With a record of 3-6-1, the Mercyhurst men’s hockey team has gotten off to a rough start, facing challenging teams and pushing forward to make this season one to remember.

One player who has been making a name for himself this season is junior goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant, who was named the Atlantic Hockey Association’s Goaltender of the Week for the second consecutive week on Nov. 12.

“It’s a pretty big honor to be recognized by our conference for any award, especially considering the talent that we play against every day in our conference. But winning this award as a goaltender is more of a team award because it takes a lot of help from my teammates to enable me to do my job as a goalie,” Sarjeant said.

“They have done a tremendous job clearing lanes and rebounds for me so I can see pucks well and feel comfortable back there. A lot of credit goes out to the guys I play behind.”

On Friday Nov. 8, Sarjeant stopped 37 shots in the Lakers’ 3-2 victory over visiting Rochester Institute of Technology. After allowing two goals in the opening period, Sarjeant turned aside all 24 shots he faced over the final two periods as Mercyhurst.

“We got off to a slow start this year losing a few games at the beginning of the year but we seem to be clicking a little better now and it’s showing in the win column. We’ve earned some pretty important wins but having said that I know we have a lot left to show everyone.

“I really think that we can play better and it’s showing now of late, we seem to be getting stronger each day so hopefully that trend can continue so we can make a push for a league championship,” Sarjeant said.

Sarjeant has seemingly become the number-one goaltender for the Lakers (3-6-1, 2-1-0 AHA) after just a month in the season. He has been the starter for all of Mercyhurst’s wins and the team’s only tie through 10 games as he sports an overall mark of 3-2-1 and is a perfect 2-0-0 in conference action.

Sarjeant has a 2.68 goals against average and a .923 save percentage thus far.

Some of our standout players this year are senior Dan O’Donoghue, Matthew Zay and Nick Jones, Randy Cure, and Kyle Just.Jake Lowy photo: Junior goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant was named the Atlantic Hockey Association’s Goaltender of the Week on Nov. 12.

“Dan has scored some big time goals for us and plays in every situation. He’s a reliable guy who comes through for us each and every night it seems. Randy Cure has been a mainstay on our back end who is very reliable for us defensively.

“He is also great at getting our breakouts started and blocking shots. Nick Jones is another guy who has come up big for us not only defensively but offensively too. It’s no wonder that he’s our captain. He leads by example and works his butt off each day,” Sarjeant said.

“Kyle just has quietly been a very important player for us too. He plays in every situation too and contributes offensively. I feel like his game has really taken off this year. He worked hard this summer and it’s really showing this year.

“Matt Zay has been a great leader and contributor for our team. I think that he is ready to breakout soon and build on his success from last season. Those are just a few guys that have played well for us but there are plenty of other guys who have played unbelievably well for us. We are a solid team when we play together and I am really excited to see where the rest of the season takes us,” Sarjeant said.

The Lakers look forward to taking on Rensselaear Polytechnic Institute in their next series this weekend at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Friday and Saturday. The puck is set to drop at 7:05 p.m. Friday night.