The men’s ice hockey team took on Number 16 Ohio State University on Saturday, Oct. 1, on their home ice in their first game of the season. The Lakers welcomed the busy crowd of 1,500 people with free T-shirts to the first 500 fans and an exciting back-and-forth style of play.

The game started with intensity as both teams fought to find the back of the net. It was the Buckeyes who converted a Laker turnover to a goal at the 3:52 mark to make the score 1-0 early in the first period.

Ohio State University carried on this momentum by outshoot-ing the Lakers 15-7 in the open-ing frame. Mercyhurst responded strongly in the second period by notching a shot at the 3:15 mark. Junior Marko Reifenberger received a pass from Geuorgui Fedulov and went on a break-a-way.

Reifenberger was denied at the goal, but senior Jonathan Bendorf was there to put it away to tie the Lakers up and give them their first goal of the season. The game remained 1-1 to finish out the second period.Ohio State scored in the third period at the 9:29 mark and then again two minutes later to pull them ahead of the Lakers with a score of 3-1.

Mercyhurst moved quickly as they felt the pressure to score. Junior Mickey Burns caused a turnover near the half wall in the OSU zone. He then shot the puck which rebounded but was picked up by sophomore Garrett Dahm who took it and scored for his first career goal.

Ohio State did not let up as they recognized the open net and shot the puck to claim their fourth and final goal of the game with ten seconds left. Despite their best efforts, the Lakers came up short with a 4-2 loss against the Buckeyes. Even though the outcome did not fall in the Lakers’ favor, there were many celebratory moments for them. Graduate student and Laker goaltender Tyler Harmon re-corded 40 saves in his Laker de-but. Graduate student Brendon Michaelian, graduate student Eric Esposito, junior Steven Agriogianis and senior Adrien Bisson all got time on the ice to showcase their Laker debut.

The Buckeyes also took the second game against the Lakers in a 4-1 victory on Sunday, Oct. 2. They started the game strong by scoring a goal in the opening 59 seconds. They then followed up with a second goal at the 16:33 mark to wrap up the first period.They continued with this energy and scored while Mercyhurst was on a power play.

Around two minutes later, the Buckeyes scored again to make the score 4-0 with plenty of gametime remaining. The Lakers responded by pressuring the Buckeyes and eventually got an opportunity to score. Senior captain, Rylee St. Onge took a shot on goal and it was deflected, but junior Carson Briere was there to clean up the rebound and put the puck in the back of the net to give the Lakers their first goal of the game and his first goal of the year.

The third period carried through with Ohio State out-shooting the Lakers 12-6, but were ultimately unsuccessful in capitalizing. The final score was 4-1 in favor of the Buckeyes.

Mercyhurst will head on the road for their next set of games to take on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this weekend on Friday, Oct. 7, and Saturday,