WATERTOWN, Mass. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team will begin its postseason with a trip to Bentley University for a best-of-three Atlantic Hockey Conference quarterfinal series on Friday, Saturday, and if necessary, Sunday at the John A. Ryan Skating Arena. Faceoffs all three nights are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The Lakers (16-14-4, 14-11-3 AHC) dropped their final four games of the regular season to send the team on the road this weekend. Meanwhile, the Falcons (16-13-5, 14-9-5 AHC) also stumbled a bit down the stretch, going 0-2-2 against Army, Sacred Heart, and Holy Cross, but was able to hang on to home ice in the quarterfinal round.

The teams met four times during the regular season with Bentley going 3-0-1 against Mercyhurst this season. However, all four games were decided by one goal or fewer. Despite the 0-3-1 record against the Falcons this season, the Lakers still hold a 29-14-8 advantage in the all-time series.

Three other quarterfinal matchups take place this weekend and the four survivors will advance to the semifinals, which will take place on Friday, March 20 at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York. Top-seeded Robert Morris will host the #11 seed Niagara, after the Purple Eagles upset #6 Holy Cross in three games last weekend. Second-seeded Canisius will host #8 Sacred Heart after the Pioneers swept #9 Army, and #3 Rochester Institute of Technology will host #7 Air Force after the Falcons swept #10 American International.

THE SERIES VS BENTLEY ...

Despite going 0-3-1 this season against the Falcons in four regular season meetings, the Lakers still hold a 29-14-8 advantage in the all-time series against Bentley. Mercyhurst is 13-8-3 lifetime in suburban Boston against the Falcons and is 2-1-0 lifetime in postseason play against Bentley. The last playoff game between the two teams came on March 17, 2006 - a 3-2 double overtime victory by Bentley at Holy Cross in the AHA Semifinals. All four games during the 2014-15 regular season were decided by one goal or fewer.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS ...

Similar to Mercyhurst, the Falcons also stumbled a bit down the stretch by going 0-2-2 against Army, Sacred Heart, and Holy Cross. Bentley managed to hold on to a top-four spot in the standings to earn home ice in the quarterfinal round. The Falcons feature four players that have scored at least 100 points in their careers - seniors Alex Grieve (126), Brett Switzer (109), and Steve Weinstein (104), and junior Andrew Gladiuk (105). Gladiuk leads the Falcons in scoring this season with 19 goals and 20 assists for 39 points. Sophomore Max French is second with 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points on the season. All three goaltenders on the roster have started at least seven games during the season, led by freshman Jayson Argue who was the league's All-Rookie Team goaltender and was a unanimous selection. Argue is 7-5-4 with a 1.95 goals against average and a .936 save percentage. Junior Gabe Antoni is 6-5-0 with a 2.92 goals against average and a .910 save percentage while senior Blake Dougherty is 3-3-1 with a 2.49 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. Special teams have been solid for the Falcons as they convert 18.9% of their power play opportunites and kill off 85.5% of opponent chances.

AGAINST BENTLEY ...

Senior Chris Bodo (7g, 1a) and sophomore Kyle Dutra (3g, 5a) each have eight points in their careers against Bentley to lead all current Lakers in scoring against this weekend's opponent. Senior Daniel Bahntge (1g, 6a) and senior Zac Frischmon (3g, 3a) have also seen their share of points against the Falcons in their careers. Goaltending, however, has not succeeded as all three goaltenders on this year's roster have a save percentage of less than 90% against the Falcons in their careers.

THREE EARN POSTSEASON HONORS ...

Redshirt freshman Jack Riley, last week, was named to the Atlantic Hockey Conference All-Rookie Team after leading Laker newcomers in scoring this season. He has nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points overall and eight goals and twelve assists in league play. Earlier this week, senior defenseman Ryan Misiak was selected to the All-Conference Second Team while senior forward Daniel Bahntge was a Third Team honoree. Misiak led Laker defenseman with six goals and 15 assists for 21 points during the regular season while Bahntge currently leads the squad in scoring with 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points.

BATTLE OF ROOKIE GOALTENDERS ...

The series between Mercyhurst and Bentley will, more than likely, be a battle of two goaltenders in their rookie seasons - Brandon Wildung of Mercyhurst and Jayson Argue of Bentley. There was no "Argue"ing who was the best rookie netminder in the conference this season as the Bentley goaltender was a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie Team. Argue is 7-5-4 this season with a 1.95 goals against average and a .936 save percentage. He has earned the starting role by his stellar play. Meanwhile, Wildung has taken over #1 goaltending duties due to the season-ending injury to reigning Atlantic Hockey Player and Goaltender of the Year, Jimmy Sarjeant. Wildung is 8-8-3 with a 2.51 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.