No. 6 Mercyhurst (18-16-5) vs. No. 4 Connecticut (19-13-4)
When: Friday, 7:05 p.m.
Where: Blue Cross Arena – Rochester, N.Y.
On the air: www.americaonesports.com (live stream), WMCE-FM/88.5 & wmce.mercyhurst.edu (radio), www.atlantichockeyonline.com (live scores)
Up next: Championship game (Saturday, 7:05 p.m. at Blue Cross Arena)*
What to expect: Mercyhurst has reached the Atlantic Hockey Association semifinals for the second straight season. The Lakers lost to eventual champion Air Force 5-2 in this round a season ago. … The Lakers rebounded from an eight-game winless streak with a sweep of 11th-seeded Army at Mercyhurst Ice Center two weeks ago and a series win at No. 3 Holy Cross last weekend. … Mercyhurst hasn’t reached the title game since consecutive trips in 2008 and 2009 (lost to Air Force both times). … The Lakers haven’t won an AHA championship since beating Quinnipiac 3-2 in the 2005 title game. They also beat Quinnipiac 6-5 to capture the 2001 title, when the league was known as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. … Mercyhurst and UConn split their two-game, regular-season series in Storrs, Conn., with the Lakers losing 5-4 Jan. 18 and winning 5-0 the following night. … The Lakers lead the all-time series 32-13-3. Yet they have lost three straight and four of six games against the Huskies in the postseason, including a UConn sweep in the 2011 AHA quarterfinals. … With top-seeded and 15th-ranked Niagara (23-8-5) facing seventh-seeded Canisius (17-18-5) in the other semifinal, the conference will have a champion from a school other than Air Force and Rochester Institute of Technology for the first time since Holy Cross in 2006. Air Force, which lost to Canisius in the quarterfinals, had won five of the last six titles (2007-09, 2011-12). RIT, which lost to Niagara in the quarterfinals, won in 2010 on the way to the first NCAA Division I Frozen Four appearance for the Tigers and the AHA. … Senior F Grant Blakey has five goals and seven points in the Lakers’ five playoff games. … UConn senior G Matt Grogan has a 14-3-3 record, 1.88 goals-against average and .939 save percentage since taking over as starter midway through the season. He was the Huskies’ only player to earn all-conference honors (third team). Mercyhurst features three all-stars – junior D Nick Jones (first team), sophomore F Ryan Misiak (second) and sophomore F Matthew Zay (third). … Niagara has never reached the title game. Canisius hasn’t reached the final since 1999 (lost 4-3 to Holy Cross). … Niagara junior G Carson Chubak leads the nation with six shutouts and ranks among the top five in winning percentage (.773), goals-against average (1.81) and save percentage (.941). He’s one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, which honors the nation’s top men’s hockey player. … Freshman F Ralph Cuddemi, a former Erie Otters draft pick, has two goals and seven points in 34 games for Canisius.
* If the Lakers win tonight

- Victor Fernandes

Atlantic Hockey Association final four schedule
at Blue Cross Arena – Rochester, N.Y.
Semifinals – Friday
No. 1 Niagara (23-8-5) vs. No. 7 Canisius (17-18-5), 4:05 p.m.
No. 4 Connecticut (19-13-4) vs. No. 6 Mercyhurst (18-16-5), 7:05 p.m.
Championship game – Saturday
Semifinal winners, 7:05 p.m.
Note: Champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament.

The Mercyhurst University men’s hockey team is headed back to the Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinals.
Several Lakers made sure that happened.
Grant Blakey and Daniel O’Donoghue scored two goals apiece, while Max Strang made 36 saves, to lead the Lakers to a 5-2 win over Army in front of 912 fans Saturday night at Mercyhurst Ice Center and a two-game sweep of their first-round series. Sixth-seeded Mercyhurst (16-15-5) travels to No. 3 Holy Cross next weekend for a best-of-three series in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinals won by the Lakers in three games.
“I thought we played a little better as a team Friday night,” said Lakers coach Rick Gotkin, referring to his team’s 2-1 win against the Black Knights (7-22-5) in the series opener. “We had five or six guys that really stepped up and played well (Saturday).” Kyle Just had three assists for the Lakers, while Nick Jones and Zac Frischmon had two assists apiece. “We’re really happy that our season continues,” Gotkin said.
* News and notes: Mercyhurst and Holy Cross meet in Game 1 Friday, followed by Game 2 Saturday and, if necessary, Game 3 Sunday. All three games are scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. … Gotkin became the 26th college coach to reach 450 career wins. … Mercyhurst didn’t have any power-play chances Saturday.

