercyhurst is coming off of a weekend sweep of Holy Cross at the Ice Center last Friday and Saturday while Sacred Heart dropped a pair to RIT at the Milford Ice Pavilion.

LAST WEEK ...

Mercyhurst suffered a 5-2 loss at home against Canisius on Tuesday night in what was a makeup from the game on November 21 that was postponed due to the heavy snowstorm that hit the Buffalo area. Mercyhurst led 2-1 after the opening period but allowed the final four goals of the game - one into an empty-net. The Lakers then swept Holy Cross last weekend, taking game one by a 2-1 final before winning the finale, 5-4, in overtime. The Lakers improved to 35-13-5 lifetime against the Crusaders.

JUST COOK BACON ...

The Laker trio of redshirt senior Kyle Just, junior Kyle Cook, and sophomore Spencer Bacon served up the 2-1 win over Holy Cross on Friday, January 16. Just and Cook scored the goals, with Cook's goal proving to be the game-winner (the fourth of his career), while Bacon earned his first start since November 15 and stopped 31-of-32 Holy Cross shots to improve to 2-1-1 on the season. The sophomore netminder lost his shutout bid with 3:32 left in regulation with Holy Cross on the power play.

SHIPLO-WERS THE BOOM ...

Senior defenseman Tyler Shiplo provided the Lakers with a weekend sweep after scoring the game-winner with 1:51 left in overtime against Holy Cross on Saturday, January 17. It was his second goal of the contest - the first time he had scored multiple goals in his 141-game career. It was also just his second career game-winning goal - his first came against RIT on November 9, 2012. In 141 career games, Shiplo has 16 goals and 45 assists for 61 points.

WELCOME TO THE LINEUP ...

Mercyhurst welcomed in freshman forward Michael Verboom to the Laker lineup in the weekend series against Holy Cross. Verboom joined the team after serving as team captain for the Chatham Maroons in the GOJHL. Prior to Mercyhurst, Verboom had impressive numbers with Chatham - 54 points in 33 games in the first half of 2014-15 and 94 points in 43 games during the 2013-14 season. Verboom played both games on a line with senior Matt Zay and redshirt senior Kyle Just. He did not register a point but blocked two shots in the defensive zone.

HOT, HOT, HOT ...

After going scoreless for the month of October, Bahntge has scored eleven goals and dished out twelve assists for 23 points in his last 17 games and now leads the team in scoring. He scored a pair of goals in the 3-3 tie at Canisius on November 22, which was his first multiple-goal game since scoring twice at Canisius on January 23, 2014 - a span of 26 games. He recently added a career-high five points in a 7-2 win over Sacred Heart on January 9. With his streak, Bahntge became the 19th member of the 100-point club in the Division I era at Mercyhurst. He also has yet to miss a game in his career - 144 consecutive games.

ALL RILED UP ...

Redshirt freshman Jack Riley had his eight-game point-scoring streak snapped against Holy Cross on January 16 but started up a new streak with an assist on January 17. During the eight-game streak, Riley had six goals and nine assists for 15 points, which included two four-point games against Army (2g, 2a) on December 6 and at home against Sacred Heart (1g, 3a) on January 9.

During the month of December, Riley had three goals and three assists in four games to be named the Atlantic Hockey Conference Rookie of the Month. Just hours after winning that honor, Riley was named the Hockey Commissioners' Association National Rookie of the Month. Along with his team-leading six points, Riley was a +3, blocked seven shots, and took eight shots on goal. His month was highlighted by his two-goal, two-assist performance in his return to West Point on Saturday, December 6 against his father's Army squad.

He has moved into a tie for second place on the team in scoring with seven goals and thirteen assists for 20 points in 21 games.

THE SERIES VS SACRED HEART ...

Mercyhurst leads the overall series against the Pioneers by a 23-19-3 margin. The two teams met two weeks ago, at the Mercyhurst Ice Center, with the Lakers earning a two-game sweep - 7-2 on January 9 and 4-2 on January 10. The Lakers have won eight straight meetings, nine of the last ten, and thirteen of the last seventeen contests.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS ...

Sacred Heart is heading in the wrong direction entering play this weekend. The Pioneers are 6-15-3 overall and 5-10-3 in the AHC standings but have won just once in the last 11 games (1-9-1). After getting swept by the Lakers two weeks ago, the Pioneers were swept by RIT last weekend, losing by the scores of 4-1 and 3-1 on home ice. Junior Zach Luczyk, who transferred in from Quinnipiac, leads Sacred Heart in scoring with nine goals and twelve assists for 21 points this season. Five others have recorded double-figures in scoring this season. Meanwhile, in goal, seniors Alex Vazzano and Andrew Bodnarchuk have split time. Bodnarchuk is 4-7-3 with a 3.41 goals against average and an .893 save percentage. Vazzano is 2-8-0 with a 3.43 goals against average and a .900 save percentage.

WHAT A WEEKEND ...

