ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team gave the 11th-ranked Michigan Wolverines all they could handle on Friday night before bowing, 6-4, in front of a sellout crowd of 5,800 fans at Yost Arena. It was the Wolverines' opening game of the 2015-16 campaign while the Lakers, members of Atlantic Hockey, played their second nationally-ranked opponent in the first three weeks of the season. Mercyhurst had its three-game winning streak snapped as it dropped to 3-2-0 in the early going.

Michigan, members of the Big Ten, scored the last three goals of the game as it rallied three times from one-goal deficits (2-1, 3-2, 4-3) to claim the win. The Wolverines improved to 3-0-1 lifetime against Mercyhurst in a series that began in the 2001 NCAA West Regional in Grand Rapids, Michigan - a 4-3 come-from-behind Wolverine victory.

The two teams divided four first period goals evenly in the game's first eleven minutes. The Wolverines started and finished the scoring. Senior forward Cristoval Nieves, a New York Rangers draft pick, beat Mercyhurst sophomore goaltender Brandon Wildung (3-2-0) at 4:45 while freshman winger Kyle Connor, a Winnipeg Jets draft choice, scored – shorthanded – at 10:58.

The Lakers, meanwhile, got lamplighters from senior forward Kyle Cook – his first of the season, unassisted – at 6:50 and from freshman winger Josh Lammon at 9:13. Lammon got help from both freshman defenseman Lester Lancaster and sophomore forward Michael Verboom. Ironically, Lammon and Lancaster are the only Michigan natives on the Lakers' 29-man roster: Lammon hails from Jackson while Lancaster is a native of Ypsilanti.

Michigan outshot Mercyhurst 21-10 in the first period.

The teams scored within a minute – twice – in the middle period.

Mercyhurst sophomore forward Jonathan Charbonneau netted his third goal of the season, from freshman Derek Barach and Cook, at 12:37 but, only 54 seconds later, the Wolverines got the equalizer when sophomore Tony Calderon beat Wildung. The Lakers took their third one-goal lead of the game when Lancaster tallied his second of the year, a power play goal at 17:21. The prosperity was short-lived again when Michigan freshman Cooper Marody, a Philadelphia Flyers draft pick, lit the home team's lamp at 18:16.

The Wolverines had a slight 12-11 margin in second period shots.

Junior forward Tyler Motte, a Chicago Blackhawks' draftee, put the hosts ahead for the first time since early in the first period when he cashed his first goal of the year at 2:57 of the third. That score stood until 19:44 when, with Wildung on the bench for an extra attacker, Connor registered his second of the contest into an empty net.

Michigan outshot Mercyhurst 14-9 in the third and 47-30 overall. Each team took four minor penalties, all within the first forty minutes. The Lakers finished 1-of-4 on the power play; the Wolverines were blanked in four tries.

Wildung, the goaltender of record in all five games so far this season, made 41 saves in goal for Mercyhurst while Michigan senior Steve Racine (1-0) was credited with 26 stops. Cook and Lancaster each had a goal and an assist with Cook taking over sole possession of the team lead in scoring through five contests. The senior from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, now has one goal and six assists for seven points on the campaign.

Mercyhurst's power play goal was its fifth of the season and Lancaster's team-leading second. The Wolverines' shorthanded goal was the second of the season allowed by the Lakers.

Friday's game was the first meeting between the teams since a 4-4 overtime draw October 2, 2010, in Ann Arbor. The Lakers went on to win the contest in a shootout but, for record purposes, the game is recorded as a draw.

The two head coaches have combined for nearly 60 years of collegiate coaching experience: Mercyhurst's Rick Gotkin is in his 28th year with the Lakers while Michigan alum Red Berenson is in year 32 with the Wolverines. After taking Saturday off due to Michigan's Homecoming football game against Michigan State, the two teams will conclude the weekend series on Sunday, October 18, at 5:05 p.m.