- Victor Fernandes

Atlantic Hockey Association tournament
First round (best-of-3 series)
No. 6 Mercyhurst vs. No. 11 Army
Game 1 – Mercyhurst 3, Army 1
Game 2 - Mercyhurst 5, Army 2
Mercyhurst wins series 2-0

Quarterfinals
March 15-17 (best-of-3 series)
No. 8 Rochester Institute of Technology (15-16-5) at No. 1 Niagara (21-8-5), 7:05 p.m.
No. 6 Mercyhurst (16-15-5) at No. 3 Holy Cross (19-12-3), 7:05 p.m.
No. 5 Robert Morris (20-12-4) at No. 4 Connecticut (17-13-4), 7:05 p.m.
No. 7 Canisius (15-18-5) at No. 2 Air Force (17-11-7), 9:05 p.m.
Note: All three games in each series start at the same time.

SUMMARY

Mercyhurst 5, Army 2
Army 0 1 1 — 2
Mercyhurst 1 1 3 — 5
1st Period — 1. Mercyhurst, Grant Blakey 9 (Zay, Bodo), 5:24. Penalties — Just (M) slashing, 1:06.
2nd Period — 2. Mercyhurst, Daniel O’Donoghue 11 (Just, Frischmon), 4:38. 3. Army, Willie Faust 5 (Pomarico, Zaremba), 13:39 (pp). Penalties — Just (M) holding the stick, 8:55; Roberts (A) hooking, 8:55; Gettinger (M) hooking, 12:42.
3rd Period — 4. Mercyhurst, Blakey 10 (Just, Jones), 8:56. 5. Army, Joe Kozlak 7 (Clark), 15:07. 6. Mercyhurst, O’Donoghue 12 (Frischmon, Just), 16:28. 7. Mercyhurst, Ryan Misiak 17 (Jones), 19:10 (en). Penalties — None.
Shots on goal — Army, 11-18-9—38; Mercyhurst, 15-9-15—39.
Goaltenders — Army, Rob Tadazak 3-13-4 (38 shots, 34 saves); Mercyhurst, Max Strang 12-9-3 (38 shots, 36 saves).
Power plays — Army (1-2), Mercyhurst (0-0).
Referees — Steve Marofsky, Ryan Sweeney. Linesmen — Aaron Wallace, Tori Carissimo.
Attendance — 912.

Three stars
* Grant Blakey, Mercyhurst (2 goals) ** Daniel O’Donoghue, Mercyhurst (2 goals) *** Kyle Just, Mercyhurst (3 assists)

The Mercyhurst University men’s hockey team captured its first win in a month Friday night.
Another win tonight will send the Lakers into the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Hockey Association playoffs.
Mercyhurst scored three goals in the third period, including sophomore forward Zac Frischmon‘s go-ahead score with 5 minutes, 26 seconds left, to beat Army 3-1 in front of 1,015 fans at Mercyhurst Ice Center and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three, first-round series. The sixth-seeded Lakers (15-15-5) can complete the series sweep over the 11th-seeded Black Knights (7-21-5) with a win in Game 2 at 7:05 p.m. today at MIC.
Mercyhurst had been winless in its previous eight games. The Lakers hadn’t won since an 8-1 at Robert Morris Feb. 5. Meanwhile, a valiant effort couldn’t keep the Black Knights from extending their winless streak to 16 straight games. They haven’t won in nearly two months.

- Victor Fernandes

Atlantic Hockey Association tournament schedule
First round (best-of-3 series)
No. 6 Mercyhurst vs. No. 11 Army
Game 1 – Mercyhurst 3, Army 1
Game 2 – Today at Mercyhurst, 7:05 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday at Mercyhurst, 7:05 p.m.*
Mercyhurst leads series 1-0
* If necessary

