MILFORD, Conn. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team never trailed on Friday night but had to settle for a 2-2 overtime tie against Sacred Heart University at the Milford Ice Pavilion. The Lakers moved to 12-7-4 overall and 10-4-3 in the Atlantic Hockey Conference standings while the Pioneers moved to 6-15-4 and 5-10-4 respectively.

Sacred Heart's Zach Sabatini scored with 2:16 left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Neither team was able to score during the extra session, despite Mercyhurst senior Daniel Bahntge being whistled for a tripping penalty midway through the five-minute frame. Aided by the power play opportunity, Sacred Heart outshot Mercyhurst, 6-1, in the overtime period but freshman goaltender Brandon Wildung was able to slam the door the preserve the draw.

While working on the power play, Mercyhurst jumped in front when senior Zac Frischmon notched his fourth goal of the season, and his 50th career point, beating Sacred Heart goaltender Alex Vazzano at 13:53. Senior defenseman Tyler Shiplo, who was the hero in last Saturday's overtime win over Holy Cross, and senior Chris Bodo had the assists.

For Bodo, it was his first point since scoring a goal in a 5-4 overtime loss at Bentley on November 15.

Sacred Heart answered with a power play goal of its own less than three minutes later when Jordan Minello tallied his eighth of the year at 16:45 with the assists going to Drew George and Alec Butcher.

The Pioneers held a 12-10 shot advantage in the opening period.

Senior Matthew Zay gave the Lakers a 2-1 lead with the only goal of the second period at 12:33. Senior defenseman Ryan Misiak had the lone assist on Zay's sixth goal of the season.

Mercyhurst held a slim 7-6 advantage in shots during the second period.

The Lakers were forced to kill off back-to-back penalties early in the third period - one was of a five-minute variety when Shiplo's night ended early after he was whistled for a five-minute major for contact to the head and a game misconduct. Mercyhurst was able to kill off the five-minute major to keep its one-goal lead intact. However, just over five minutes after the penalty expired, Sabatini tied the contest at 2-2 with his seventh goal of the season at 17:44. Evan Jasper had the lone assist on the game-tying tally.

Despite giving up the late goal, Wildung was at his best over the final 25 minutes. Sacred Heart outshot Mercyhurst 14-4 in the third period and then held a 6-1 advantage in the overtime to finish with a 38-22 advantage in shots over the full contest. Wildung saw his record move to 4-2-3 overall after turning aside 36 shots. Vazzano, meanwhile, moved to 2-8-1 with a 20-save performance.

Penalties certainly helped the shot discrepancy - Mercyhurst was whistled for nine penalties (29 minutes) and killed off 7-of-8 Sacred Heart power plays. Sacred Heart was assessed just four penalties for eight minutes and killed off 3-of-4 Mercyhurst opportunities.

The game also saw the debut of a second roster addition in the last two weeks. Erie native Bryan Sienerth joined the squad earlier in the week and dressed on Friday night. He was on a line with Bodo and Frischmon and finished with one shot on goal and a -1 rating. Sienerth attended Cathedral Prep High School and played junior hockey for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League.

Mercyhurst moved to 4-3-3 on the road and 9-1-3 when leading after two periods. The Pioneers moved to 2-6-3 at home and 0-11-1 when trailing after forty minutes. The Lakers hold a 23-19-4 edge over Sacred Heart in the all-time series but are just 7-11-3 away from Erie. The tie also snapped an eight-game winning streak against Sacred Heart.

The Lakers will attempt to start a new winning streak against the Pioneers when the teams take to the ice on Saturday night for the finale of the two-game series. Faceoff from the Milford Ice Pavilion is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.