PITTSBURGH – Mercyhurst College remains alive in the Atlantic Hockey Association playoffs.

The Lakers advanced to next weekend’s quarterfinals with a 5-1 win against Robert Morris in front of 1,202 at RMU Island Sports Center on Saturday night. Scott Pitt led the way with two goals and an assist.

Taylor Holstrom (goal, assist), Derek Elliott (two assists) and Paul Chiasson (two assists) had two points apiece for the Lakers (15-16-4), the fifth seed in the conference’s West Scheduling Region.

Jesse Echternach and Mike Gurtler also scored goals and Erie native Ryan Zapolski made 30 saves for the Lakers, which handed the Colonials their only two losses on home ice this season.

Pitt’s two goals sparked the Lakers’ run to a 3-0 second-period lead. Trevor Lewis scored short-handed 1 minute, 59 seconds into the third to move the Colonials (18-12-5), the West’s fourth seed, within 3-1.

But Holstrom and Gurtler scored late in the game to seal the victory.

The Lakers will play at Connecticut (13-17-4), which had a first-round bye as the East’s No. 2 seed, in a best-of-three quarterfinal series starting with Game 1 on Friday. Game 2 is Saturday, followed by Game 3 (if necessary) on Sunday. All three games begin at 7:05 p.m.

The other quarterfinal series include American International at defending champion Rochester Institute of Technology, Sacred Heart at Air Force and Canisius at Holy Cross.

- Victor Fernandes

Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament

First round – Saturday

East Scheduling Region

No. 6 American International 6, No. 3 Army 3

No. 5 Sacred Heart 6, No. 4 Bentley 3

West Scheduling Region

No. 6 Canisius 6, No. 3 Niagara 3

No. 5 Mercyhurst 5, No. 4 Robert Morris 1

Quarterfinals (best-of-three series)

Friday-next Sunday

No. 8 American International (8-22-1) at No. 1 Rochester Institute of Technology (16-10-8), 7:05 p.m.

No. 7 Sacred Heart (6-23-6) at No. 2 Air Force (16-11-6), 9:05 p.m.

No. 6 Canisius (12-17-6) at No. 3 Holy Cross (15-14-5), 7:05 p.m.

No. 5 Mercyhurst (15-16-4) at No. 4 Connecticut (13-17-4), 7:05 p.m.

Note: Teams re-seeded based on overall regular-season standings; times apply to all three games.

SUMMARY

Mercyhurst 5, Robert Morris 1

Mercyhurst  1  2  2  —  5

Robert Morris  0  0  1  —  1

1^st Period — 1. Mercyhurst, Scott Pitt 17 (Holstrom), 7:02. Penalties — Brooks (R) hooking, 2:31; Pitt (M) slashing, 15:34.

2^nd Period — 2. Mercyhurst, Pitt 18 (Chiasson, Jensen), 8:36. 3. Mercyhurst, Jesse Echternach 2 (Elliott), 12:43. Penalties — Pitt (M) tripping, 3:06; Hervato (R) elbowing, 4:16; Jones (M) slashing, 5:32.

3^rd Period — 4. RMU, Trevor Lewis 10 (Urban), 1:59 (sh). 5. Mercyhurst, Taylor Holstrom 9 (Chiasson, Pitt), 16:35. 6. Mercyhurst, Mike Gurtler 9 (Elliott, Noble), 17:59 (en). Penalties — Kushneriuk (R) high sticking, :48; C. South (R) tripping, 7:09; Jones (M) hooking, 7:35.

Shots on goal — Mercyhurst, 6-15-13—34; RMU, 5-15-11—31.

Goaltenders — Mercyhurst, Ryan Zapolski 13-13-3 (31 shots, 30 saves); RMU, Brooks Ostergard 14-9-2 (28 shots, 24 saves), Eric Ferber (5 shots, 5 saves).

Power plays — Mercyhurst (0-4), RMU (0-4).

Referees — Jim Visconte, Chris Foote. Linesmen — Zach Roberts, Josh Deleman.

Attendance — 1,202.