SUMMARY

Mercyhurst 3, Army 1
Army 1 0 0 — 1
Mercyhurst 0 0 3 — 3
1st Period — 1. Andy Starczewski 11 (Richards, Lalor), 17:49. Penalties — Richards (A) slashing, 3:30; Ikkala (A) cross checking, 7:55; Blakey (M) hooking, 15:47; Hearn (A) elbowing, 18:15.
2nd Period — None. Penalties — O’Donoghue (M) boarding, 5:13; Heller (A) elbowing, 6:47; Shiplo (M) slashing, 13:48; Ikkala (A) interference. 17:14.
3rd Period — 2. Mercyhurst, Kyle Just 4 (O’Donoghue, Mastrodicasa), 10:38. 3. Mercyhurst, Zac Frischmon 3 (Misiak, O’Donoghue), 14:34. 3. Meryhurst, Chris Bodo 17 (Zay, Blakey), 19:03 (en). Penalties — Chiasson (M) roughing, 4:10; Schultz (A) cross checking, 11:51; Jones (M) interference, 16:05.
Shots on goal — Army, 5-10-6—21; Mercyhurst, 11-8-9—28.
Goaltenders — Army, Rob Tadazak 3-12-4 (27 shots, 25 saves); Mercyhurst, Jordan Tibbett 4-6-1 (21 shots, 20 saves).
Power plays — Army (0-5), Mercyhurst (0-6).
Referees — Jim Troup, Jay Durfee. Linesmen — Aaron Wallace, Cory Carissimo.
Attendance — 1,015.

Three stars
* Zac Frischmon, Mercyhurst (GW goal) ** Daniel O’Donoghue, Mercyhurst (2 assists) *** Andy Starczewski, Army (goal)

No. 11 Army (7-20-5) at No. 6 Mercyhurst University (14-15-5)
When: Today at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 7:05 p.m.*
Where: Mercyhurst Ice Center
On the air: www.americaonesports.com (live stream), www.hurstathletics.com (live statistics)
What to expect: Mercyhurst slid from second place and a first-round bye to sixth and a first-round series in the Atlantic Hockey Association playoffs by going winless in their final eight games of the regular season (0-5-3). … The Lakers earned a first-round bye a season ago on the way to the AHA semifinals. … They haven’t won since consecutive 8-1 wins against Army and Robert Morris Feb. 2 and 5. … Sophomore F Ryan Misiak had three goals and an assist and senior F Paul Chiasson hd two goals, while fifth-year senior G Max Strang stopped 42-of-44 shots in the two earlier meetings with Army. … Sophomore F Nardo Nagtzaam (lower-body injury) is out for the season. … Freshman F Kyle Cook (upper body) has begun skating for the first time in a month. Lakers coach Rick Gotkin doesn’t expect him to play this season, but Cook hasn’t been ruled out. … Gotkin needs two wins to become the 26th college coach to reach 450 career wins. … Sophomore F Chris Bodo finished the regular season third in NCAA Division I with 10 power-play goals. … Junior F Daniel O’Donoghue was tied for the national lead with three short-handed goals. … Mercyhurst has the nation’s best scoring offense (3.18 goals per game). Army ranks 56th out of 59 D-I programs with 3.53 goals allowed per game. … Army also is 54th in scoring offense (2.19 goals per game). … The Lakers are 36th in scoring defense (2.82 goals per game). … The Black Knights are winless in their past 15 games (0-12-3). They last won a D-I game Jan. 4 (5-0 against Robert Morris). Their only other win in this stretch was in an exhibition game Jan. 26 against Royal Military College of Kingston, Ontario.
* Sunday’s game if necessary

- Victor Fernandes

The Mercyhurst University men’s hockey team was chosen to finish third out of 12 teams in the Atlantic Hockey Association’s preseason coaches poll, which was released Tuesday.
The Lakers received no first-place votes and 89 points. Air Force, the defending regular-season and tournament champions, earned eight first-place votes and 112 points. Niagara was second with three first-place votes and 101 points. Bentley and Rochester Institute of Technology were tied for fourth with 87 points.
Holy Cross (74) placed sixth, followed by Connecticut (65) and Robert Morris (61), which had one first-place vote. Canisius (38), Army (30), American International (20) and Sacred Heart (19) rounded out the rest of the list.

The Mercyhurst men’s hockey team will face Holy Cross in the Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinals next weekend at Mercyhurst Ice Center.

The best-of-three series begins Friday at 7:05 p.m., followed by Game 2 Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Game 3, if necessary, is set for Sunday at 7:05 p.m.

The fourth-seeded Lakers (18-14-4) earned a bye in this past weekend’s first round by finishing among the top four teams in the regular-season standings.

Fifth-seeded Holy Cross (19-13-4) swept 12th-seeded Army 3-2 and 5-2 in a best-of-three, first-round series in Worcester, Mass.

