Erie native Ryan Zapolski continues to garner honors from the ECHL.
Zapolski, a former Mercyhurst University goaltender who plays for the South Carolina Stingrays, was named the league’s most valuable player Friday, a few days after being named the league’s top rookie. He also was named recently to the ECHL’s all-rookie and first teams. Zapolski, 26, set the league’s single-season record with a 1.64 goals-against average and tied the record of eight shutouts. He also led with a .942 save percentage, which was tied for the second-best mark in league history. Zapolski finished tied for second with 27 wins and fifth with 2,378 minutes played.

The Mercyhurst University women’s hockey team will face Cornell Saturday at 1 p.m. in their NCAA Division I quarterfinal game at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y. All four games in the opening round will be played Saturday. Harvard (24-6-3) and fourth-seeded Boston College (26-6-3) will join the Lakers (28-6-1) and second-seeded Big Red (27-5-1) in playing at 1 p.m. Clarkson (28-9-0) travels to No. 3 Boston University for a 3 p.m. game, while top-seeded and defending champion Minnesota (38-0-0) hosts North Dakota (26-11-1) at 5 p.m.
In other news, the Lakers swept College Hockey America’s weekly honors. Junior forward Christine Bestland was named player of the week for totaling two goals and three points in wins against Robert Morris and Syracuse that clinched the program’s 10th conference title in the past 11 years. Senior Stephanie Ciampa earned top goaltender honors for stopping 45-of-47 shots in the two games. Jenna Dingeldein had a goal and three points to earn top rookie honors.

NCAA Women’s Division I Tournament schedule
Quarterfinals – Saturday
Harvard (24-6-3) at No. 4 Boston College (26-6-3), 1 p.m.
Mercyhurst (28-6-1) at No. 2 Cornell (27-5-1), 1 p.m.
Clarkson (28-9-0) at No. 3 Boston University (26-5-3), 3 p.m.
North Dakota (26-11-1) at No. 1 Minnesota (38-0-0), 5 p.m.
Semifinals*
March 22 at Ridder Arena – Minneapolis, Minn.
UND-Minnesota winner vs. Harvard-BC winner, 6 or 9 p.m.
Mercyhurst-Cornell winner vs. Clarkson-BU winner, 6 or 9 p.m.
Championship game*
March 24 at Ridder Arena – Minneapolis, Minn.
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m.
* Streamed live on NCAA.com

NCAA Women’s Division I Tournament schedule
Quarterfinals – Friday or Saturday
North Dakota (26-11-1) at No. 1 Minnesota (38-0-0), Saturday at 5 p.m.
Harvard (24-6-3) at No. 4 Boston College (26-6-3), Saturday at 1 p.m.
Mercyhurst (28-6-1) at No. 2 Cornell (27-5-1), TBD
Clarkson (28-9-0) at No. 3 Boston University (26-5-3), Saturday at 3 p.m.
Semifinals*
March 22 at Ridder Arena – Minneapolis, Minn.
UND-Minnesota winner vs. Harvard-BC winner, 6 or 9 p.m.
Mercyhurst-Cornell winner vs. Clarkson-BU winner, 6 or 9 p.m.
Championship game*
March 24 at Ridder Arena – Minneapolis, Minn.
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m.
* Streamed live on NCAA.com

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 women’s hockey team are College Hockey America tournament champions again.
The Lakers exploded for four goals in the third period of a 4-1 title-game win against Syracuse in front of 1,127 fans Saturday at Mercyhurst Ice Center. But will the program’s 10th conference championship in the past 11 years serve as the last positive moment of the Lakers’ season?
Mercyhurst (28-6-1) learns its NCAA Division I Tournament fate today at 6 p.m. during a webcast on NCAA.com. Lakers coach Michael Sisti said “it would be a crime if we are left out. I think 100 percent we should be in the tournament, and we shouldn’t be the eighth seed either.”
The Lakers hope for one of five at-large spots into the eight-team field, since CHA won’t earn an automatic bid until the 2014-15 season. The other three spots belong to the champions of ECAC Hockey, Hockey East Association and Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
“Anything can happen,” said senior goaltender Stephanie Ciampa, who earned tournament MVP honors after stopping 45-of-47 shots in the top-seeded Lakers’ two wins, including 19-of-20 against the second-seeded Orange (20-15-1). “I think we’re in good enough shape.”

