ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team returns to the friendly confines of the Mercyhurst Ice Center this weekend and looks to maintain a top-five spot in the Atlantic Hockey Conference (AHC) standings when it hosts the Purple Eagles of Niagara University on Friday and Saturday, February 13 and 14. Faceoffs both nights are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Mercyhurst (14-10-4, 12-7-3 AHC) currently sits in fourth place in the conference standings with six regular season games remaining. The Lakers are just two points behind Bentley, which occupies the second spot in the league, but are only five points ahead of Air Force and Sacred Heart, which are currently tied for seventh. Niagara (3-22-3, 3-16-3 AHC), meanwhile, enters having not won a game since a 6-1 victory against Army on November 22. The Purple Eagles know that they will be on the road for a first-round series in the conference tournament.
Niagara holds an 11-9-2 lead in the all-time series, but the Lakers went 2-0-1 against the Purple Eagles last season.
LAST TIME OUT ...Mercyhurst swept a weekend series at American International last Friday and Saturday. The Lakers earned a 3-1 victory in game one before completing the sweep with a 5-2 win in game two. Mercyhurst improved to 37-6-1 lifetime against the Yellow Jackets and, more importantly, remained in position for a top five spot in the Atlantic Hockey Conference standings.
THE SERIES VS NIAGARA ...The Purple Eagles hold an 11-9-2 lead in the all-time series against Mercyhurst which dates back to the Lakers' first season as a varsity program in 1987-88. The Lakers did, however, go 2-0-1 against Niagara last season to narrow the gap. Mercyhurst is 4-4-2 lifetime against the Purple Eagles in Erie.
SCOUTING THE PURPLE EAGLES ...Niagara has endured a disappointing 2014-15 season as they enter the weekend series with a 3-22-3 overall record and a 3-16-3 mark in the Atlantic Hockey Conference standings. Niagara has not won since a 6-1 victory at home against Army on November 22 and is 0-13-3 since the victory nearly three months ago. The Purple Eagles are averaging just two goals per game on offense and are allowing 4.43 goals per game. Junior Hugo Turcotte (7g, 6a) and senior Isaac Kohls (4g, 9a) leads Niagara in scoring with 13 points apiece. That figure would place them tied for tenth in scoring on Mercyhurst's roster. In goal, sophomores Jackson Teichroeb and Adrian Ignagni have split most of the duties. Teichroeb is 3-14-3 with a 3.77 goals against average and an .891 save percentage. Ignagni is 0-8-0 with a 4.98 goals against average and an .856 save percentage. Special teams have also struggled - Niagara's power play is converting at 9.5% while its penalty killing unit has killed off 76.1% of opponent chances.
WELL DONE WILDUNG ...Freshman goaltender
Brandon Wildung earned the Atlantic Hockey Conference Goaltender of the Week award after his performance last weekend against AIC. The rookie earned both victories - one as a starter and one in relief - and turned aside 44-of-45 shots in the two games. He stopped 27-of-28 in Friday's 3-1 victory and then stopped all 17 shots he faced in just over 30 minutes of relief on Saturday. Wildung is 6-4-3 with a 2.40 goals against average and a .922 save percentage this season.
THE FULL MONTY ...Junior defenseman
Mychal Monteith has played sparingly this season for the Lakers after playing more often than not during his first two seasons. Last weekend, Monteith played both games against AIC and scored his first collegiate goal, in his 72nd career game, in Saturday's 5-2 victory. The goal also proved to be the game-winning tally. He also added an assist in the win for his second career multiple-point game. In nine games this season, Monteith has those two points to his credit.
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 14 of his last 18, and 16 of his last 21 games (eight goals, 15 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 six after recording nine goals and a team-leading 17 assists for 26 points this season. He had back-to-back two-assist games in the series sweep at AIC. Three of his nine goals on the year have been game-winners, placing him second behind Bahntge for the team lead. In 133 career games, Just has 25 goals and 69 assists for 94 points. The nine goals by Just this season is a new career-high, surpassing the eight he scored last year.
INJURY UPDATE ...Junior forward
Kyle Cook has been ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury. He played in 20 games this season and had two goals and eight assists for ten points. Senior goaltender
Jimmy Sarjeant has played his final game in a Mercyhurst uniform as he will need season-ending sports hernia surgery. After earning Goaltender and Player of the Year honors from Atlantic Hockey last season, Sarjeant, playing through pain for most of the season, went 6-5-0 with a 3.31 goals against average and a .909 save percentage this year.
THE LIFE OF RILEY ...For the second consecutive month, redshirt freshman
Jack Riley was named the Atlantic Hockey Conference Rookie of the Month after scoring 11 points in 11 games during the month of January. He had three goals and eight assists during the month to finish second on the team in scoring during the stretch (senior
Daniel Bahntge had 13 points). The West Point, New York native tied a season-high with four points in a win over Sacred Heart on January 9 and was named the AHC Rookie of the Week on January 13 for his efforts - the third time he had been honored with the award.
Riley, who was limited to seven games during his true freshman campaign a year ago, is fourth on the team in scoring with seven goals and fourteen assists in 25 games this season. He also is tied for the team lead with a +5 rating and leads all Laker forwards with 28 blocked shots.
OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES ...Mercyhurst is 12th in the country in scoring offense, averaging 3.25 goals per game. However, the Lakers have been held to three goals or fewer in five of the last six games and in seven of the last nine contests. The only time they reached at least four goals in the last nine games - a 5-4 overtime victory over Holy Cross on January 17 and a 5-2 victory at AIC on February 7.
