ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst Men's ACHA Hockey team hosted the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland at the Mercyhurst Ice Center over the weekend. After a pair of games against Oakland, the Lakers came away with a series split, with a notable scoring performance coming in the final game of the weekend.
 
In the first game, the game was mostly quiet in the opening period except for a pair of penalties for both teams. Six minutes into the 2^nd period, William Neeld scored his first goal of the year on the power play with assists coming from Conner McCusker and Nathan Chung, their 4^th and 5^th respectively. Oakland would answer at the 11:39 mark on the power play, leaving the game tied 1-1 heading into the 3^rd period.
 
In the 3^rd period, Oakland netted a pair of power play goals within the first 10 minutes, leaving the score at 3-1. The Lakers were able to answer with a quick goal from veteran Hayden Cox, his first of the year. Freshman Sam Mitropoulos earned his first assist of the year on the goal as well. The Lakers would eventually fall to the Golden Grizzlies 3-2.
 
Senior Connor Bridges would get the net for his season debut, stopping 17 of 20 shots on goal.
 
In the second game, the Lakers would open the scoring with a late goal coming from Riordan Sjovold, his 4^th of the season. He would be assisted by Connor Sedia and William Neeld, their 2^nd and 3^rd assist respectively. The Lakers would enter the 2^nd period with a 1-0 lead.
 
Oakland scored an early power play in the 2^nd period after the Lakers suffered a faceoff violation. Cox scored his 2^nd goal of the weekend at 9:47 with assists coming from Cameron Glance and Bowman Klippenstein, their 1^st assists of the year. Chung would soon net another goal for the Lakers just under 2 minutes later, leaving the score at 3-1 just past the halfway mark. Oakland would respond with a pair of quick goals before the conclusion of the period, leaving the game tied 3-3.
 
The Golden Grizzlies scored a goal just over a minute into the 3^rd period before Neeld responded with another goal at 4:40. Cox and Collin Barry came away with the assists. Kaden Bolter scored his 1^st ACHA goal with Sjovold grabbing his 1^st assist of the year as well. Sjovold would score his 5^th goal of the season at 13:23, with Sedia earning his 4^th assist as well. Glance would score the final goal on an empty net with just under 10 seconds remaining on the clock. The Lakers would go on to win 7-4.
 
Henry Hunt would go on to get the win, stopping 25 of 29 shots.
 
The Lakers will travel to Gilmour Academy to face John Carroll October 24.