Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst Lakers Men's Ice Hockey team secured their first win of the season on Friday night, defeating RIT 4-2 in their Atlantic Hockey Conference opener at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The Lakers scored twice in the second period and held off a late push by the Tigers to improve to 1-2-0 overall and 1-0-0 in conference play. 

How It Happened: 

The first period saw both teams battling hard but unable to break through, with goaltenders Simon Bucheler and Trent Burnham making key saves to keep the game scoreless. 

Mercyhurst struck first early in the second period when Dominik Bartecko found the back of the net at 2:39 with assists from Boris Skalos and Trent Sambrook. The Lakers extended their lead to 2-0 at 16:30 when Barrett Brooks scored his first of the season, assisted by Caleb Price. 

The Lakers kept the momentum going in the third period as Ryan Coughlin netted what would prove to be the game-winning goal just 59 seconds in, with assists from Brooks and Dustin Geregach, putting Mercyhurst ahead 3-0. RIT responded with two goals of their own, with Gustav Blom scoring at 6:33 and Dimitri Mikrogiannakis adding another at 15:41, cutting the Lakers' lead to 3-2. 

However, Mercyhurst sealed the victory with an empty-net goal by Sean James at 19:12, assisted by Brendan Lamb and Trent Sambrook, securing the 4-2 win. 

Notable Performances: 

• Ryan Coughlin scored the game-winning goal and added an assist. 

• Barrett Brooks tallied a goal and an assist, while Dominik Bartecko scored his first career goal. 

• Brendan Lamb picked up his first career point. 

• The empty net goal by Sean James was the first of his career. 

• Goaltender Simon Bucheler made 31 saves to backstop the Lakers to victory. 

Up Next: 

The Lakers will face RIT again tomorrow in the second game of the weekend series at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Puck drop is set for 4:00 PM.