FRISCH PRINCE OF MERCYHURST ...Senior
Zac Frischmon tallied his fourth goal of the season on Friday, January 23 against Sacred Heart, which also proved to be his 50th career point in a Laker uniform. He became the player on this year's roster with at least 50 career points. In 140 games, Frischmon has 19 goals and 33 assists. Up next to attempt to reach the 50-point plateau is junior defenseman
Anthony Mastrodicasa who has nine goals and 32 assists for 41 points in 92 career games.
WELCOME TO THE LINEUP - PART DEUX ...For the second consecutive week, the Lakers welcomed a new addition to this year's roster. One week after adding freshman forward
Michael Verboom, freshman
Bryan Sienerth joined the Mercyhurst squad for the team's series against Sacred Heart on January 23 and 24. Sienerth is a native of Erie, Pennsylvania and was playing for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL. A highly-touted college prospect, Sienerth had seven career points in 35 games with the Stampede. Sienerth did not factor in the scoring in game one, but did block three shots in the defensive zone. He came down with the flu prior to Saturday's contest and had to sit out the second game of the series. He earned his first collegiate point on January 31 - an assist - in the Lakers' 4-3 loss to Bentley.
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 143 career games, Shiplo has 16 goals and 46 assists for 62 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 13 goals and dished out 14 assists for 27 points in his last 23 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, more 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 - 150 consecutive games.
ALL RILED UP ...Redshirt freshman
Jack Riley had his eight-game point-scoring streak snapped against Holy Cross on January 16 and 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.
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. Prior to the series on January 23 and 24, the senior had scored at least one goal in the first eight meetings against the Pioneers. Bahntge, however, was held scoreless against the Pioneers in that last series and now has twelve goals and seven assists for nineteen points in those ten meetings. Bahntge is also a +14 in the ten 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 six goals and six assists in ten games while posting a +9 rating. Misiak has three goals and seven assists in ten games and is a +11.
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 91 goals through 28 games and 19 different players have tallied at least once this season. The Lakers have 24 players with at least one point this season with only four players, who have played in at least one game, not recording a point this season. Of those 24 players, 16 have scored at least five points, 12 have hit double figures, and four have reached at least 20 points.
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.
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 11 of his last 17 games. Misiak has scored 16 of his 17 points this season since the switch.
ABOUT THE SNOWTOWN THROWDOWN ...Mercyhurst and Ohio State met in the inaugural Snowtown Throwdown, sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings, at the Erie Insurance Arena on January 2 and 3. Proceeds from the two-game series benefitted The Warming Center, hosted at the Mental Health Association of Northwest Pennsylvania. On January 19, Mercyhurst's 11 seniors and head coach
Rick Gotkin presented The Warming Center with 11 Mercyhurst blankets and a check for $2,000 to help the shelter keep its doors open during the coldest of Erie winter days.
The men's hockey program last played at the then-Erie Civic Center on November 30, 1991 when, still a Division III member, it defeated Wisconsin-Stevens Point by a 6-2 final. Eight nights later, the Lakers played in their new home, the Mercyhurst Ice Center, in front of a standing-room only crowd against Rochester Institute of Technology. The then-Erie Civic Center served as one of four different "homes" for Mercyhurst until the MIC opened in 1991. The Lakers played 32 games at the old Erie Civic Center from when the program started in 1987 to that final game in November of 1991. Mercyhurst went 22-8-2 in those 32 games.
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 120 points in 140 career games with the Lakers and has scored 106 points in his last 104 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 144 career games, Misiak has 43 goals and 69 assists for 112 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 150 career games, Bahntge has 52 goals and 66 assists for 118 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).
SARJEANT SHINES ...After a subpar performance in the opening game of the series against Robert Morris, senior goaltender
Jimmy Sarjeant returned to his old form in game two, turning aside all 41 Robert Morris shots for his second shutout of the season - and third of his career - in the Lakers' 3-0 victory. He also blanked Army on November 7 with a 39-save performance.
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 had one goal and four assists in 18 career games prior to his career night.
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 third on the team in scoring with nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points and now has 120 points in 140 career games with Mercyhurst. With a pair of goals against AIC, Zay moved into sole possession of ninth place on the school's all-time Division I scoring list, passing
Daniel O'Donoghue. Next in his sights are Rich Hansen and Adam Tackaberry, who each recorded 127 points in their Laker careers.
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 21 contests, going 22-for-83 (26.5%) to increase the team's percentage from 6.9% to 21.4% on the season. The Lakers are tied for 12th in the country, with Michigan Tech, in power play percentage.
Kyle Just and
Kyle Dutra lead the team with four apiece. Seven other players (
Daniel Bahntge,
Zac Frischmon,
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.
BACON SIZZLES IN RELIEF ...Sophomore
Spencer Bacon was pressed into services in the third period on Saturday, November 8 against Army after senior
Jimmy Sarjeant had allowed five goals on just 18 shots. Just 37 seconds into the third period, after Sarjeant allowed his fifth goal, Bacon entered with the Lakers trailing 5-4. Mercyhurst scored three goals down the stretch and Bacon stopped all 12 shots he faced to earn him his first collegiate victory. It was only his second collegiate appearance with his only other outing coming in relief at Ohio State on December 30, 2013. In that contest, he stopped nine of ten Buckeye shots.
Then, at Bentley, Bacon came on in relief again on Friday, November 14 after Sarjeant had to leave the game with an injury. The sophomore then earned his first collegiate start on Saturday, November 15, stopping 36 of 41 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss.
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.
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.
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.