The other three quarterfinal series next weekend are No. 8 Connecticut (15-17-4) at No. 1 Air Force (17-9-7), No. 7 Robert Morris (17-15-5) at No. 2 Niagara (15-10-9) and No. 6 Bentley (15-14-8) at No. 3 Rochester Institute of Technology (17-11-6).

The winners earn spots in the semifinals, which will be held March 16 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. The championship game is March 17 in Rochester.

- Victor Fernandes

What: Army (2-4-0, 1-3-0 AHA) at Mercyhurst College (1-4-1, 1-2-0)

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 (1-1-0 record, 3.54 goals-against average, .911 save percentage), Fr. F Taylor Holstrom (2-2-4), Sr. F Ryan Raven (3-1-4), Sr. F Steve Cameron (1-2-3), So. F Paul Chiasson (2-1-3)

Army – Sr. F Cody Omilusik (3-0-3), So. F Andy Starczewski (2-3-5), Jr. F Bryant Skarda (3-1-4), Jr. D Marcel Alvarez (1-3-4), Sr. G Jay Clark (1-4-0, 2.97, .911)

Fast facts

Mercyhurst – The Lakers snapped an eight-game winless streak dating to last February with a 6-2 win at Air Force last weekend. … On that night, Rick Gotkin (400-276-53 record in 23 seasons) became the 36^th NCAA men’s hockey coach to reach the 400-win mark. “That number is more a reflection of our program than it is of me,” he said. … Senior Fs Cameron (flu), Brandon Coccimiglio (upper-body injury) and Mike Gurtler (lower-body injury) didn’t travel to the game at Air Force. Cameron and Gurtler will play this weekend. Coccimiglio remains out of the lineup. … These teams meet for the only time this season. … The Lakers are unbeaten in six straight games against the Black Knights (4-0-2) and hold a 23-9-2 series lead. Mercyhurst has won 16-of-18 meetings at MIC (16-1-1). … Freshman F Daniel O’Donoghue (2-2-4) scored his first two career goals against Air Force. … Senior F Scott Pitt (1-2-3) needs six points to reach 100 in his career. … Zapolski, an Erie native, made 32 saves against the Falcons.

Army – The Black Knights have responded to a season-opening, four-game losing streak (including Atlantic Hockey Association losses to Holy Cross, Colgate and Canisius) with consecutive wins against Canisius and Massachusetts, a Hockey East Association school. … Army concludes a season-high, five-game road trip this weekend. They begin a six-game home stand Nov. 19. … So G Ryan Leets earned the win and had an assist against UMass last weekend in his first career start and second career game. … Junior Bill Day scored a goal against UMass in the former defenseman’s first game at forward.

Up next: at Robert Morris (Nov. 19, 7:05 p.m.)

- Victor Fernandes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. – The Mercyhurst College men’s hockey team exploded for a season-high six goals in a 6-2 victory over Atlantic Hockey Association foe Air Force to capture its first win of the season and deliver head coach Rick Gotkin his 400th career victory at Mercyhurst Friday evening at Cadet Ice Arena.
The Lakers improve to 1-4-1 overall and 1-2-0 in AHA play, while the Falcons fall to 1-5-0 on the season and 1-3-0 in conference play.
Gotkin, in his 23rd season at the helm of the Mercyhurst men’s hockey program, moved his all-time record to 400-276-53 with the Lakers’ seventh career win over the Falcons (7-6-2). He now becomes the ninth active Division I coach with 400 victories and the 36th coach all-time in NCAA men’s ice hockey history to reach 400 victories in a career.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Gotkin. “I’ve been the benefactor of some very talented teams over the 23 seasons I’ve been at Mercyhurst. Our team played great tonight. We got some great goaltending and our team really stepped up when they had to. We just need to build off of tonight and continue it down the road.”
Freshman Daniel O’Donoghue fueled the rush with a two-goal, one-assist performance. Freshmen Kyle Just and Nick Jones both dished out two assists, and senior Ryan Raven scored once and assisted on another. Senior Scott Pitt, sophomore Grant Blakey and freshman Taylor Holstrom each added a goal.
The Lakers continued their mastery over the Falcons at the Cadet Ice Arena (5-1-1) with a three-goal second period after skating to a 1-1 tie in the first.
O’Donoghue scored back-to-back goals at 12:26 and 19:00 to turn a 1-1 game in to a 3-1 advantage in favor of the Lakers. Less than a minute later, Blakey found the back of the net to cap the three-goal outburst.
Mercyhurst outshot Air Force 14-7 in the second period after falling behind, 15-11, in attempts in the opening frame. The Falcons did bounce back in the third with a 12-4 advantage, but senior Ryan Zapolski continued his stance in goal, turning aside 11 shots to finish the game with 32 stops and earn his first win of the season (1-1-0).
Stephen Caple suffered the loss in net for Air Force with 23 saves and six goals allowed, including consecutive goals to Pitt and Holstrom less than three minutes apart in the third.
Mercyhurst continues conference play next weekend when it hosts Army for a two-game series, beginning on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7:05 p.m. at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

