BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Senior
Hank Johnson made 38 saves in his first start as a Laker while the offense capitalized with a pair of power play goals to lift the Mercyhurst men's hockey team to a 2-1 victory over No. 18 Bowling Green Saturday afternoon at the Slater Family Ice Arena.
Justin Cmunt put the Lakers on the board when he buried a shot from between the dots on the with the man advantage at the 4:11 mark of the first.
Steven Ipri and
Austin Heidemann picked up the helpers on the play.
The Lakers made the lead hold up and took the 1-0 advantage into the first intermission. The Falcons came out fast in the second and took play to Mercyhurst out shooting the Lakers 21-2 in the frame. Johnson stopped all 21 second period shots to keep the score at 1-0 after two.
"Hank has been waiting a long time for this opportunity," said head coach
Rick Gotkin. "He obviously made the most of it today. He was the difference for us."
The Lakers extended the lead early in the third. With a two-man advantage,
Cade Townend blistered a one timer past Zack Rose 1:01 into the third.
Bowling Green scored at the 18:27 mark of the third with the goalie pulled to trim the lead to 2-1. The Lakers held off a late Falcon charge to earn their first victory of the season.
Special teams were the difference on the day for the Lakers. Mercyhurst finished the day 2-for-4 on the power play. The Lakers were also a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.
"Our guys played hard today," Gotkin said. "Your power play can lose you games and your penalty kill can win you games. Today was a good example of that."
Johnson finished the day with 38 saves to pick up his first win in a Laker sweater.
Heidemann's helper on the Cmunt tally was his first collegiate point.
Josh McDougall also picked up a point for the Lakers with the primary assist on Townend's game-winning goal.
The Lakers and Falcons will face off in the second half of a home and home on Sunday. Puck drop is slated for 3 p.m. at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
