HANOVER, N.H. – The Mercyhurst College men’s hockey team nearly pulled off a monumental upset.

The Lakers entered the third period of the Ledyard Bank Classic title game trailing No. 5 Boston College, NCAA Division I’s defending national champion, by a goal. But the Eagles scored twice late in regulation to hand the Lakers a 4-1 loss Friday night at Dartmouth’s Thompson Arena.

BC (13-5-0) built a 2-0 lead on first-period, power-play goals from Kevin Hayes and Brian Gibbons.

Meanwhile, senior goaltender John Muse (30 saves) silenced the Lakers through two periods. But senior defenseman Jeff Terminesi scored a power-play goal on assists from seniors forwards Mike Gurtler and Brandon Coccimiglio 3 minutes, 4 seconds into the third to slice the Eagles’ lead in half at 2-1.

Then with four minutes left in regulation, Mercyhurst (8-10-1) earned its fifth and final opportunity with the man advantage. But Gibbons scored short-handed – his second goal of the game – with 1:20 left.

Barry Almeida’s empty-net goal with 14 seconds left capped the Eagles’ win. Senior goaltender Ryan Zapolski, an Erie native, stopped 34-of-37 shots for the Lakers. Dartmouth, which lost to Mercyhurst in a shootout on Thursday, topped Colgate 4-3 in overtime in the consolation game.

- Victor Fernandes