Setting the Stage
The Mercyhurst men's ice hockey team will play in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament semifinals on Friday at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y., against Robert Morris. The puck drops at 4:35 p.m.
 
Last Time Out
Mercyhurst swept Sacred Heart from the Atlantic Hockey Tournament quarterfinals at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Mar. 9-10. With the victories, the Lakers advanced to their first AHA Final Four since 2014-15.

Jonathan Charbonneau recorded five goals while Michael Verboom and Tommaso Bucci each recorded one goal during the Lakers' sweep of Sacred Heart.
 
Previous Matchup
Robert Morris and Mercyhurst have matched up four times this season, with each team sweeping a series. RMU swept the first series back in Dec. with 5-2 and 5-3 wins. Mercyhurst then swept the second series, in Feb., with a 2-1 win and 3-2 overtime win.

Charbonneau recorded three goals, Bryan Sienerth tallied two goals and Taylor Best, Derek Barach, Patrick Piacentini, Kane Elliot and Joshua Lammon each had one goal against the Colonials this season. Brandon Wildung has stopped 94 shots while Colin DeAugustine made 23 saves.

Luke Lynch and Michael Louria scored three goals, Timmy Moore and Brady Ferguson scored two goals and Eric Israel, Alex Tonge and Robert Powers each scored one goal against the Lakers this season. Francis Marotte recorded 84 saves while Andrew Pikul recorded 23 saves.
 
All-Time Series
Mercyhurst has earned a 12-9-8 advantage over Robert Morris, although the two teams are even in the last ten games, going 4-4-2.
 
Scouting Robert Morris
The Colonials are coming into the Semifinals game with a 12-13-3 record.

After finishing seventh in the Atlantic Hockey standings, RMU earned its way to the AHC Final Four by beating 10th-seeded Bentley in three games and sweeping three-seed Holy Cross.

Ferguson leads the Colonials with 31 assists and 46 points. Tonge and Lynch lead the roster in goals with 17 each. Tonge has 43 points while Lynch and Moore have 36 points.

In net, Marotte has earned a 17-19-3 record with a 2.43 goals against average and .920 save percentage. Pikul has a 1-5-0 record, 3.64 GAA and .889 save percentage.

Robert Morris is 28th in the nation on the power play with 19.2 percent. It is 40th on the penalty kill going 79.1 percent.

During the AHA Tournament, Tonge has four goals and Matthew Graham and Lynch three goals each.
 
Mercyhurst Record
Mercyhurst is coming into the AHA Tournament semifinals with a 21-11-4 record.
 
Laker Leaders
Barach leads the Lakers with 36 points while Riley has 31. Charbonneau is leading the Lakers in goals with 17 and is next in points with 29. Joseph Duszak also has 29 points. Zach Todd is leading Mercyhurst with 23 assists.
 
Between the Pipes
Wildung has earned a 20-9-4 record with a 2.75 GAA and .919 save percentage. Colin DeAugustine has a 1-2-0 record, 3.04 GAA and .886 save percentage.
 
Special Teams
Mercyhurst moved down one spot to eighth in the nation with its league-leading 23.8 percent power play. They also moved down eight spots to 29th in the nation, going 81.3 percent on the penalty kill.
 
100 Point Club
Charbonneau became the 23rd player in NCAA Division I program history and third player this season to record 100 points as a Laker. He was welcomed into the 100 Point Club on Mar. 10 with an assist as his 100th point.
 
National Honor
Charbonneau was named the NCAA No. 1 Star of the week for the week ending in Feb. 11. He had five of the Lakers' seven goals and also tallied one assist in the Quarterfinals sweep of Sacred Heart.

3,000-Save Wildung
Wildung has hit a milestone, as he has recorded 3000 saves as a Laker. Wildung has a .667 win percentage, which is the highest in the AHC and is tied for 11th in the nation.
 
National Poll Votes
Mercyhurst remains on the United States College Hockey Online Poll for the seventh straight week. For the third consecutive week, the Lakers are the first team outside of the top 20 on the USCHO.com poll -- only nine points behind 20th-ranked Union.
For the third straight week, the Lakers are on the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll -- this week with four votes.
 
Players to Watch
For Mercyhurst
Watch out for Charbonneau. After going four games without recording a goal, he recorded his first career hat trick and added another two goals and an assist last weekend. He was named the NCAA No. 1 Star and was welcomed into the 100 Point Club. Charbonneau is also tied for 16th in the nation with 0.53 goals per game.

For Robert Morris
Watch out for Lynch. He has been hot this post season with seven assists and 10 points. During his two seasons with the Colonials he has record five goals and seven points against the Lakers.

Other Atlantic Hockey Action
No. 2 seed Canisius will take on five-seed Air Force in the later AHA Tournament semifinal.
 
Next Up
The Atlantic Hockey Tournament final will be played on Saturday at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y., with a 7:35 p.m. puck drop.
 
Stay Connected
Keep up with the team by following our social media:
Twitter: @HurstMensHockey
Facebook: facebook.com/mercyhurstmenshockey
Instagram: @mercyhursthockey
Snapchat: @hurstmhockey