ERIE, Pa. – The Sacred Heart men's hockey team trailed the Mercyhurst Lakers 1-0 after the first period Friday night at Mercyhurst Ice Center, but the Lakers scored four goals in the second period to pull away and win 7-1.

The two teams traded scoring chances early in the game. Mercyhurst's (8-7-1, 6-1-0 AHA) Mychal Monteith had a shot stopped by Sacred Heart (4-11-0, 3-6-0 AHA) goalie Alex Vazzano (Trumbull, Conn.), while the Pioneers saw shots by Drew George (Regina, Sask.) and Nick Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y.) saved by the Lakers' Jimmy Sarjeant. Jacob Brightbill (Anneville, Pa.) almost put Sacred Heart ahead 1-0 but rang a shot off the goalpost. The Lakers outshot the Pioneers at one point 8-2 early in the first period, but Sacred Heart and Vazzano stood tall to keep the game scoreless.

Midway through the period, Sacred Heart let loose six straight shots on net but Sarjeant stopped them all. The Pioneers went on the power play with 5:10 to play in the first period. Sacred Heart but two shots on net that were saved as Jeff Carroll (Kingston, Ont.) hit the goalpost. Mercyhurst got on the scoreboard with 0:15 left in the period on a goal by Daniel Bahntge.

The Lakers came alive with four goals in the second period. Mercyhurst took a 2-0 lead 2:28 into the second period. Stephen Hrehoriak scored on the power play with assists from Randy Cure and Matthew Zay. The Lakers extended their lead with 8:34 left in the period on a Kyle Cook goal, setup by a centering pass from Ryan Misiak. Forty-four seconds later, Zay tacked on a shorthanded goal to give Mercyhurst a 4-0 lead. Chris Bodo scored the fifth Laker goal of the game with 5:18 left in the second period, giving Mercyhurst a 5-0 lead heading into the second intermission. Sacred Heart got on the scoreboard 5:33 into the third period as Chad Filteau (Regina, Sask.) scored his first goal of the season with assists from Carroll and Will Rayner (Needham, Mass.). However, Mercyhurst score twice more in the third period to make the final score 7-1.

Mercyhurst outshot Sacred Heart 33-31 for the hockey game. The Lakers were 1-for-3 on the power play as the Pioneers did not score on the power play in seven opportunities. Sarjeant made 30 saves for Mercyhurst as Vazzano had 26 for Sacred Heart.

The two teams wrap up their weekend series Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.