ERIE, Pa. – Mercyhurst got out to a 3-1 lead after the first period and held off a pesky Army hockey team as the Black Knight fell short by a 4-2 score in their Atlantic Hockey opener at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Friday night.
Army (0-2-0, 0-1-0 AHA) got goals from Joe Kozlak and Nick DeCenzo with Kozlak’s tally coming on the power play. Trevor Fidler and Conor Andrle finished with two assists apiece for their first multi-point games of the 2015 season. Cole Bruns earned the start in net and made 15 saves in the loss.
Mercyhurst (4-3-0, 3-0-0 AHA) remains undefeated in league play with a strong first period and was able to hold on with a great performance from Brandon Wildung who finished with 37 saves between the pipes. Derek Barach, Anthony Mastrodicasa, Bryan Sienerth and Kyle Dutra all scored for the Lakers, while seven different skaters added assists.
The Black Knights outshot the Lakers, 39-18, and 33-9 in the second and third periods, but couldn’t tie the game.
“Once we settled down and got through the first period, that was one of the best games that we have played up here in all the years coming up here,” head coach Brian Riley said. “Our guys did a lot of really good things in the second and third periods and got chances and Wildung came up with the stops. For us, Bruns didn’t have to make a lot of saves, but he had to make a couple of big saves to keep us in it.”
Mercyhurst took the early lead in the first period with Barach scoring 1:44 into the game with the assists going to Philippe Drouin and Kyle Cook. The Black Knights answered with Joe Kozlak tallying his first of the season and it came on the power play with assists to Fidler and Andrle. For Fidler, it is his second point in as many as games.
The Lakers answered the power play goal from the Black Knights with one of their own. Mastrodicasa got the lead back for the home team at 2-1 with the man advantage score. Taylor Best and Kyle Dutra were awarded the assists on the play at the 7:44 mark of the opening period. The lead increased to 3-1 for Mercyhurst with Sienerth scoring his second of the season and the teams went into the first intermission with the Lakers earning a two-goal advantage.
The Black Knights were able to outshoot the Lakers, 17-4, in the second period, but couldn’t capitalize on their chances as neither team found the net in the middle frame. The Lakers went scoreless on a pair of power play chances at the end of the period, while Army had its lone chance killed off after Mercyhurst was called for too many players on the ice.
Army kept the pressure on in the third period and it paid off with DeCenzo getting the Black Knights to within a goal at the 9:57 mark. His first of the season came on a feed from Andrle with Fidler adding the second assist. Army kept the Lakers on their heels, but couldn’t find the equalizer. Dutra added some insurance for Mercyhurst with an empty-netter with a minute left to secure the 4-2 win. The Black Knights outshot the Lakers, 16-5, in the final period.
We saw a lot of good things tonight,” Riley said. “However, we have to figure out a way to win these games on the road.”
The two teams are back in action tomorrow night with the opening faceoff coming at 7:05 p.m. at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
Ice Shavings: Army wore its road blacks for the first time this season … the new uniform features a stenciled Army on the front with the Athena Shield logo on the shoulders … head coach Brian Riley faced his son, Jack, for the fifth time … Jack is a sophomore on the Lakers … Trevor Fidler has three points in his first two games and added his first collegiate multi-point game … Conor Andrle added his fourth career multi-point game and third multi-assist game … Andrle and Fidler are tied for the team lead in points with three apiece … the Black Knights had rookies on all four lines … Ian Mansfield made his first collegiate start … Cole Bruns made his 2015 debut between the pipes … Taylor Maruya appeared in his first game as a Black Knight … Army has two power play goals in its first two games and is 2-for-11 on the year for an 18.2 success rate.
