AHA TOURNAMENT – QUARTERFINALS
No. 6 Mercyhurst (16-15-5) at No. 3 Holy Cross (19-12-3)
When: Today and Saturday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m.*
Where: Hart Center – Worcester, Mass.
On the air: www.americaonesports.com (live stream), WMCE-FM/88.5 & wmce.mercyhurst.edu (radio), www.goholycross.com (live statistics)
What to expect: Mercyhurst earned a spot in the Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinals with a two-game sweep of 11th-seeded Army in the first round last weekend. … With those wins, the Lakers snapped an eight-game winless streak (0-5-3) and swept a series for the first time since winning two games at Sacred Heart Nov. 2-3. … They also won consecutive games for the first time since 8-1 victories against Army and Robert Morris Feb. 2-5. … The Lakers and Crusaders meet in the quarterfinals for the second straight season. Mercyhurst won in three games at Mercyhurst Ice Center to advance to the AHA’s final four in Rochester, N.Y., a season ago Fifth-year senior G Max Strang stopped 111-of-115 shots in that series. … The Lakers split two games with the Crusaders at MIC in the regular season, losing 2-1 Jan. 11 and winning 4-2 the following night, but lead the all-time series 27-12-5. … The Lakers are 15-5-1 all-time at Hart Center. … They have a 3-1 record against Holy Cross in AHA tournament play and a 4-1 overall playoff mark dating back to a 2000 meeting in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (which became the AHA in 2003). … Rick Gotkin became the 26th college coach to reach 450 career wins last weekend. … Junior Fs Daniel O’Donoghue and Kyle Just and sophomore F Zac Frischmon combined for four goals and 11 points last weekend. They were teamed on a line for the first time this season in those games. … Holy Cross earned a first-round bye with a third-place finish in the regular-season standings. … The Crusaders enter this series with a five-game unbeaten streak. … They need one win to record consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in program history. … They have their best record through 34 games since posting a 23-9-2 mark in the 2005-06 season.
* Sunday’s game if necessary

Atlantic Hockey Association tournament schedule
Quarterfinals (best-of-3 series)
Friday-Sunday*
No. 6 Mercyhurst (16-15-5) at No. 3 Holy Cross (19-12-3), 7 p.m.*
No. 8 Rochester Institute of Technology (15-16-5) at No. 1 Niagara (21-8-5), 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.
* Game 3 on Sunday (if necessary) would begin at 5 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 winners, TBA
Note: Champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament.

- Victor Fernandes

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)

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

Mercyhurst University (14-15-3, 12-11-2 AHA) vs. Robert Morris (18-12-2, 13-11-1)
When: Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m.
Where: Friday at RMU Island Sports Center, Pittsburgh; Saturday at Mercyhurst Ice Center
On the air: www.americaonesports.com (live stream), www.rmucolonials.com & www.hurstathletics.com (live statistics)
What to expect: Mercyhurst enters the final weekend series of the regular season tied for sixth with Rochester Institute of Technology in the Atlantic Hockey Association with 26 points. The Lakers are three points behind third-place Holy Cross, two behind fourth-place Connecticut and one behind fifth-place RMU. … The Lakers can finish as high as third, which would secure a bye through next weekend’s first round of the AHA playoffs. They can finish as low as eighth, which would clinch home-ice advantage in a first-round series. … They are winless in six straight games (0-5-1) for the first time since a six-game losing streak early in the 2008-09 season. … Mercyhurst beat RMU 8-1 in Pittsburgh Feb. 5 for the team’s last win. … The Lakers are tied for ninth in NCAA Division I with 3.25 goals scored per game. But they were held to two goals in five of six games during this winless skid. … Lakers coach Rick Gotkin needs two wins to become the 26th college coach to reach 450 career wins. … Junior G Jordan Tibbett (lower-body injury) rejoined the lineup last weekend after missing the previous month. … Sophomore F Nardo Nagtzaam (lower body) won’t play the rest of the season. … Freshman F Kyle Cook (upper body) has missed the past month. … Sophomore F Chris Bodo is third nationally with 10 power-play goals. … Junior F Daniel O’Donoghue is tied for the national lead with three short-handed goals. … The Colonials can set the program’s single-season wins record with a victory this weekend. … Senior G Eric Levine has set the Colonials’ single-season record with 17 wins. … RMU is unbeaten in its last three games.

