MERCYHURST (3-20-1, 3-12-1 AHA) vs. (RV) RIT (14-11-1, 10-7-1 AHA)
Friday, Jan. 30 – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 31 – 5 p.m.
Erie, Pa.  
TV: Flo Hockey
 
The Mercyhurst men's hockey team is still in contention to stir up the AHA standings as they sit just three points behind Niagara and six points behind Army. The Lakers next challenge comes with a home series vs. (RV) RIT. Puck drop for game one begins Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. Game two will take place at 5 p.m. the next day. Viewers can find live coverage on Flo Hockey. 
 
Previous Results
The Lakers have won three of their last six games. They have shut out an AHA opponent twice in their past three series. They began the year at No. 12 Michigan and followed with a home series vs. Union. This series started a seven-game stretch on home ice. They began AHA play by hosting Holy Cross and then hosted UMass Lowell and Bentley. In November, they dropped a pair of tight conference matchups at RIT and Canisius. At the end of the month, they had a home-and-home against RMU. The Lakers picked up a point at RMU where they tied 1-1 before falling 3-2 in the shootout. Their lone matchup in December was a road contest at Holy Cross where they fell 4-1. 
 
The team began 2026 by traveling to No. 4 North Dakota. The Lakers fell 2-0 in game one and 6-1 in game two. Charles-Edward Gravel had an impressive showing with a career-high 46 saves in game one. Mercyhurst followed this with a series split at home vs. Army. They shut out the Black Knights 3-0 in game one and then got shut out 5-0 in game two. The Lakers then swept Niagara in a crucial home-and-home series that narrowed the gap in the AHA standings. They beat the Purple Eagles 3-0 in game one and 4-2 in game two. The first game had just two penalties, but the second game had 26. Most recently, the team was swept by Canisius. In game one, they overcame a two-goal deficit to claim a 3-2 lead. The Golden Griffins clawed their way back, won that game, and won the next day. 
 
Matchup History
Mercyhurst has an overall record of 21-39-6 vs. RIT. The first matchup between the two teams took place Feb. 5, 2006, in Erie. The Lakers won 4-3. RIT then won 10 of the next 15 matchups. The Lakers won three consecutive matchups from November of 2013 to February of 2014. The longest unbeaten run for the Lakers took place in a four-game stretch from February 2018 to November 2018. Mercyhurst beat RIT 4-3 in three consecutive games and then tied 2-2 in the fourth game of that span. The Tigers longest win streak is five, and they have achieved it twice. From February of 2015 to January of 2016 the Tigers won five consecutive matches. Most recently, the Tigers have won the last five contests. The Lakers last win was a 4-2 home victory on Oct. 11, 2024. The Lakers have a 11-17-2 home record against RIT and are averaging 2.85 goals per game against them. 
 
Lakers to Look Out for
Will Schumacher (8G, 5A, 13 PTS) leads the Laker's scoring and points column. Schumacher has scored six goals in his last 11 games. The Prior Lake, Minnesota native has six points in his last three games. He scored a goal and recorded two assists in game two vs. Niagara and in game one vs. Canisius. 
 
Dominik Bartecko has four goals and four assists. His eight points are second on the team.  Bartecko had a two-point weekend in the team's home-and-home with Robert Morris at the end of November. The Nashville native scored at home and assisted a powerplay goal on the road. To start 2026, Bartecko fired a rocket into the top left corner of the net to briefly give the Lakers a 1-0 lead at No. 4 North Dakota. He also scored an empty-netter against Army in the Laker's 3-0 win. 
 
Jacob LeBlanc leads the team assists with nine. J. LeBlanc recorded six assists in nine games throughout October and November. He recorded an assist on the powerplay with Bartecko in the team's 1-1 draw at Robert Morris. Most recently, he assisted a goal in each game against Niagara and in game one vs. Canisius.
 
Jacob's brother, Andrew LeBlanc, is third on the team with eight points. A. LeBlanc has three goals and five assists. He recently, scored a goal and added an assist in game one vs. Canisius. This was his second multi-point game of the season. 
 
Defensively, Christian Kocsis, John Larkin, and Caleb Price have led the way in terms of shot stopping. Kocsis (2G, 2A, 4 PTS, 33 BLKS) leads the team in blocks. Larkin (1G, 2A, 3 PTS, 31 BLKS) is second and Price's 30 blocks are third.
 
Between the pipes, Charles-Edward Gravel has played the most games, 20. The Quebec native has a .900 save percentage, the highest on the team. Gravel had a career-high 46 saves in the Laker's narrow 2-0 loss to No. 4 North Dakota in game one. He picked up his first shutout and made 39 saves in the team's 3-0 win against Army two weeks ago. He then made 26 saves and kept his second consecutive shutout in a 3-0 win against Niagara. 
 
Salvatore Evola started against Niagara in game two of the first home-and-home series. Here, he made a season-high 36 saves in the teams 4-2 victory. 
 
Scouting (RV) RIT  

• The Tigers are 14-11-1 overall and 10-7-1 in conference play.
• They began their campaign at home vs. Sacred Heart where the Pioneers swept them. 
• They then won their next nine consecutive matches. 
• They beat Clarkson before sweeping Air Force, Colgate, Mercyhurst, and RMU. 
• To close November, they fell to Niagara, Bentley before losing to Miami of Ohio, and Sacred Heart in Ireland. 
• The Tigers split with Canisius and then fell to Clarkson in their reverse fixture. 
• They started the new year in style, upsetting No. 8/9 Penn State 1-0 at home before dropping the second game, 7-3.  
• They swept RMU on Jan. 9/10 before losing both games of a home-and-home with Canisius. 
• Most recently, RIT beat Niagara on the road, 4-2, and then tied them 3-3 at home. They did beat the Purple Eagles 1-0 in the shootout. 
• Evan Konyen (10G, 9A, 19 PTS), Zach Wigle (6G, 14A, 20 PTS), and Kevin Scott (0G, 1A, 1 PT, 31BLKS) lead the team in goals, assists, points, and blocks.