- Victor Fernandes

CHA All-Tournament team
MVP: Stephanie Ciampa, Mercyhurst (45 saves on 47 shots)
Goaltender: Ciampa
Defense: Stephanie DeSutter, Mercyhurst (2 assists)
Defense: Brittney Krebs, Syracuse (2 assists)
Forward: Christine Bestland, Mercyhurst (2 goals, assist)
Forward: Lauren Jones, Mercyhurst (goal, 2 assists)
Forward: Sadie St. Germain, Syracuse (GWG in semifinal)

College Hockey America tournament schedule
Semifinals – Friday
at Mercyhurst Ice Center
No. 1 Mercyhurst 2, No. 4 Robert Morris 1
No. 2 Syracuse 2, No. 3 Rochester Institute of Technology 1 (OT)
Championship game – Saturday
at Mercyhurst Ice Center
Mercyhurst 4, Syracuse 1
Note: Champion doesn’t earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament.

SUMMARY

Mercyhurst 4, Syracuse 1
Syracuse 0 1 0 — 1
Mercyhurst 0 0 4 — 4
1st Period — None. Penalties — Bestland (M) body checking, :12; Scharfe (S) tripping, 5:15; Janiga (M) interference, 11:14; Johnson (S) hooking, 12:36.
2nd Period — 1. Syracuse, Shiann Darkangelo 16 (Krebs), 19:59 (pp). Penalties — LaCombe (S) tripping, 2:00; Jones (M) hooking, 5:09; Hendrikx (M) cross checking, 6:57; Renault (S) interference, 10:27; DeSutter (M) hooking, 12:41; Piacentini (S) hooking, 13:01; Higson (M) indirect contact to the head – cross checking, 14:03; Hosoyamada (S) hooking, 15:10; Byrne (M) cross checking, 18:51.
3rd Period — 2. Mercyhurst, Molly Byrne 8 (Bestland, Dingeldein), 4:41. 3. Mercyhurst, Caroline Luczak 2 (Jones, Buquet), 6:33 (pp). 4. Mercyhurst, Christine Bestland 28 (Jones), 9:32 (sh). 5. Mercyhurst, Christie Cicero 13 (unassisted), 18:45 (en). Penalties — Piancentini (S) tripping, 4:41; Chippy (M) hooking, 8:16; Goodnough (S) hooking, 9:32; Welch (M) hooking, 11:44.
Shots on goal — Syracuse, 4-9-7—20; Mercyhurst, 10-7-14—31.
Goaltenders — Syracuse, Kallie Billadeau 16-9-0 (30 shots, 27 saves); Mercyhurst, Stephanie Ciampa 19-1-0 (20 shots, 19 saves).
Power plays — Syracuse (1-9), Mercyhurst (1-7).
Referees — Timothy Holtz, Brian Skursky. Linesmen — Jason Leisten, Dorsey Dick.
Attendance — 1,127.

Three stars
* Christine Bestland, Mercyhurst (SH goal, assist) ** Stephanie Ciampa, Mercyhurst (19 saves) *** Caroline Luczak, Mercyhurst (GW goal)

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)

The Mercyhurst University women’s hockey team are one win away from reclaiming the College Hockey America tournament championship.
Lauren Jones snapped a scoreless early in the second period, and the top-seeded Lakers held on with a strong defensive effort, in a 2-1 semifinal win against defending champion and fourth-seeded Robert Morris Friday afternoon at Mercyhurst Ice Center.
The Lakers (27-6-1) will face the winner of today’s 4:30 p.m. semifinal between Syracuse and Rochester Institute of Technology in Saturday’s 3 p.m. title game. Christine Bestland scored into an empty net for the Lakers. Brandi Pollock scored for the Colonials (15-15-3), which ended Mercyhurst’s nine-year run as CHA champion in the championship game a season ago.

Syracuse 2, RIT 1 (OT)
At Mercyhurst Ice Center, Sadie St. Germain scored 10 minutes, 8 seconds into overtime to secure second-seeded Syracuse’s spot in the title game. Fourth-seeded RIT (16-16-5) snapped a scoreless tie on Kim Schlattman‘s goal 6:32 into the second period. But the Orange (20-14-1), which outshot the Tigers 45-23, forced the extra period on Allie LaCombe‘s power-play goal with 12:15 left in regulation.

- Victor Fernandes

College Hockey America tournament schedule
Semifinals – Today
at Mercyhurst Ice Center
No. 1 Mercyhurst 2, No. 4 Robert Morris 1
No. 2 Syracuse (19-14-1) vs. No. 3 Rochester Institute of Technology (16-15-5), 4:30 p.m.
Championship game – Saturday
at Mercyhurst Ice Center
Mercyhurst (27-6-1) vs. Syracuse-RIT winner, 3 p.m.
Note: Champion doesn’t earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament.