- From Mercyhurst news release

(in order of predicted finish)

Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers

2009-10 record: 28-12-1, 22-5-1 AHA

Coach: Wayne Wilson, 12th season (216-103-25)

Players to watch: Jr. F Cameron Burt (16-31-47), Sr. F Andrew Favot (13-33-46), Jr. F Tyler Brenner (15-11-26), D Chris Haltigin (11-13-24), C Sean Murphy (6-13-19)

Outlook: The Tigers enjoyed a magical ride to the conference’s first NCAA Division I Frozen Four berth last season. If they find a replacement for graduated G Jared DeMichiel (27-10-1, 2.09, .920, 5 SO in 2009-10), they will have the inside track for another trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Mercyhurst Lakers

2009-10 record: 15-20-3, 15-10-3 AHA

Coach: Rick Gotkin, 23rd season (399-272-52)

Players to watch: R-So. F Phil Ginand (15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points in 2008-09), Sr. F Mike Gurtler (14-16-30 in 2009-10), Sr. F Brandon Coccimiglio (14-14-28), Sr. G Ryan Zapolski (15-17-3 record, 2.79 goals-against average, .918 save percentage, 2 shutouts), Sr. D Jeff Terminesi (5-13-18, plus-17)

Outlook: Ginand’s return to a lineup filled with size makes the Lakers an imposing team in the conference. They will be in contention for the conference title until the end of the season.

Air Force Falcons

2009-10 record: 16-15-6, 14-8-6 AHA

Coach: Frank Serratore, 13th season (198-212-32)

Players to watch: Sr. F Jacques Lamoureux (22-20-42), Sr. F Derrick Burnett (10-23-33), Jr. D Tim Kirby (5-19-24), So. F Kyle De Laurell (6-12-18), Jr. D Scott Mathis (2-14-16)

Outlook: Lamoureux, whose sisters, Jocelyne and Monique, won silver with Team USA at the Vancouver Olympics, leads a veteran Falcons’ team. But they need to replace their longtime starter in net, Andrew Volkening (16-15-6, 2.44, .918 in 2009-10).

Canisius Golden Griffins

2009-10 record: 17-15-5, 13-11-4 AHA

Coach: Dave Smith, 6th season (N/A)

Players to watch: Sr. F Cory Conacher (20-33-53), Sr. F Vincent Scarsella (11-30-41), So. F Preston Shupe (10-15-25), Jr. G Dan Morrison (12-11-3, 3.16, .906, 3 SO)

Outlook: Conacher, the reigning AHA player of the year, and Scarsella ignite one of the nation’s leading offenses. But the Golden Griffins need to replace two key weapons in Josh Heidinger (11-28-39 in 2009-10) and Carl Hudson (14-20-34).

Sacred Heart Pioneers

2009-10 record: 21-13-4, 16-9-3 AHA

Coach: C.J. Marottolo, 1st season (0-0-0)

Players to watch: Sr. F Patrick Knowlton (13-26-39), Jr. F Matt Gingera (11-12-23), Sr. F David Berube (10-7-17), So. D Alex Stuart (1-10-11), So. Steven Legatto (19-10-3, 3.10, .907, 2 SO)

Outlook: Marottolo takes over a program that lost four of its top five players from the 2009-10 team. But he still had Legatto, who had a standout season in net as a freshman.

Army Black Knights

2009-10 record: 11-18-7, 10-12-6 AHA

Coach: Brian Riley, 7th season (79-102-32)

Players to watch: Sr. F Cody Omilusik (18-16-34), Jr. F Mike Hull (8-20-28), D Marcel Alvarez (6-14-20), Jr. F Danny Colvin (6-12-18), Sr. G Jay Clark (11-16-5, 3.00, .908, 1 SO)

Outlook: The Black Knights lost leading scorer Eric Sefchik (11-24-35 in 2009-10). But they return enough talent, led by Omilusik up front and Clark in net, to enjoy a solid season.

