The Mercyhurst men’s hockey team lost to Canisius, 7-2, in the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) Conference finals.

The game was played at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. In addition to an AHA Championship Title, the Lakers would have also gotten an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The team made it to the AHA Finals after defeating University of Connecticut 4-1 in the semifinals. The Lakers finished the season with a 19-17-5 overall record.

Most of the scoring came in the second period. Mercyhurst was outshot 10-6 in the opening period, and the team could not regroup. Mercyhurst outshot Canisius 14-9 in the third period and held a 36-26 advantage in shots during the contest.
Matthew Zay received the AHA Scoring Champion Trophy on Thursday, March 22.: Ed Maillard photo

Junior defenseman Nick Jones was a First Team honoree, and sophomore Ryan Misiak earned a second team honor.

The Lakers will say farewell to four seniors, Max Strang, Grant Blakey, Charlie Carkin and Paul Chiasson. Strang, a senior goaltender, attributes redshirting to his success in the net.

“Being a redshirt senior gave me another year to develop with our coaching staff and it allowed me to complete my double major,” said Strang. “It also showed me how to be a good leader. Having that experience helped me understand what it takes to be a good teammate day in and day out.”

Strang credited staying focused and being detail-oriented as reasons for making it to the AHA Final.
“Our success this year has come from hard work and paying attention to detail,” said Strang. “Furthermore, we always tried to use our skill level to play at a high rate of speed.”

The Lakers look to return a strong line-up for the 2013-14 campaign.