SUMMARY

Mercyhurst 2, Robert Morris 1
Robert Morris 0 0 1 — 1
Mercyhurst 0 1 1 — 2
1st Period — None. Penalties — Fergus (R) tripping, 7:03; Carlson (R) body checking, 14:56.
2nd Period — 1. Mercyhurst, Lauren Jones 14 (DeSutter, Chippy), 7:22. Penalties — Byrne (M) cross checking, 14:46; Bram (M) slashing, 15:12; Byrne (M) cross checking, 17:01.
3rd Period — 2. Mercyhurst, Christine Bestland 27 (Dingeldein, DeSutter), 19:10 (en). 3. RMU, Brandi Pollock 2 (Joslin), 19:35. Penalties — Fergus (R) hooking, 7:04; Luczak (M) body checking, 11:00; Collias (R) high sticking, 13:33.
Shots on goal — RMU, 7-11-8—26; Mercyhurst, 11-7-7—25.
Goaltenders — RMU, Kristen DiCiocco 13-13-3 (24 shots, 23 saves); Mercyhurst, Stephanie Ciampa 18-1-0 (26 shots, 25 saves).
Power plays — RMU (0-4), Mercyhurst (0-4).
Referees — Adam Bell, Rich Jebo. Linesmen — John Quigley, Rob Sauda.
Attendance — 825.

Three stars
* Stephanie Ciampa, Mercyhurst (25 saves) ** Lauren Jones, Mercyhurst (goal) *** Kristen DiCiocco, RMU (23 saves)

No. 9 Mercyhurst University (26-6-1) vs. Robert Morris (15-14-13)
Syracuse (19-14-1) vs. Rochester Institute of Technology (16-15-5)
When: Today, 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m.
Where: Mercyhurst Ice Center
On the air: www.americaonesports.com (live stream), www.hurstathletics.com (live statistics)
What to expect: Mercyhurst begins its quest for a 10th College Hockey America tournament championship in the last 11 years with a healthy lineup. Junior F Christie Cicero (severe concussion, sprained neck) rejoined the lineup Feb. 23 against RIT. … The Lakers can capture their 12th conference title in the last 13 years, dating back to the 2000-01 season in the Great Lakes Women’s Hockey Association. … Win or lose, the Lakers learn if they will make a NCAA-record ninth straight NCAA Division I tournament appearance when the eight-team field is unveiled Sunday at 6 p.m. on NCAA.com. … Mercyhurst lost the first three regular-season meetings with defending CHA champion Robert Morris before posting a 9-1 home win Feb. 9. … The Lakers swept all four respective meetings with Syracuse and RIT. … Junior F Christine Bestland finished the regular season ranked fourth nationally with 40 assists, fifth with 66 points and ninth with 26 goals. She also tied for second with 10 power-play goals and tied for eighth with six game-winning goals. … Sophomore Ds Molly Byrne and and Vaila Higson were tied for fifth among all defensemen with 31 points apiece. … F Emily Janiga is third among all freshmen with 40 points, one spot ahead of F Jenna Dingeldein (39 points). … Senior G Stephanie Ciampa ranks second with a .944 winning percentage (17-1-0), fourth with a 1.40 goals-against average, tied for seventh with a .935 save percentage and tied for eighth with four shutouts. … RMU needed two wins last weekend over Lindenwood, including a three-overtime victory in the opener, to reach the semifinals. … RIT, which beat Penn State twice by one goal last weekend, looks for a CHA championship in its first season in the league and at the D-I level. … Syracuse reached the title game two of the last three years.

- Victor Fernandes

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

Atlantic Hockey Association tournament schedule
First round (best-of-3 series)
Game 1 – Friday
No. 12 Sacred Heart (2-28-4) at No. 5 Robert Morris (18-12-4), 7:05 p.m.
No. 10 Bentley (12-18-3) at No. 7 Canisius (13-18-5), 7:05 p.m.
No. 9 American International (12-15-6) at No. 8 Rochester Institute of Technology (13-16-5), 7:05 p.m.
No. 11 Army (7-20-5) at No. 6 Mercyhurst (14-15-5), 7:30 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday
Sacred Heart at Robert Morris, 7:05 p.m.
Army at Mercyhurst, 7:05 p.m.
Bentley at Canisius, 7:05 p.m.
AIC at RIT, 7:05 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday (if necessary)
Sacred Heart at Robert Morris, 7:05 p.m.
Army at Mercyhurst, 7:05 p.m.
Bentley at Canisius, 7:05 p.m.
AIC at RIT, 7:05 p.m.
Quarterfinals (best-of-3 series)
March 15-17
First-round winner at No. 1 Niagara (21-8-5), 7:05 p.m.
First-round winner at No. 3 Holy Cross (19-12-3), 7:05 p.m.
First-round winner at No. 4 Connecticut (17-13-4), 7:05 p.m.
First-round winner at No. 2 Air Force (17-11-7), 9:05 p.m.
Semifinals – March 22
at Blue Cross Arena – Rochester, N.Y.
Quarterfinal winners, TBA
Championship game – March 23
at Blue Cross Arena – Rochester, N.Y.
Semifinal winner, TBA
Note: Champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament.