Erie, Pa.—The Mercyhurst Men's Hockey team looks to snap a six-game losing streak as they play their final non-conference game of the season on Tuesday against Miami (OH).
All-Time Against Miami
The Lakers and Redhawks have only met twice in the history of the two programs. Mercyhurst and Miami (OH) played each other on Dec. 12. The Redhawks won 7-4 as four different Lakers scored. Miami took the first matchup at the 2018 Ice Breaker Tournament in Erie by a score of 3-0.
Last Time Out
The Lakers traveled to Hanover, New Hampshire to compete in the Ledyard Classic. Mercyhurst faced No. 20 Boston College in the opening game of the tournament. Despite scoring the opening goal the Lakers fell 4-2 to the Eagles. Gueorgui Feduolov scored the first goal for Mercyhurst as Austin Heidemann and Rylee St. Onge picked up power play assists. Heidemann scored the second goal for Mercyhurst after BC scored four straight goals. Hank Johnson made 33 saves for Mercyhurst, the Lakers generated 30 shots.
In the third place game, Mercyhurst faced New Hampshire. Mercyhurst once again scored the opening goal. Owen Norton netted his second goal of the year as Cade Townend and Feduolov picked up assists. UNH scored seven goals while Johnson made 21 saves and freshman Matt Lenz made his collegiate debut and made eight saves in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Special Team Specialists
The Lakers have the fifth best power-play in the nation and have scored 20 times on the man-advantage.
Carson Briere and Mickey Burns are tied for the team lead in power-play goals with three while Dante Sheriff, Jonathan Bendorf, Townend, Heideman, Feduolov, and Pierce Crawford have each scored twice on the power play.
Mercyhurst has killed off 49-67 power plays this season. Steven Ipri has scored the lone shorthanded goal for the Lakers.
Crunch Time
The Lakers will play Atlantic Hockey games for the rest of the season. January 14th, they travel to AIC then return home the next weekend to face Air Force. The Lakers then go on the road for two weeks as they face Niagara and Army. Mercyhurst closes out the regular season with five of their final six games at home, their lone away game is against Canisius on Feb. 25.
Welcome (Back) to Mercyhurst
Dalton Hunter played in his first game against Boston College since Jan. 8, 2021 against Air Force.
Dustin Geregach joined the Lakers last week after starting the season in the NAHL with Johnstown. In Johnstown he had six goals and 30 assists in 77 career games with the Tomahawks
Scouting the Redhawks
The Redhawks start the new year with a 4-12-1 record and a conference record of 1-7-0. Miami opened their season with a non-conference win over Ferris State, since then they have beaten Omaha, Long Island, and the Lakers in their last game.
Derek Danschke leads the team in points, he has a team high 10 assists while adding two goals. Ryan Savage has six goals which is the most on the team. Matthew Barbolini is second on the team with six goals this season. Freshman Red Savage was selected to the U.S. World Junior Team that competed in the shortened IIHF Junior World Jr. Championships in December.
Ludvig Persson and Logan Neaton have both seen time in the cage with Persson playing majority of the minutes. Persson has a 3.75 goals against average and a .883 save percentage in just over 750 minutes played. Neaton has played in six games and currently has a .896 goals against average and a 4.07 goals against average.
Up Next
The Lakers have the weekend off after playing three games in six days, all on the road. Mercyhurst will head back to the east coast on Jan. 14 to take on AIC.
