SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Mercyhurst men's hockey team saw their comeback bid come up short as they fell 7-4 to host AIC Saturday afternoon at the MassMutual Center.
The Lakers trailed 4-2 after two periods, and the Yellow Jackets tacked on a pair of goals in first half of the third to push the advantage to 6-4.
Mercyhurst answered back when
Justin Cmunt wristed a puck from the high slot off the crossbar and in to trim the lead to 6-3 with 4:49 to play.
Just 38 seconds later,
Quinn Wichers beat Stefano Durante short side for his first career goal to bring the Lakers back within two 6-4.
A major penalty with 3:53 left to play put a damper on the Lakers comeback effort as AIC tacked on a late power play goal to set the final.
The Yellow Jackets built an early advantage with a goal 1:49 into the contest and then added another to take a 2-0 edge into the first intermission.
Geoff Kitt got the Lakers on the board when he wired a wrister off a cross feed from
Paul Maust 40 seconds into the second period cutting the deficit to 2-1.
AIC responded with a pair of scores to push the lead to 4-1 with 3:16 left in the period. Kitt trimmed the lead to 4-2 when he buried a shot off a turnover in the slot.
In addition to Kitt, Maust and
Brendan Riley each picked up a pair of points on two helpers each.
Garrett Metcalf made 33 saves taking the loss in net for Mercyhurst.
The Lakers return to action on Friday when they host Niagara for the first half of a home-and-home. Puck drop on Friday is slated for 7:05 p.m. Tickets for Friday can be purchased
here.
