Notre Dame, In. — For the second night running, it was an electric atmosphere and start to the game with a sellout crowd at Compton Family Ice Arena. The finale of the series against Notre Dame saw the Lakers head back home on a 5-0 loss.
How It Happened
It was a shooting frenzy in the beginning of the first period for freshman goalie Simon Bucheler, who made his NCAA debut tonight. Both teams got six plus shots within the first five minutes, but the scoring would get underway on a Notre Dame powerplay after a hooking call on the Lakers eight minutes in. Senior Drew Bavaro was the one to capitalize on the short handed Mercyhurst squad. The Lakers got their own power play on a tripping call, but had no luck in converting. In the closing minutes of the period, freshman Paul Fischer sunk one in the net to double the Irish lead to 2-0 for his first colligate goal.
Both teams came out in the second period invigorated to get a goal on the board. Shots continued to flow, with decent chances on either end of the ice resulting in big saves and aggressive play as the Lakers and Fighting Irish saw penalty minutes. A couple of small scrums and shoving ensued before the period came to a close at a stalemate, despite the period having the highest number of shots for each side. Mercyhurst shot 14 on goal whereas Notre Dame shot 17.
It all came down for the third period, with the Lakers being capable of pulling the game in or the Irish distancing themselves further. Notre Dame were the ones to answer, as they notched a third goal through their captain Landon Slaggert around five minutes in. Mercyhurst came as close as you can get to bringing it back, with shots from Tyler Gaulin and Philip Waugh hitting the frame of the goal. With less than two minutes to play Slaggert struck again, scoring twice for the second consecutive night. The Lakers went empty net after, resulting in a Ali Brennan goal to give the final score of 5-0 in favor of the home team.
Highlights
Steven Agriogianis led the team in blocks with 3.
Boris Skalos put the most shot on goals, having 5 throughout the game.
Simon Bucheler made 32 saves in his debut for a .889 save percentage.
Next Up
The Lakers have a week until they're back on the road, looking to bounce back with a visit to Bowling Green, Ohio to take on Bowling Green State University. It's in another two game set at Slater Family Ice Arena, playing game one on Friday, November 3rd and game two the next day on Saturday, November 4th.
