LEWISTON, N.Y. -- The Mercyhurst men's hockey team scored six straight goals Friday night en route to a 7-4 victory over Niagara Friday night in a wild affair at Dwyer Arena.
The game started off with a bang as Geoff Kitt rang a shot off the post and came out and bounced in off the back of goaltender Chad Veltri just 1:24 into the game.
Niagara responded immediately when Walker Sommer scored unassisted just four seconds later that sparked a run of four goals in 8:40 to make it 4-1 Purple Eagles.
Michael Bevilacqua got the comeback bid started with his first goal of the season with a slapper through a screen with 11:27 gone in the first.
The Lakers trimmed the lead again when Austin Heidemann sniped a shot from the right circle on the power play 14:44 mark. Gueorgui Feduolov finished the scoring in a crazy first with a tap in on a cross crease pass from Jonathan Bendorf to send the teams into the first intermission tied 4-4.
It looked like the torrid scoring pace was going to continue as Devon Daniels netted his first collegiate goal just 1:29 into the second, but that was the only tally of the period and the Lakers carried that 5-4 advantage into the third.
Carson Briere extended the lead at the 10:38 mark of the third with Meryhurst's second man-advantage tally of the game. Dante Sheriff circled the Purple Eagle net twice before dropping the puck to Daniels. Daniels blasted the puck on net and it leaked through Veltri and right onto the stick of Briere for the score.
Briere would seal the game for the Lakers with an empty net goal to set the final.
Our guys stuck with it tonight and played hard," said head coach Rick Gotkin. "We had a lot of guys do so many little things right. It was nice to see them get rewarded. I'm proud of our effort and happy for them to get the result."
After a tough first period, Hank Johnson settled in making 28 saves, 16 in the crucial second period.
Sheriff and Briere each finished with three points. Briere had two goals and an assist while Sheriff dished out three helpers. Daniels added two points with a goal and an assist.
The last time the Lakers scored seven goals was Nov. 3, 2017 when they went to Penn State and claimed a 7-4 victory.
Special teams made a big difference in the game as the Lakers converted 2-of-4 power play chances and killed off all four penalties against.
The Lakers get the chance to rest up until they return to action on Jan. 2 with a trip to Canisius. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m.
