USAFA, Colo. - The Mercyhurst men's hockey team played game two of their series at Air Force. Last night, the two sides played to a 3-3 draw, and the Lakers stole the extra point in a ten-attempt shootout, 3-2. Tonight's game was just as much of a thriller. The game saw four lead changes, three powerplay goals, and nine total goals. The Lakers were unable to outlast the Falcons as this one ended, 5-4.
Salvatore Evola made 30 or more saves for the fourth time this season and recorded his first assist of the season.
The game opened with Mercyhurst (4-23-3, 4-15-3 AHA) and Air Force (15-12-3, 11-9-2) facing off in a tightly contested first period. Nothing separated the two for the first 15 minutes. The Lakers'
Riley Fitzgerald broke the deadlock with 3:05 remaining, with assists from
Caleb Price and
Dominik Bartecko. However, the Falcons responded swiftly, equalizing just 21 seconds later. The period concluded with both teams tied at one.
Mercyhurst successfully killed a penalty early in the second frame. However, Air Force took their first lead of the night nearly midway through the period. The Lakers fought back and capitalized on a power-play opportunity, as
Alexander Dimitriadis knotted the score. This was assisted by a rocket from
Lukas Klemm and a nice pass from Price. The score was 2-2 headed into the third stanza.
The Lakers reclaimed the lead in the final frame with a power-play goal by
Sean James, assisted by
Jacob LeBlanc and Evola just 59 seconds in. The Falcons were relentless. They responded with an equalizer at 17:00, followed by two more goals, including a power-play goal at 10:57, giving them a 5-3 lead. The Lakers continued to press, and Bartecko scored with an extra attacker at 1:53, narrowing the deficit to one. Despite the late push, the game ended with the Lakers falling short, as Air Force held on to win 5-4. Notably,
Ryan Coughlin won at least 11 faceoffs in both games of this series. The Lakers also recorded at least 13 blocks in each game.
The Lakers next series features a home-and-home with Niagara. Game one will begin Friday, Feb. 20 in Erie where the seniors will be honored.