- Victor Fernandes

Mercyhurst University (14-13-3, 11-9-2 AHA) vs. No. 16 Niagara (19-6-5, 18-3-2)
When: Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m.
Where: Friday at Dwyer Arena – Niagara University, N.Y.; Saturday at Mercyhurst Ice Center
On the air: www.americaonesports.com (live stream), www.hurstathletics.com (live statistics)
What to expect: Mercyhurst slipped to third in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings after being swept at home by Rochester Institute of Technology, 3-2 in overtime and 5-3, last weekend. … The Lakers hold a two-point lead over Connecticut, Holy Cross and RIT while trailing second-place Air Force by three points in the race for a top-four finish and a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Four points separate the Lakers from Bentley and Canisius, which are tied for eighth, with four games left in the regular season. … Niagara clinched the regular-season championship last weekend, their first AHA title since joining the conference in the 2010-11 season and first overall since 2006-07 in the now-defunct College Hockey America men’s conference. … Mercyhurst is winless in four straight games (0-3-1), their longest skid in more than three years. … The Lakers opened the season Oct. 13 with a 2-1 loss at Niagara. … Lakers coach Rick Gotkin needs two wins to become the 26th college coach to reach 450 career wins. … Fifth-year senior G Max Strang has made 10 straight starts. … Junior D Randy Cure (upper-body injury) rejoined the lineup last weekend after missing a month. … Sophomore F Nardo Nagtzaam (lower body) hasn’t played since early January. … Sophomore F Chris Bodo is tied for third in NCAA Division I with eight power-play goals. … Junior F Daniel O’Donoghue is tied for the national lead with three short-handed goals. … Junior G Carson Chubak, who joins senior F Giancarlo Iuorio on the Hobey Baker Award list for national player of the year, leads the nation with six shutouts. Chubak also ranks among the top 10 with a 1.76 goals-against average, .942 save percentage and .768 winning percentage. … Mercyhurst’s fifth-ranked scoring offense (3.33 goals per game) faces Niagara’s defense, which is tied for 12th at 2.33 goals against per game. The Purple Eagles also are tied for 12th with 3.20 goals scored per game. The Lakers are tied for 34th in scoring defense at 2.80 goals per game.

- Victor Fernandes

Rochester Institute of Technology (10-13-5, 8-9-4 AHA) at Mercyhurst University (14-11-3, 12-7-2)
When: Fridayand Saturday, 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 remains second in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings despite a loss and tie at home against third-place Air Force last weekend. The Lakers, who have six games left in the regular season, are one point ahead of the Falcons and four points ahead of Canisius, Connecticut and Holy Cross, who are in a three-way tie for fourth. RIT is another two points back in eighth. Eight points separate the Lakers and 10th-place Army. … Lakers coach Rick Gotkin needs two wins to become the 26th college coach to reach 450 career wins. … Sophomore F Ryan Misiak earned AHA player of the week honors for the second straight time. He has four goals and 10 points in his last six games. … Fifth-year senior G Max Strang has made eight straight starts while junior G Jordan Tibbett has been out with a lower-body injury. … The Lakers also have been without junior D Randy Cure (upper body) and sophomore F Nardo Nagtzaam (lower body). … Mercyhurst has risen to fourth in NCAA Division I with 3.39 goals scored per game (95 goals in 28 games) and a 22.8 power-play percentage (26-for-114). RIT has the nation’s top power play at 25.9 percent (28-for-108) and 11th-best scoring offense (3.25 goals per game). … In contrast, Mercyhurst is tied for 29th nationally in scoring defense (2.71 goals allowed per game), while RIT is tied for 55th out of 59 teams at 3.50 per game. … Misiak (31 points) and RIT junior F Michael Colavecchia (24 points) rank among the top 25 nationally in scoring. … Colavecchia and Lakers sophomore F Chris Bodo are tied for third with eight power-play goals. … RIT junior D Greg Noyes is eighth among all defensemen with 22 points. … RIT reached the AHA title game the past three years (won in 2010).

