The Mercyhurst men's hockey team welcomes RIT into the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Saturday for senior night.
 
Before the game, Mercyhurst will honor seniors Kyle Dutra, Stephen Hrehoriak and Philippe Drouin for their hard work and dedication, as they play in their final regular season home game.
 
The Bill Smith Award will also be given to a senior who exhibits exemplary qualities not only on the ice, but in the classroom and community as well.
 
Dutra is a forward from Mississauga, Ont. who is serving as one of the Lakers two alternate captains during the 2016-17 season. He was also an alternate captain last year, 2015-16, during his junior season. During his four-year career with Mercyhurst he has scored 30 goals and recorded 69 points.
 
"Coming to Mercyhurst was a pretty easy decision," said Dutra. "I was looking to play hockey at a Division I program for the next four years and when Mercyhurst came knocking I knew I wanted to go there. Now senior year looking back on it I couldn't have made a better decision."
 
During his freshman year he led all Mercyhurst freshmen in goals, assists and points. He had six multiple-point contests, held a four-game point-streak and led all Mercyhurst forwards with 34 blocked shots. During his sophomore year, Dutra tallied two game winning goals and had two, 2-point nights. During his junior year he was one of five players to play in all 36 games. He had four, 2-point games and scored one shorthanded goal.
 
"When I graduate I want to be remembered for a guy that came prepared every night, worked hard and did whatever it took to lead the team to win," said Dutra.
 
Hrehoriak a forward from Stittsville, Ont. has scored 12 goals and 24 points during his career as a Laker.
 
"I started looking at schools and I wanted to go to a small school," said Hrehoriak. "I came to visit and really liked it a lot. I decided I wanted to come here and spend four years and it's been a great time."
 
During his freshman year he had a career high of 13 points. He scored three game winning goals, two power play goals and one shorthanded goal. During his senior year he has a career high of 17 blocked shots.
 
"I hope the Mercyhurst hockey program continues to build," said Hrehoriak. "I know a lot of programs are going up and I hope we continue to stay with them. We've been good all four years I've been here and if we can take that next step and win a playoff championship we can keep going and become a big team in Division I hockey."
 
Drouin, the lone graduating defender, is from Cumberland, Ont. During his time as a Lakers he has tallied 22 assists and 28 points.
 
"On Saturday I hope we win and finish on a high note," said Drouin. "It is senior night but it's not going to be our last game of the year and hopefully we're going to have a few more weekends after that. I think it's more going to hit me when that final game happens. Hopefully we get to go past Rochester for the first year since I've been here."
 
During his freshman year he recorded one multiple-point night and blocked 18 shots. During his sophomore year Drouin scored his first collegiate goal against Ohio State and during his junior year he had two, 3-point nights and one, two-point game.
 
"I want to be remembered for coming in and working hard everyday," said Drouin. "We've had a lot of good players come through here and it's always been a battle trying to get in the lineup. I had a few injuries and surgeries that I've had to come back from, so I would be happy finishing on a high note this year."
 
The Matchup

• The Lakers will welcome RIT for the second time this season, for their last regular season home game of the 2016-17 season.

 
Game Recap

• The Lakers took on Canisius College on Thursday and lost 4-0.

 
Last Time Around

• The Lakers and Tigers have met one time this year when the Tigers came to the MIC back in November. In a back and forth game the Lakers came out with a 4-3 loss.

 
Scouting RIT

• With a 12-20-1 overall record and 12-15-0 conference record, the Tigers are sitting in seventh place in the Atlantic Hockey standings with 24 points.
• The Tigers are coming out of a two game losing streak against Air Force where they lost 4-2 and 3-2.
• Leading the RIT roster in points with 25 is Erik Brown. Behind him is Myles Powell with 21 points and Liam Kerins with 20 points.
• In net is Mike Rotolo with a record of 12-19-1. He has a 2.71 goals against average and .900 save percentage.
• The Tigers are graduating seven seniors this season.

 
Laker Lineup

• With a current overall record of 12-17-4 and a conference record of 11-12-4, the Lakers are tied for fifth in the Atlantic Hockey standings with 26 points.

• Pulling ahead in points on the Lakers roster is Derek Barach with 24 assists and 30 points. Jonathan Charbonneau and Les Lancaster have 21 points and Dutra, Zach Todd and Joey Duszak each have 15 points.
• Splitting time in net are Colin DeAugustine and Brandon Wildung. On top is Colin DeAugustine with a record of 5-6-2, a 2.88 GAA and .918 save percentage.

 
Next Up

• The Atlantic Hockey Association will start playoffs on Friday March 3. Stay tuned to see who Mercyhurst will face.

 
Stay Connected
Keep up with the team by following our social media:

• Mercyhurst Athletics on Twitter @HurstAthletics
• Men's Ice Hockey on Twitter @HurstMensHockey
• Facebook – facebook.com/mercyhurstmenshockey
• Instagram @mercyhursthockey