TEMPE, Ariz. -- Sophomore Owen Norton finished off a 3-on-2 break with 18 seconds left in the third to lift the Mercyhurst men's hockey team to a season opening victory over No. 20 Arizona State Saturday night at Oceanside Ice Arena. 

Trailing 2-1 late in the third, the Lakers went to the power play after a Steenn Pasichnuk penalty with 3:33 left in the third. Jonny Lazarus cashed in for Mercyhurst with 2:29 left when he collected the puck at the side of the net and stepped to the front to roof the game tying goal. 

The Lakers got on the board first on a backhand tally by James Anderson 6:09 into the contest. The Sun Devils would answer back just over two minutes later, on an even strength goal by Willie Knierim. 

The teams played a scoreless second period, but Arizona State struck early in the third when Brinson Pasichnuk scored just after a Sun Devil power play had expired to give Arizona State a 2-1 advantage. 

"We preserved," said head coach Rick Gotkin. "Going down 2-1, I think it would have been easy for a young team to pack it in, but our guys kept playing and we found a way to get rewarded on the power play and tie it up. Then we got a bounce and scored a big goal." 

Mercyhurst penalty killers were a perfect 5-for-5 on the night. The defensive effort was backstopped by 33 saves from netminder Garrett Metcalf. 

Steven Ipri set the table for the Lakers with a pair of helpers to go with three shots on goal. Dalton Hunter picked up two points with his assists on the first two Mercyhurst goals. Anderson placed the Lakers with three points on a goal and two assists.

The Lakers and Sun Devils square off again on Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern.