HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Freshman goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant stopped 23-of-26 shots in his college debut to lead the Mercyhurst College men’s hockey team to a 4-3 win against Alabama-Huntsville in front of 1,062 at Propst Arena on Saturday.

The Lakers swept a two-game series from UHA for the second straight year.

Sarjeant allowed two goals on six shots in the opening period. But his teammates responded with goals from senior Derek Elliott and freshmen Chris Bodo and Daniel Bahntge to take a 3-2 lead.

Sarjeant settled down after that, allowing only one goal on his final 20 shots. UAH (1-21-1) tied the score at 3 on Graeme Strukoff’s goal 8 minutes, 34 seconds into the second period. But freshman Ryan Misiak scored 3:43 into the third to hand the Lakers (10-8-2) a 4-3 lead. The Lakers were outshot 26-22.

Bodo led the Lakers with a goal and two assists. Misiak had a goal and assist. Mercyhurst returns to Atlantic Hockey Association play on Friday and Saturday with a pair of 7:05 p.m. games against Sacred Heart at Mercyhurst Ice Center.

Mercyhurst College (8-8-2) at Alabama-Huntsville (1-19-1)

When: Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 4 p.m.

Where: Propst Arena – Huntsville, Ala.

On the air: www.b2livetv.com (live stream), www.uahchargers.com (statistics)

Up next: vs. Sacred Heart (Jan. 6-7, 7:05 p.m.)

Fast facts: Mercyhurst begins the second half following a three-week layoff. … They traveled 700 miles to face the independent Chargers, the south’s only NCAA Division I program. … F Kyle Just and G Jordan Tibbett, who were acquitted of sexual assault and other charges last month, could make their season debuts tonight. They re-enrolled in school Nov. 28 and began practicing Dec. 7, and then recently received waivers from the NCAA to play. Coach Rick Gotkin said he expected to decide their playing status late Thursday after watching them skate in Thursday’s practice. … The Lakers swept a two-game series against the Chargers, 8-3 and 4-3, at Mercyhurst Ice Center last season. … The Lakers are 1-6 in non-conference games, with their only win at Cornell Oct. 29. … They have been outscored 34-15 in those games. In contrast, they are 7-2-2 with a 30-23 goal advantage in Atlantic Hockey Association play. … Freshmen lead the Lakers in points (Nardo Nagtzaam 13) and assists (Daniel Bahntge and Tyler Shiplo 9 apiece). Chris Bodo’s 6 goals ranks second to senior Derek Elliott (7) in goals. … Sophomore F John Mousso faces season-ending knee surgery. Sophomore F Trent Frey remains hampered by a lower-body injury. … UAH faces the possible end to its D-I program after the season. However, published reports earlier this month indicated that university officials are attempting to save the program. … The Chargers have faced seven teams currently ranked in or just outside the top 20 in the USCHO.com poll (Bowling Green, Lake Superior State, Merrimack, Ohio State, Massachusetts-Lowell, Nebraska-Omaha and Western Michigan). They are 1-11, with the lone win against UNO (3-1 on Dec. 2).

- Victor Fernandes

What: Alabama-Huntsville (2-13-2) at Mercyhurst College (5-9-1)

When: Thursday and Friday, 7:05 p.m.

Where: Mercyhurst Ice Center

On the air: www.americaone.com (Internet video), www.wmce.com (Internet radio)

Players to watch

Mercyhurst – Sr. G Ryan Zapolski (5-6-0 record, 2.67 goals-against average, .922 save percentage, 1 shutout), Fr. F Daniel O’Donoghue (5-5-10), Sr. F Ryan Raven (6-3-9), Fr. F Taylor Holstrom (5-4-9), Sr. F Steve Cameron (4-5-9)

Alabama-Huntsville – So. F Keenan Desmet (5-7-12), Sr. D Matt Baxter (4-7-11), Jr. D Tom Durnie (2-9-11), Jr. F Jamie Easton (5-4-9), So. F Justin Cseter (2-7-9)

