SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Mercyhurst men's hockey team fell 4-3 to host AIC in Atlantic Hockey action Friday night at MassMutal Center.
Trailing 3-2 in the third,
Jonathan Bendorf knotted the game when he deflected an
Ethan Johnson slapper from the point for the Lakers second power play tally of the night with 8:19 elapsed in the third.
The tie would hold until Austen Long pushed a rebound behind
Garrett Metcalf with 3:15 to play to make the score 4-3. Mercyhurst battled to the final horn with several chances with the empty net, but Stefano Durante made the Long tally hold.
The Lakers got on the board first when
Dalton Hunter scored on the power play just 3:32 into the contest. Mercyhurst would take that lead into the first break.
AIC tied the game just 43 seconds into the second, but
Cade Townend answered at the 4:34 mark to give the Lakers a 2-1 lead after two.
The Yellow Jackets came out in the third and quickly tied the game at 2-2 on a Blake Christensen goal 45 seconds into the period. Hugo Reinhardt put AIC up 3-2 with his tally just over three minutes later.
James Anderson notched a pair of assists on the night.
Gueorgui Feduolov,
Ethan Johnson and
Josh McDougall also picked up helpers for the Lakers.
Metcalf took the loss in net making 38 stops for the Lakers.
The two teams square off for the series finale on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m. at the MassMutual Center.