Senior forward Daniel Bahntge had a weekend to remember as the Lakers swept Sacred Heart on January 9 and 10. Bahntge scored a career-high five points (two goals and three assists) in the 7-2 win to open the series and then added a goal and an assist in the 4-2 victory to close the weekend. He had the game-winning goal in each game of the series to give him a team-leading four on the season - which also ties him for fourth in the country in that department. He finished the weekend with three goals and four assists, took five shots on goal, and was a +6. Bahntge was named the Atlantic Hockey Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

FEASTING ON THE PIONEERS ...

With his seven-point weekend, Bahntge added to his unbelievable history against Sacred Heart. The senior has scored at least one goal in all eight meetings against the Pioneers and now has twelve goals and seven assists for nineteen points in those eight meetings. Bahntge is also a +15 in the eight games and has four of his nine career game-winning goals against Sacred Heart.

Meanwhile, seniors Ryan Misiak and Matt Zay have also had success against Sacred Heart. Zay has five goals and six assists in eight games while posting a +9 rating. Misiak has three goals and six assists in eight games and is a +12.

THE LIFE OF RILEY ...

Redshirt freshman Jack Riley continued his torrid play, extending his point-scoring streak to seven games, in helping the Lakers sweep Sacred Heart. In the 7-2 victory, Riley tied a career-high with four points (one goal, three assists) and then added another helper in the 4-2 win to close out the series. He finished the weekend with one goal and four assists, took five shots on goal, and was a +6. Riley captured the Atlantic Hockey Freshman of the Week honors for the third time this season - all of which have come since December 9.

DON'T FORGET ME ...

While Bahntge and Riley got most of the headlines during the sweep of Sacred Heart, a pair of freshmen made significant contributions to aid in the weekend. Freshman forward Kane Elliot, playing on the same line with Bahntge and Riley, tallied a career-high three assists in the 7-2 victory and then added another helper in the 4-2 win. He entered the weekend with one goal and one assist in ten games, but finished the weekend with four assists.

Meanwhile, goaltender Brandon Wildung had a breakout weekend replacing an injured Jimmy Sarjeant between the pipes. Wildung stopped 67-of-71 Sacred Heart shots (.944 save percentage) to earn back-to-back victories for the first time in his young career.

SPREADING IT OUT ...

The Lakers have scored 75 goals through 22 games and 18 different players have tallied at least once this 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 at Bentley, six different players scored the Lakers' eight goals (Bodo and Dutra had two each). The Lakers have 22 players with at least one point this season with only five players, who have played in at least one game, not recording a point this season. Of those 22 players, 15 have scored at least five points, ten have hit double figures, and four have reached at least 20 points.

JUST DOING HIS THING ...

Redshirt senior Kyle Just scored a power play goal, and a shorthanded goal, in the third period to snap a scoreless tie and to lift Mercyhurst to a 3-0 win over Robert Morris on December 14. He scored 49 seconds into the third period with the man advantage and the scored at 17:27 with the Lakers shorthanded. It was his first collegiate multiple-goal game and was Mercyhurst's first shorthanded goal of the season. Just has scored at least one point in ten of his last twelve, and twelve of his last fifteen (seven goals, ten assists), but did have an eight-game point-scoring streak snapped on January 10. He started the season needing a career-high 32 points to reach the century mark and has closed to within 12 after recording eight goals and twelve assists for 20 points this season. Three of his eight goals on the year have been game-winners, placing him second behind Bahntge for the team lead. In 127 career games, Just has 24 goals and 64 assists for 88 points. The eight goals by Just this season has already tied his career high he established last season.

WILDUNG SOLID ...

After senior goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant allowed six goals in game one of the series against Ohio State, freshman goaltender Brandon Wildung got the call on Saturday and performed well. Making just his third career start, Wildung stopped 26-of-28 Ohio State shots to help the Lakers skate to a 2-2 tie. He then helped the Lakers sweep Sacred Heart on January 9 and 10, stopping 67-of-71 shots in the process. Wildung is now 4-2-2 in eight appearances (six starts), posting a .918 save percentage and a 2.53 goals against average.

POSITION CHANGE PAYING OFF ...

Senior Ryan Misiak, a career-long forward, moved to defense for the second game of the Colgate series on November 1. His scoring prowess has not dipped since the position change, as he enters the series against Holy Cross having scored at least one point in nine of his last eleven games. Misiak has scored 14 of his 15 points this season since the switch.

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 116 points in 134 career games with the Lakers and has scored 102 points in his last 98 games after registering just 14 points in 36 games as a rookie.

Then, on Saturday, November 15 at Bentley, senior Ryan Misiak earned an assist early in the second period to join Zay in the 100-point club. In 138 career games, Misiak has 43 goals and 67 assists for 110 points.

Senior Daniel Bahntge became the third member this season to reach 100 career points with his goals against Robert Morris on December 13. In 144 career games, Bahntge has 50 goals and 64 assists for 114 points.

The three players to join this season has tied the Division I program record for most players on one Laker team to join the 100-point club, set in 2004-05 (T.J. Kemp, Rich Hansen, David Wrigley) and 2005-06 (Scott Reynolds, Scott Champagne, and Dave Borrelli).

MEMORABLE MOMENT ...

Redshirt freshman Jack Riley returned home to West Point to square off against his father's Army team on December 5 and 6. It marked the first time that the Rileys played against each other at Tate Rink - they met earlier this season at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. After being held scoreless on Friday night, Riley notched a career-high two goals and two assists for four points in Saturday's 6-3 win to earn the Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week honors. Three of his four points came in the final period to help snap a 3-3 tie. Riley, who had one goal and four assists in 18 career games prior to his career night, now has seven goals and twelve assists for 19 points in 19 games this season.

ZAY - O ...

Senior Matt Zay scored a goal in each game of the weekend series at Army on December 5 and 6, marking his first goals since scoring against Merrimack on October 24. The Laker captain is tied for second on the team in scoring with five goals and 15 assists for 20 points and now has 116 points in 134 career games with Mercyhurst. With his three points against Holy Cross, Zay moved into sole possession of 10th place on the school's all-time Division I scoring list. Next in his sights is Daniel O'Donoghue (2010-2014) who had 119 points in 155 career games.

NO ORDINARY ROOKIE ...

Freshman Jonathan Charbonneau has been sensational in his first 22 games at the collegiate level and is currently fifth on the team in scoring with five goals and eleven assists for 16 points. He had his third multiple-point game of the season with a pair of assists in the 3-3 tie at Canisius on November 22 and now has at least one point in 13 of the team's 22 games. He also is tied for second on the team with a +5 plus/minus rating.

POWER PLAY IMPROVING ...

After starting the season 2-for-29 on the power play through the first seven games, the Lakers have been much better with the man advantage over the last 15 contests, going 19-for-60 (31.7%) to increase the team's percentage from 6.9% to 23.6% on the season. The Lakers are eighth in the country in power play percentage. Kyle Just leads the team with four while seven different players (Daniel Bahntge, Kyle Dutra, Anthony Mastrodicasa, Ryan Misiak, Jack Riley, Tyler Shiplo, and Matt Zay) have two each.

THAT LINE WORKED ...

Due to the injury bug, head coach Rick Gotkin had to put together some different lines in the weekend series against Sacred Heart on January 9 and 10. The new combination that put on a show against the Pioneers was the line of Daniel Bahntge, Kane Elliot, and Jack Riley. The trio combined for four goals and twelve assists in the sweep of Sacred Heart. The trio combined for both goals in the 5-2 loss against Canisius on Tuesday and then added one goal and two assists in the sweep of Holy Cross.

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. The Lakers tied their season-high goal output with a 7-2 victory over Sacred Heart on January 9.

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. Defenseman Tyler Enns recorded an assist and was a +3 in his first collegiate game in the Air Force series (game two) and then scored his first collegiate goal against Sacred Heart on January 10. 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 eight games, and Michael Verboom, who just joined the team last week, has not factored in the scoring among the newcomers who have dressed at least once. However, Piacentini is a +5 in his eight contests.

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.

GAME ONE vs. GAME TWO ...

The victory against Army on Friday, November 7, was Mercyhurst's first win to open a series this season. Mercyhurst is 3-5-1 in series-opening games and is being outscored by a 34-23 margin in those contests. The Lakers suffered their first loss in a series finale at Bentley on November 15, but is still 7-1-2 in games in game twos and have outscored the opposition by a 39-27 margin.

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 his first 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.

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 21-93-12 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 finished 2-3-1 out of conference, having split against Merrimack and at #4 Colgate and then earning a tie against Ohio State on January 3.

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, 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 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.

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.

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 486-342-75 and is 24th on the all-time list of NCAA coaches in victories. He ranks 12th among active coaches with his 486 victories and trails Dean Fuller (Fitchburg State, 1984-pres) by six victories to move into 23rd on the all-time wins list. He is 14 wins shy of 500 victories with the Laker program and is one win away from recording 300 at the Division I level.

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 part of a record 202 student-athletes to be named to the AHA All-Academic Team. Senior Nick Jones was one of ten players named Student-Athlete of the Year for maintaining for 4.0 GPA throughout the entire season. Joining jones with spots on the AHA All-Academic Team were: Spencer Bacon, Kyle Cook, Philippe Drouin, Kyle Dutra, Trent Frey, Zac Frischmon, Grant Gettinger, Stephen Hrehoriak, Kyle Johnson, Kyle Just, Anthony Mastrodicasa, Ryan Misiak, Mychal Monteith, Daniel O'Donoghue, Tyler Shiplo, and Matthew Zay.

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.

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 alum to play in an NHL regular season contest when he played one game for the Capitals in the 2006-07 season. O'Donoghue began the season with the Coyotes' AHL affiliate - the Portland Pirates. O'Donoghue has played five games for the Gwinnett Gladiators (one goal, one assist) in the ECHL, and 15 games (no points) 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. After scoring one goal and five assists with the Indy Fuel in the ECHL, Jones was called up to Worcester and has played in 13 games with the Sharks, recording two assists.