- Victor Fernandes

Mercyhurst University (11-9-1, 9-5-0 AHA) at Canisius (8-11-5, 7-6-2)
When: Saturday, 7:05 p.m.
Where: Buffalo State Sports Arena, Buffalo
On the air: www.americaonesports.com (live stream), www.gogriffs.com (live audio and statistics)
What to expect: Mercyhurst meets longtime rival Canisius for the 72nd time after having Friday night’s game against the Golden Griffins at Mercyhurst Ice Center moved to Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at MIC. A water main break in the city Thursday prompted university officials to close school and send students home through the weekend. … The Lakers are tied for second with Holy Cross in the tight Atlantic Hockey Association standings. Five points separate the Lakers from 10th-place Connecticut. The Golden Griffins are in seventh, but are only two points out of second. Niagara, which suffered its first conference loss of the season at Holy Cross last weekend, tops the standings by nine points. … The Lakers edged Canisius 3-2 in overtime Dec. 18 at MIC on sophomore F Matthew Zay‘s winnning goal to take a 38-24-9 lead in the all-time series. … Junior F Kyle Just (upper-body injury) could rejoin the lineup tonight after missing the past six games. … Junior D Randy Cure (upper body) and freshman D Anthony Mastrodicasa (lower body) are cleared to skate, but neither will rejoin the lineup tonight. … Sophomore F Nardo Nagtzaam (lower body) will miss at least another three to four weeks. … The Golden Griffins were swept by Bentley 3-2 in overtime and 7-2 last weekend. … Canisius junior G Tony Capobianco ranks second in conference play with a 2.13 goals-against average and third with a .930 save percentage. … Mercyhurst junior G Jordan Tibbett (.924) and fifth-year senior G Max Strang (.922) are fourth and fifth, respectively, in save percentage. Strang, the reigning AHA goaltender of the week, has a 5-1-0 record, 1.61 goals-against average and .954 save percentage in his past six appearances. … Senior F Paul Chiasson needs one point to become the 15th player in Mercyhurst’s NCAA Division I history to reach 100 points. … Junior F Daniel O’Donoghue has a five-game point streak and 11 points in six games this month. … Lakers coach Rick Gotkin needs five wins to become the 26th college coach to reach 450 wins. … Freshman F Ralph Cuddemi, a former Erie Otters draft pick (11th round in 2010), has no goals and two points in 18 games for the Golden Griffins this season. … Mercyhurst stands 14th in Division I at 3.19 goals scored per game. In contrast, Canisius ranks 47th out of 59 teams at 2.25 per game. … However, the Golden Griffins are seventh nationally in scoring defense (2.12 goals allowed per game). The Lakers are 40th at 2.90 per game. … The Golden Griffins are 0-7-0 in one-goal games and 0-3-5 in games decided in overtime.

- Victor Fernandes

Mercyhurst University (8-6-1) at Maine (4-11-2)
When: Today and Saturday, 7:07 p.m.
Where: Today at Cumberland County Civic Center – Portland, Maine, Saturday at Alfond Arena – Orono, Maine
On the air: www.goblackbears.com (live stream, audio and statistics)*
What to expect: Mercyhurst begins the second half with a two-game series Maine, who are last in Hockey East Association this season. … The Lakers capped the opening half with three straight wins and five victories in their past seven games. … The Lakers play their 14th and 15th road games of the season. In contrast, they have played only three home games. … After this weekend, they play 11 of their final 17 regular-season games at Mercyhurst Ice Center. … Tonight’s game will be played in the home arena of the AHL’s Portland Pirates. … Mercyhurst faces Maine for the first time since being swept 4-2 and 4-1 Oct. 19-20, 2007. The Lakers are 0-4-1 in five career meetings, all at Maine. They tied 1-1 Dec. 16, 2006. But they earned their first career win in six tries against Clarkson last month. … Lakers coach Rick Gotkin said junior D Randy Cure (upper-body injury), freshman D Anthony Mastrodicasa (lower body), sophomore F Edward DeWald (upper body) and junior F John Mousso (lower body) won’t rejoin the lineup this weekend as originally hoped. The Lakers also lost junior F Kyle Just to an upper-body injury Dec. 18 against Canisius. … The Black Bears posted their first two-game winning streak of the season last weekend, as they captured the championship of the Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla., with wins against Minnesota Duluth and No. 12 Cornell. … Maine has played 10 games against eight teams currently ranked among USCHO.com’s top 20 or on the honorable-mention list (Boston College, Boston University, Cornell, Massachusetts, Massachusetts-Lowell, New Hampshire, Notre Dame and Providence). They are 2-7-1 in those games.
* Live stream for Saturday’s game only

