Setting the Stage
The Mercyhurst men's hockey team will play its last regular season games of the 2017-18 season on Feb. 23-24. The Lakers will take on the Rochester Institute of Technology, with the puck drop at 7:05 p.m. both nights.
Last Time Out
Mercyhurst swept Robert Morris on Feb. 16-17, winning 2-1 on Friday and 3-2 in overtime on Saturday.
Joshua Lammon scored a goal and two assists while
Derek Barach and
Patrick Piacentini recorded a goal and an assist each.
Bryan Sienerth and
Kane Elliot also recorded goals during the weekend.
Les Lancaster and
Zach Todd both tallied two assists while
Taylor Best and
Tommaso Bucci picked up one assist each.
Previous Matchup
Mercyhurst and RIT met earlier this month on Feb. 12 when RIT won 6-5 in overtime.
Jonathan Charbonneau scored two goals for Mercyhurst while Lammon and Best each picked up one goal.
Erik Brown recorded three goals for RIT while Alden Dupuis had two goals and Jordan Peacock had one goal.
All-Time Series
RIT holds a 40-21-6 advantage over Mercyhurst, including a 7-3-0 margin in the last ten contests.
Scouting RIT
RIT has a current 14-16-2, 13-12-1 record.
The Tigers are coming out of a split weekend series with Sacred Heart. They won 5-0 on Friday before falling 5-3 the next night.
Brown is at the top of the Tigers' roster with 25 goals and 36 points. Myles Powell is leading in assists with 22 and is next in points with 33. Close behind in points is Gabe Valenzuela with 30.
Logan Drackett has spent the most time in net with a 6-7-2 record, 3.59 goals against average and .868 save percentage. Also, between the pipes is Christian Short, who has put forth a 6-5-0 record, 2.92 GAA and .888 save percentage. Ian Andriano has a 2-4-0 record, 3.39 GAA and .877 save percentage.
The Tigers are ranked 30th in the nation on the power play, going 18.8 percent. With 81.3 percent, they are ranked 29th in the nation on the penalty kill.
Mercyhurst Record
Mercyhurst has earned a 17-11-4, 14-8-4 record and is sitting in first place in the Atlantic Hockey standings.
Laker Leaders
Barach is leading the Lakers with 33 points.
Jack Riley is leading in goals with 15 and is next in points with 28. Todd is at the top of the assist category with 21 and has 24 points.
Between the Pipes
Brandon Wildung has earned a 16-0-9, 13-6-4 record, 2.80 GAA and .918 save percentage. He is ranked 16th in the nation in save percentage.
Colin DeAugustine has a 1-2-0 record, 3.04 GAA and .886 save percentage.
Special Teams
With 24.7 percent, Mercyhurst moves up one spot to sixth in the nation on the power play. They move up seven spots to 16th in the nation on the penalty kill with 83.2 percent.
National Ranked Defensemen
Three Mercyhurst defensemen are ranked in the top 30 in the nation in points per game for a defenseman. Todd is tied for 18th with 0.75 points per game, Lancaster is ranked 24th with 0.72 points per game and
Joseph Duszak is ranked 29th with 0.70 points per game.
Century Mark Watch
Riley is one-point shy of becoming the second player this season and 22nd player in the programs Division 1 history to hit 100 points. Charbonneau is five points away.
USCHO Votes
For the first time since the 2014-15 season, Mercyhurst has received votes on the weekly United States College Hockey Online poll for four straight weeks.
#CaptainJack For Hobey Baker
Jack Riley has been nominated for the Hobey Baker Award. Fans can vote now through March 4th. VOTE
Players to Watch
For Mercyhurst
Lammon recorded one goal and three assists last weekend, including the overtime game winning goal. In his last five games, he has recorded six points.
For RIT
Brown recorded a hat trick against the Lakers on Feb. 12. He also scored four goals during the Tigers 5-0 win over Sacred Heart on Friday and added another goal and assist on Saturday. He is also ranked 4th in the nation in goals per game with 0.78.
Coaches Corner
"It's the last regular season weekend for our team, we know that we can't end up anything worse than second place, but we have a good chance to win a regular season championship," said head coach
Rick Gotkin. "We were picked to finish eighth this year by the coaches in our league, so to win the regular season championship would be a tremendous accomplishment."
Next Up
The first round of the Atlantic Hockey Playoffs starts March 2nd. Mercyhurst gets a first-round bye and will play in the quarterfinals March 9-11 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Opponent to be determined.
Stay Connected
Keep up with the team by following our social media:
Twitter: @HurstMensHockey
Facebook: facebook.com/mercyhurstmenshockey
Instagram: @mercyhursthockey
Snapchat: @hurstmhockey
