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Sports Men's hockey sweeps Holy Cross, 2-1-3 on road trip
By Chris Davis Sports editor Punxsutawney Phil stuck his snout out of the ground and saw his shadow Saturday, meaning there will be six more weeks of winter. But while the Groundhog’s Day celebration was going on in Pennsylvania, the Mercyhurst College men’s hockey team completed a weekend sweep of the College of the Holy Cross at the Hart Center in Worchester, Mass. The Lakers picked up their first two-game road winning streak of the year, as they outscored the Crusaders 8-4, jostling a 6-3 win on Friday, along with a close-knit 2-1 victory Saturday. Mercyhurst finished up its six-game road stand with an impressive 2-1-3 record, currently sitting only three points behind first-place RIT in the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA). The Lakers, now 9-6-5 in the AHA, have played two fewer games then RIT, and Mercyhurst has been unbeaten in its last four games, along with seven of its last eight, with a lone loss at Connecticut. Holy Cross dropped to 7-9-3 on the weekend after the Lakers came from behind on both nights. "Our guys have settled in tight and have played with confidence and pertinence and it’s a good time of year to being playing your best hockey. We’re making good strides," head coach Rick Gotkin said. "This team right now is finding ways to win." "We have showed that we can battle back against anybody, which is a great component to anyone’s game," he said. Mercyhurst entered the first intermission of Friday’s game trailing 2-1, before exploding for four unanswered goals in the second period, which matched its highest-period goal total of the 2007-2008 season. Five different players contributed scoring for the Lakers, including two goals from freshman forward Steve Cameron. "We played great in the first period against Holy Cross and at one point we were down 2-0 and Steve Cameron scored late to make it 2-1," Gotkin said. "Our team has a great component of willingness to battle." Everett Sheen scored his team-leading, 13th goal of the season to put up Holy Cross 1-0, 5:40 into the game, shortly after a Crusader power play ended. Crusader Rob Forshner added a short-handed, unassisted goal with 9:27 to play in the period, as he stole the puck in the Lakers’ zone and ripped a shot past Mercyhurst junior goaltender Matt Lundin. Cameron’s seventh goal of the season got Mercyhurst on the board with 4:25 remaining in the first, as he received a pass from freshman Scott Pitt to give the Lakers some momentum heading into the second period. Sophomore winger Cody Collins added his second goal of the year 9:45 into the second period to tie the score 2-2. Nearly a minute later, freshman Mike Gurtler connected on his sixth goal of the season for Mercyhurst, past Holy Cross netminder Adam Roy, to give the Lakers the lead for good. Sophomores Chris Risi and Matt Fennell each scored in the final six minutes of the second period to put up the Lakers 5-2 heading into the third. Risi scored with four minutes remaining in the period, and now has two goals in the last three games, after going scoreless during the first 16 games on the season. Fennell managed to put in his fifth goal of the season on a power play virtually 3:15 later. Holy Cross switched goalies to start the third, pulling Roy for Ian Dams, who stopped seven shots and allowed one goal. Roy made 24 saves and gave up five goals in earning the loss. The Crusaders cut the lead to 5-3 at 6:37 of the third before Cameron answered in the final 1:13 of the contest to double up Holy Cross. Lundin managed to only make six saves in both of the first two periods before accumulating 15 stops in the third for a game total of 27. "We had a lot of energy and when we were down we knew we were going to battle and win the game," said Cameron. "It started early in the week with practice; we had a great week and it carried over to the game." Saturday’s game turned out to be a more defensive style, as the first ended with a 0-0 tie. Mercyhurst outshot Holy Cross during the opening interlude, as Roy started for the Crusaders making 11 first-period saves, while Lundin made eight for the Lakers. Holy Cross, just as they had done the day before, picked up the first goal 1:30 into the second, as forward Brodie Sheahan put a slap shot past Lundin. The Crusaders stayed ahead until Mercyhurst answered on a power play goal with 5:33 remaining in the period. Gurtler added his seventh goal on the season and senior Ben Cottreau was credited with the assist. The Lakers would then take a 2-1 lead on a short-handed score by sophomore Neil Graham with 1:42 remaining in the second, which turned out to be the game winner. "To kill a penalty, and score a shorthanded goal, let alone the game-winning goal, was a major bonus for us," Gotkin said. "It was really two guys, Chris Risi and Neil Graham, who were involved with the goal. And who knew it was going to be the game winner, but that’s how it turned out and we’ll take that." "On the weekend we got two power-play goals with Matt Fennell scoring one and me scoring one," said Gurtler. "It definitely boosts our confidence to know the power play is going, and Graham scored a short-handed goal and Risi got an even- strength goal. "It shows that every line and situation is plugging away right now," he said. "We were all pumped up and I have seen our team more excited than I have seen all year," said Cameron. "It’s rewarding looking at the standings after a big weekend like that and see us catapulting into contention for first place. "It’s a challenge we all look forward to and will try to get it done," he said. "We are really coming together and starting to have fun like you’re suppose to," Gurtler said. "We hold the standings in our hands here." Lundin came up with 13 saves during the third in leading Mercyhurst to victory, as Holy Cross outshot the Lakers 13-7 during the period. Lundin, the winner for the second straight day, finished with 29 saves, while Roy made 33 stops in a losing effort. The Lakers have an interesting couple of weeks, as they will play some of the teams ahead of them in the AHA. Mercyhurst hosts Air Force Academy this weekend at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Air Force is currently one point ahead of the Lakers and tied for second place overall in the conference standings with Army, who Mercyhurst swept earlier in the year.
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