- Victor Fernandes

Five players headline the Mercyhurst University men’s hockey team’s recruiting class for the 2012-13 season.
Rick Gotkin, who enters his 25th season as coach, has brought in three defensemen – Anthony Mastrodicasa from Woodbridge, Ontario, Mychal Monteith (Toledo, Ohio) and Justin Stevens (Brantford, Ontario). Mastrodicasa (6-foot 1-inch, 195 pounds), a two-time captain with the Vaughan Vipers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, had 25 goals and 85 points in 69 games the past two seasons.
Monteith (5-9, 180) led the Texas Tornado to the North American Hockey League’s Robertson Cup finals this past season. Stevens (5-11, 205) had four goals and 24 points in 43 games with the Pembroke Lumber Kings of the Central Canadian Hockey League in 2011-12.
Gotkin also added forward Kyle Cook (6-4, 215) from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, and Moon Township native Alec Shields (5-9, 180). Cook finished sixth in the NAHL this past season with 70 points (31 goals, 39 assists) in 59 games for the Springfield Jr. Blues. Shields had five points in eight games for the NAHL’s Traverse City North Stars before a torn tendon in his hand ended his season. Cook, whose expected to be ready for the start of the 2012-13 season, had 21 goals and 51 points in 50 games with Traverse City two seasons ago.
Mercyhurst begins the season Oct. 6 with a 7:05 p.m. exhibition game against Wilfrid Laurier, from Waterloo, Ontario, at Mercyhurst Ice Center. The regular season opens Oct. 13 with an Atlantic Hockey Association game at Niagara.

Joe Kimball, Mercyhurst University’s director of athletics, announced at a news conference Tuesday that men’s hockey Rick Gotkin and women’s coach Michael Sisti have signed four-year contracts that will keep them with their respective NCAA Division I programs through the 2015-16 season.
Gotkin also confirmed that his Lakers have been invited to play an outdoor game against Ohio State in December 2013 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
“It’s an exciting day at Mercyhurst University, especially for our two hockey programs,” Kimball said.
Gotkin and Sisti still had one year left on three-year deals. Yet their new contracts, which replace those previous deals, allow them to maintain the continuity at the top of their programs that prospective student-athletes and their families search for during the recruiting process.
“When you look a kid in the eye and they ask if you’re going to be here, you’ve got the feeling you’re going to be here,” said Sisti, who heads into his 14th season as women’s coach after spending his first six years at Mercyhurst as Gotkin’s assistant. “But it’s nice to have it on paper, so you can look them in the eye back and say, ‘I’m definitely going to be here.’ It helps them feel good about the process.”
The first outdoor hockey game in school history also would serve as a great recruiting tool. Ohio State faced rival Michigan this past January in front of 25,864 fans at Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians baseball team, in the first outdoor college hockey game in Ohio.
“It’s a great reflection of our program from top to bottom,” Gotkin said. “I think people realize we have a big-time program.”
The game isn’t official yet, said Gotkin, who received the invitation from OSU officials this past weekend. The schools await confirmation from the Indians. Mercyhurst and OSU already are scheduled to play a two-game weekend series in Columbus Dec. 13-14, 2013. Gotkin said the Dec. 14 game would move to Progressive Field.

- Victor Fernandes