In game one against Salem, the Tigers struck first as they found the back of the cage within the first 15 seconds of game-time. Salem would score again 1:06 into the game to push their lead to 2-0. Brennan Cumby struck first for the Lakers, he scored with 5:49 remaining in the quarter to make the score 2-1 Salem.
Salem was able to score again with 2:59 remaining in the first to extend their lead to two. On the next possession, Aleksa Vucurovic scored his first goal of the contest for Mercyhurst. Unfortunately for the Lakers, Salem would go on a 5-0 to close out the remainder of the quarter to take an 8-2 lead with them into the second quarter.
Vucurovic responded for Mercyhurst scoring his second goal of the game two minutes into the second quarter, shortly after Reed Bearden got his first goall to cut Salem's lead to 8-4. Vucurovic completed his hat trick with 4:24 remaining in the half making making the Lakers deficit three. Mathieu Davis scored Mercyhurst's sixth goal in the contest with 19 seconds remaining in the first half. However, it was Salem that took a 10-6 lead with them into the halftime break.
In the third quarter, Davis added another score for Mercyhurst early but Salem quickly responded to make the scored 11-7. Salem added five more goals in the quarter compared to the Lakers three to take a 16-10 advantage into the final frame.
In the fourth quarter, Mercyhurst started out hot as Kirouac, Davis, and Vucurovic all scored consecutive goals for the Lakers to cut the Tiger lead down to three. Unfortunately for Mercyhurst, Salem scored two more times in the final two minutes to give them a hard fought 18-14 victory.
In the second game against cross-town rival Gannon, the Golden Knight's swam off the blocks in a hurry as they scored the first four tallies of the contest. Joel Parnell was able to get Mercyhurst on the scoreboard late in the first quarter to make the Gannon lead 4-1. The Golden Knights added a buzzer beating goal to give them a 5-1 advantage going into the second quarter. Micheal Gutman and Parnell scored early in the quarter to shrink the lead to 6-3. Gannon then went on the score two more goals in the quarter which made it 8-3 at the time. Mercyhurst's Derek Kagen added a goal just 28 seconds before the halftime break. Gannon led 8-4 going into half.
As the third period started, both teams would began to fire on all cylinders offensively. Bearden and Davis scored for the Lakers to make the score 8-6 Gannon. Then, Gannon went on a mini scoring run as they had three straight tallies to go up 11-6. JP Kirouac scored his second goal of the day in the final minute of the quarter to push the score to 11-7 Gannon. Mercyhurst scored twice in the final frame but that was not enough to get past the Golden Knights as they went on to win it 14-9.
The Lakers will square off with McKendree tomorrow at 10:30 a.m in the third place match. Gannon and Salem will play in the title match at noon.