Fast facts

Mercyhurst – The Lakers enter the final weekend of the first half with losses in three straight games and five of their last six. … They are 0-2-1 in non-conference games (4-4 tie at nationally ranked Michigan Oct. 3 and 2-3 and 1-0 home losses to Western Michigan Nov. 15-16). … The Lakers trail UAH 2-4-3 in an all-time series that began with a 5-0 win on Nov. 13, 1992. These teams last met last Jan. 3 in the Shearton/TD Banknorth Catamount Cup in Burlington, Vt. (UAH won 4-1). … The Lakers are 2-7-0 at home this season, including four straight losses. … Senior F Scott Pitt (3-4-7) needs one point to become the 13^th player in the Lakers’ NCAA Division I era to reach the 100-point mark. … Cameron needs five points to reach 100. … Senior F Mike Gurtler scored his first goal of the season in Saturday’s loss to Rochester Institute of Technology. It was his sixth career short-handed goal. … Raven set a single-season career high by scoring his sixth goal of the season in Friday’s loss to RIT.

Alabama-Huntsville – The Chargers are the only NCAA Division I program playing without a conference affiliation. Their decade-long connection to College Hockey America ended when the men’s conference folded following the 2009-10 season. … The Chargers are winless in four straight games (0-3-1), including two one-goal losses to Robert Morris last weekend. They had an 11-game winless streak earlier this season. … They began the season with 10 straight games against schools from the CCHA (Bowling Green, Ferris State, Michigan State and Ohio State) and WCHA (Wisconsin).

Up next: at Ledyard Back Classic – at Dartmouth (Dec. 30, 7 p.m.), vs. Boston College/Colgate (Dec. 31, TBD)

– Victor Fernandes

What: Rochester Institute of Technology (6-7-2, 5-3-1 AHA) at Mercyhurst College (5-7-1, 5-5-0)

When: Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m.

Where: Mercyhurst Ice Center

On the air: www.americaone.com (Internet video), www.wmce.com (Internet radio)

Players to watch

Mercyhurst – Sr. G Ryan Zapolski (5-4-0 record, 2.36 goals-against average, .930 save percentage, 1 shutout), Fr. F Daniel O’Donoghue (5-5-10), Fr. F Taylor Holstrom (5-4-9), Sr. F Steve Cameron (3-5-8),  Sr. F Ryan Raven (5-2-7)

RIT – Sr. F Andrew Favot (4-14-18), Jr. F Cameron Burt (2-18-10), So. F Adam Hartley (7-7-14), Jr. F Tyler Brenner (10-3-13), So. G Shane Madolora (4-0-1, 2.19, .915, 1 SO)

Fast facts

Mercyhurst – The Lakers have lost three of four to fall into a tie for sixth in the Atlantic Hockey Association, one point behind fifth-place RIT. The Tigers and Lakers were 1-2 in the AHA’s preseason poll. …  The Lakers are winless in six straight home games against the Tigers (0-5-1). … These teams are meeting for the 43^rd and 44^th times in a series that began in 1988 at the Division III level. The Lakers have faced only one team more often (Canisius – 65 games). … The Lakers trail the all-time series 25-13-4, including a pair of one-goal losses last season. … Raven has matched his single-season high in goals set in 2008-09. … Sophomore F Paul Chiasson (4-3-7) had two goals in last Friday’s win at Sacred Heart – his first multi-goal game since Feb. 26, 2010 at Connecticut. … Sophomore F Grant Blakey (3-3-6) had a career-high three assists in last Friday’s win. … Senior F Scott Pitt (3-4-7) and Cameron need two and six points, respectively, to reach the 100 mark in their careers. … Junior D Patrick Goebel (upper-body injury) rejoined the lineup last weekend after a three-week absence. … The Lakers are 5-for-57 on the power play (8.8 percent), which is tied for 56^th among 58 NCAA Division I teams.

