Setting the Stage
The Mercyhurst men's hockey team is set for its first of two home-and-home series with Robert Morris University this season. The Lakers will travel to Moon Township, PA on Dec. 16 for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop before returning to the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Dec. 17 for an early 4:05 p.m. puck drop.
 
Last Time Out
The Lakers are coming off of a weekend series against American International College last weekend. They lost 3-1 on Friday and won 4-2 on Saturday.
 
Previous Matchup
Mercyhurst and Robert Morris met four times last season when Mercyhurst went 2-1-1.
 
During their first weekend matchup on Dec. 17-16, the Lakers won 4-3 in overtime on Friday before tying the next night 2-2.
 
They met again on Feb. 17-18 where the Lakers won 7-4 on Friday and fell 3-2 on Saturday.
 
Jonathan Charbonneau and Derek Barach both recorded three goals against the Colonials while Jack Riley scored two goals and Les Lancaster, Joseph Duszak, James Anderson, Michael Verboom and Taylor Best each scored one goal.
 
Timmy Moore, Eric Israel and Luke Lynch each scored two goals against the Lakers last season while Brady Ferguson, Elias Ghantous and Daniel Mantenuto each recorded one goal.
 
Brandon Wildung picked up a 1-1-0 record with 61 saves while Colin DeAugustine recorded 83 saves and a 1-0-1 record for Mercyhurst.
 
Andrew Pikul recorded one loss against the Lakers last season with 38 saves. Francis Marotte had a 0-1-1 record with 39 saves for Robert Morris.
 
All-Time Series
Mercyhurst holds a 10-7-8 advantage over Robert Morris, including a 5-3-2 advantage in the past 10 meetings. The Lakers have out-scored the Colonials 34-32 in those 10 games.
 
Scouting Robert Morris
The Colonials (5-11-1, 5-7-1 AHA) are looking to break a four-game losing skid. They are coming out of a weekend series with Penn State in which they lost both contests, 5-2 and 7-4.
 
Michael Louria is leading the Colonials with 11 assists and 17 points. Lynch is leading the goals category with 12 goals and is right behind Louria with 15 points. Ferguson also has 15 points on the season.
 
Marotte has put forth a 5-7-1 record with a 2.93 goals against average and .908 save percentage. Pikul has a 3.85 GAA and .891 save percentage with a 0-3-0 record.
 
Laker Lineup
Mercyhurst enters the weekend series with a 7-7-2, 4-4-2 AHA record.
 
Barach is leading Mercyhurst with 11 assists and 16 points. Riley is leading in goals with seven and is behind Barach with 14 points. Best also has 14 points.
 
DeAugustine picked up his first win of the season during the Lakers 4-2 win over AIC on Saturday. He has a 1.77 GAA and .941 save percentage. Brandon Wildung has a 6-7-2 record with a 3.15 GAA and .909 save percentage.
 
Special Teams
With 23.7 percent, the Lakers are ranked 11^th in the nation on the power play. They are 43^rd in the nation on the penalty kill with 79.1 percent.
 
Players to Watch
Mercyhurst
Duszak had three assists against AIC, giving him 11 points on the season. He is ranked 23^rd in the nation in points per game amongst defensemen with 0.79.
 
Barach tallied four assists and seven points against the Colonials last season, including the overtime game winning goal on Dec. 17. He is also ranked fifth in the nation in game-winning goals with five.
 
Charbonneau notched three goals and four points against Robert Morris last year.
 
Robert Morris
Louria is riding a five-game point streak in which he has tallied five goals and nine points. He has put forth 1.18 points per game, ranking him 26^th in the nation.
 
Moore and Ferguson both recorded five points against the Lakers last season. Moore currently has 10 points on the season and Ferguson has 15 points.
 
Coaches Corner
"It's a challenging week for our guys balancing studying for exams and working hard on the ice, but we're going to have a good hard week and keep it the same," said assistant coach Greg Gardner. "We know how we need to play this weekend and what's expected of us and these are four points that we need to attack."
 
Follow the Action
WATCH
Game 1 Statistics
Game 2 Statistics
  
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