ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst men's hockey team hosted Canisius this evening for game two of the series. Last night, the Golden Griffins went up 2-0. The Lakers scored three consecutive goals to take a 3-2 lead before Canisius scored two goals in dying minutes to secure a comeback. Tonight, the Golden Griffins capitalized on three powerplay opportunities and won 5-0.
 
The first period commenced with Mercyhurst (3-20-1, 3-12-1 AHA) and Brendan Lamb winning the initial faceoff against Canisius (13-9-2, 8-6-2 AHA). The Lakers maintained an aggressive stance with shots on goal from Peter Klemm and Will Schumacher, but each attempt was thwarted by the Golden Griffins' netminder. Despite several blocked shots by Mercyhurst's defense, a penalty on Francesco Iasenza led to a power-play opportunity for Canisius. This advantage allowed them to score the period's only goal at 7:02. The period concluded with Canisius leading 1-0.
 
The Lakers faced challenges in the second period as the Golden Griffins capitalized on another power-play opportunity at 11:09. Despite the Lakers' efforts, including shots from Christian Kocsis and others, the Canisius netminder kept the puck out of the net. They further increased their margin with a goal at 5:51 during even strength. Charles-Edward Gravel did all he could to prevent any additional goals with several key saves throughout the game. The period concluded with the Golden Griffins up 3-0.
 
Mercyhurst faced a challenging third period, as they were unable to capitalize on a power-play opportunity midway through the frame. Despite several attempts on goal, including a wide shot by Caleb Price at 18:59 and a missed effort by Matteo Disipio at 7:38, they could not find the back of the net. Canisius extended their lead with a short-handed, empty-net goal at 5:54, followed by a power-play goal at 4:20. The period concluded with the Lakers unable to score, and Canisius securing the victory with a final score of 5-0.

The Lakers returns home for their next series against RIT.  Puck drop for game one will take place Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.