RIT – The defending champion Tigers, which last season were the first conference team to reach the Frozen Four, have been inconsistent this season. They haven’t won or lost more than two straight games this season. … They are 2-5 on the road. … Madolora appears to be the replacement for graduated G Jared DeMichiel. Madolora earned the AHA’s top goaltender honor last week for posting his first career shutout in a 4-0 win against American International last Friday. … That was the team’s first shutout win of the season after totaling eight last year. … The Tigers tied the program’s Division I record with five first-period goals in that game. … Burt, the team’s leading scorer last season, has points in six straight games (one goal, eight points). … The Tigers rank 51^st nationally on the penalty kill (76.7 percent). They had a streak of 17 straight successful kills snapped in Saturday’s loss to AIC.

Up next: vs. Alabama-Huntsville (Dec. 16-17, 7:05 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes

Rick Gotkin (Contributed/USCHO.com)

Head coach Rick Gotkin of the Mercyhurst College men’s hockey team released Monday the details of the Lakers’ 2010-11 schedule, highlighted by 18 regular-season home games, a date with perennial power Michigan and a possible meeting against defending NCAA Division I champion Boston College.

“We’re very excited and really looking forward to this season,” said coach Gotkin, who is sitting on 399 wins entering his 23rd season at Mercyhurst. “We want to have a challenging schedule to prepare our players for the road ahead. Playing teams such as Michigan and Boston College gives us the experience to tackle the teams in our conference. Our league has gotten better and better over the years, and with the addition of Robert Morris and Niagara this season, it’s probably the toughest it’s ever been.”

The Lakers will play 34 regular-season games and two exhibition contests in their 24th season of intercollegiate play. Twenty-seven of those games will be against teams from Atlantic Hockey Association, while the remaining seven put the Lakers up against foes from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC Hockey), and possibly Hockey East (HEA).

Unlike previous years, Gotkin and his squad won’t have an opportunity to get a tune-up in before their first game as they head straight to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face Michigan on Oct. 2 at Yost Ice Arena. It will be the season opener for both squads and the first time the Lakers and Wolverines faced off against each other since a 5-3 loss in the 2003-04 season.

After the bout with the Wolverines, the Lakers return home to open the doors to the Mercyhurst Ice Center with a five-game home stand, beginning with an exhibition contest against Queens University, a Kingston, Ontario, school, on Oct. 3. A two-game series against Western Michigan (Oct. 15-16) follows before Canisius comes to town on Oct. 19 and the United States Under-18 National Team for another exhibition on Oct. 24.

The Lakers resume league play for the next 11 games, beginning with consecutive road singles at Niagara (Oct. 29) and Air Force (Nov. 5). The next five contests feature a pair of two-game home series against Army (Nov. 12-13) and American International (Nov. 26-27) sandwiched around a game at Robert Morris on Nov. 19. A trip to Sacred Heart (Dec. 3-4) and a home series against Rochester Institute of Technology (Dec. 10-11) close out the stretch and lead the team into non-conference action for the rest of the month.

Following a series against former Division II rival Alabama-Huntsville (Dec. 16-17) at home, the Lakers will have two weeks off before taking part in the 2010 Ledyard Bank Classic in Hanover, N.H., where they will face Dartmouth (Dec. 30) in the opening game and either Boston College or Colgate, depending on the outcome, the next day.

Mercyhurst has not faced Boston College since a 5-4 setback in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Division I Tournament.

Atlantic Hockey play then heats up again as the Lakers open up the second half of the season on the road at Connecticut (Jan. 7-8), followed by a home series against Holy Cross (Jan. 14-15) and a trip to Bentley (Jan. 21-22). Mercyhurst closes out its three-game season series with RIT in Rochester, N.Y. on Jan. 29, taking the team into the final month of the regular season.

Back-to-back home-and-home series kick off the month of February with the Lakers facing Niagara (Feb. 4-5) and Robert Morris (Feb. 11-12). Both series will have Mercyhurst on the road for the first contest. Air Force (Feb. 18-19) then closes out its series with a pair at the Mercyhurst Ice Center before the regular-season finale against Canisius on Feb. 25 on the road and Feb. 26 in Erie.

- From Mercyhurst news release