Robert Morris Colonials

2009-10 record: 10-19-6, 6-10-4 CHA

Coach: Derek Schooley, 6th season (59-94-20)

Players to watch: Sr. F Nathan Longpre (14-17-31), Sr. F Chris Kushneriuk (11-18-29), Sr. D Denny Urban (10-14-24), Jr. F Trevor Lewis (5-16-21), Jr. G Brooks Ostergard (9-16-3, 3.13, .906)

Outlook: The Colonials take a veteran club into their inaugural AHA season. But in this conference, they should be middle of the pack.

Niagara Purple Eagles

2009-10 record: 12-20-4, 6-10-2 CHA

Coach: Dave Burkholder, 10th season (156-141-32)

Players to watch: Sr. F Bryan Haczyk (9-13-22), Sr. F Paul Zanette (11-10-21), So. F Marc Zanette (7-13-20), Jr. G Chris Noonan (7-9-1, 3.20, .909)

Outlook: The Purple Eagles join former College Hockey America counterpart Robert Morris in the now 12-team AHA. With the departure of leading scorers Chris Moran (9-33-42 in 2009-10), Ryan Olidis (14-19-33) and Tyler Gotto (11-14-25), their first season could be difficult.

Bentley Falcons

2009-10 record: 12-19-4, 10-15-3 AHA

Coach: Ryan Soderquist, 9th season (99-154-28)

Players to watch: So. F Joe Campanelli (10-15-25), So. F Dan Koudys (6-14-20), So. F Brett Hartung (10-5-15), Jr. G Kyle Rank (8-12-3, 3.33, .895)

Outlook: The Falcons relied on several underclassmen last season. Those players are back to lead the way again this year.

Holy Cross Crusaders

2009-10 record: 12-19-6, 10-13-5 AHA

Coach: Paul Pearl, 16th season (226-226-54)

Players to watch: So. F Rob Linsmayer (4-15-19), Jr. F Jay Silvia (10-4-14), Jr. D Mike Daly (3-10-13), So. G Thomas Tysowsky (11-17-6, 2.43, .910, 2 SO)

Outlook: The Crusaders need to replace three of their top four scorers – Jordan Cyr (14-16-30), Everett Sheen (9-11-20) and Brodie Sheahan (10-4-14). That should be difficult, since the team scored only 87 goals in 37 games last season.

Connecticut Huskies

2009-10 record: 7-27-3, 6-19-3 AHA

Coach: Bruce Marshall, 23rd season (301 wins)

Players to watch: Sr. F Andrew Olson (9-10-19), So. F Sean Ambrosie (7-11-18), Sr. F Jason Krispel (3-12-15), So. G Garrett Bartus (5-14-1, 3.26, .900)

Outlook: Marshall recorded his 300th career win last season. But the Huskies didn’t win many more games. Offense was a culprit, as they scored 59 goals in 37 games.

American International Yellow Jackets

2009-10 record: 5-24-4, 5-19-4 AHA

Coach: Gary Wright, 27th season (264-466-55)

Players to watch: So. F Adam Pleskach (15-9-24), Sr. F Steve McLeod (9-13-22), Sr. F Tom Mele (9-8-17), Jr. F Nielsson Arcibal (3-12-15), So. G Ben Meisner (4-12-2, 3.66, .901, 3 SO)

Outlook: The Yellow Jackets return 17 letterwinners from the 2009-10 team. But that team struggled in many facets of the game. Don’t expect much different this season.

- Victor Fernandes

The Mercyhurst College men’s hockey team has been picked to finish second this season in the Atlantic Hockey Association Preseason Coaches Poll, released Tuesday afternoon at AHA Media Day in Rochester, N.Y.

The Lakers earned 101 points and two of the possible 12 first-place votes.

RIT, which made history last season as the first AHA team to advance to the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, was picked as the early favorite to win the conference this season with 118 points and eight first-place votes.

Air Force was tabbed third with 98 points, followed by newcomers Robert Morris (82) and Niagara (82) in a tie for fourth, with the Colonials garnering the final two first-place nods. Both teams enter their first season as full-fledged AHA members after leaving College Hockey America.

Canisius, (63) Sacred Heart (61), Holy Cross (60), Army (48), Bentley (47), Connecticut (21) and American International (11) rounded out the poll in spots 6 – 12. The Lakers officially open the 2010-11 season when they face Michigan on Oct. 2 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Game time is slated for 7:35 p.m.

- From Mercyhurst news release