MERCYHURST (0-17-1, 0-9-1 AHA) vs. ARMY (7-9-5, 2-8-3 AHA)
Friday, Jan. 9 – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 10 – 5 p.m.
Erie, Pa.   
TV: Flo Hockey
 
The Mercyhurst men's hockey team is set to host Army for their first home series of 2026. The series will begin Friday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. Puck drop for game two will take place Saturday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. Viewers can find live coverage on Flo Hockey.  
 
Previous Results
The Lakers are searching for their first win after a tough stretch of matchups to begin their campaign. 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 their first point of the year 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. Most recently, the team traveled to No. 4 North Dakota. The Lakers fell 2-0 in game one and 6-1 in game two. 
 
Matchup History
Mercyhurst is 45-25-7 all time against Army. The first series took place in the 2000-01 season, where the Lakers swept the Black Knights 2-1 and 8-1. Army did not get their first win until the sixth meeting where they won 3-2. The most dominant stretch for the Lakers began on in March of 2009. From here until January of 2017, they went undefeated against Army with 20 wins and five draws. It took a 4-1 victory for the Black Knights in game two of that series to start figuring out ways to beat the Lakers. Since then, they have won 14 of the last 23 meetings and drew two of those. They are 6-4 in their last 10 matchups against the Lakers. The last time these two teams met, the Black Knights pummeled the Lakers 9-1 and 13-1. However, Army is 9-27-2 against Mercyhurst on the road. 

Lakers to Look Out for
Will Schumacher currently leads the Laker's scoring column with five goals in eleven appearances. Schumacher has scored three goals in each of his last five games.  

Dominik Bartecko has three goals and three assists and leads the team with six points. 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. Most recently, 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. 

Jacob LeBlanc leads the team assists with six. LeBlanc has six assists in his last 12 games. His most recent assist was on the powerplay with Bartecko in the team's 1-1 draw at Robert Morris. 

Defensively, Trent Sambrook, John Larkin, and Caleb Price have led the way in terms of shot stopping. Sambrook leads the team with 29 blocks and has three assists to his tally. Larkin has a goal, two assists, and 24 blocks. Price is third on the team with 22 blocks. 

Between the pipes, Charles-Edward Gravel has played the most games. The Quebec native has a .892 save percentage, the highest on the team. Gravel also had a career-high 46 saves in the Laker's narrow 2-0 loss to No. 4 North Dakota in game one.
 
Scouting Army  

• The Black Knights began their season with a tie and shootout win at Union. 
• They won their next two matchups, defeating (RV) Northeastern 2-1 and Stonehill 6-1.
• They dropped their first AHA matchup 3-1 at home vs. Canisius. 
• On Oct. 24/25, they split with Holy Cross with a 5-2 win and 5-1 loss. 
• In the beginning of November, they lost a shootout to Canisius after a 2-2 draw. 
• They then took Bentley to a shootout and beat them before dropping the second game 3-2. 
• Niagara, Air Force, and (RV) Bentley beat the Black Knights before they flipped the script. 
• They upset No. 18 UMass 5-4 on Nov. 29. 
• Then, they tied 3-3 with Sacred Heart and shut them out 2-0 in game two.
•  No. 8 Dartmouth beat them 3-0 and the next day they beat Vermont 3-0. 
• They closed 2025 with a 4-4 draw at LIU. 
• Most recently, Army began 2026 with their second ranked upset of the season, walloping No. 12 Northeastern 5-2. 
• Jack Ivey (7G, 11A, 18 PTS), Nils Forselius (4G, 12A, 16 PTS) and Sam Groebner (0G, 6A, 6PTS, 43 BLKS) lead the Black Knights in goals, assists, points, and blocks.