ERIE, Pa. – The Sacred Heart men's hockey team scored twice on the power play Friday night, but the Mercyhurst Lakers rode a strong three-goal first period to a 7-2 win at Mercyhurst Ice Center.

The two teams traded shots early, as Sacred Heart's (6-12-3, 5-7-3 AHC) Zach Sabatini (Johns Creek, Ga.) and Mercyhurst's Daniel Bahntge each has shots stopped in first two minutes. The Lakers went on the power play with 17:03 remaining in the first period when Connor Doherty (Holden, Mass.) was called for high-sticking. Ryan Misiak cashed in for the Lakers, scoring from the blueline with assists from Tyler Shiplo and Jonathan Charbonneau with 15:29 left in the period to make the score 1-0. Drew George (Regina, Sask.) nearly tied the game with 14:04 to play in the period, but his shot from the wing went right into Brendan Wildung's glove.

Mercyhurst (9-6-3, 7-3-2 AHC) took a 2-0 lead with 13:21 to play in the first as Jack Riley snuck in from behind Andrew Bodnarchuk's (Saskatoon, Sask.) net and put the puck just inside the post. Less than two minutes later, Bahntge slammed home the rebound of a Kane Elliot shot to put the Lakers ahead 3-0. The Pioneers' best scoring chance of the opening period came with 5:00 remaining. Alec Butcher (Anchorage, Alaska) forced a turnover at the Sacred Heart blueline, getting the puck to Justin Danforth (Oshawa, Ont.). The sophomore streaked into the Mercyhurst zone all alone, but his backhand shot was denied by Wildung. The Lakers took a 3-0 lead into the intermission, outshooting Sacred Heart 9-8 in the first period.

Sacred Heart attacked the net early and often in the second period. The line of George, Ben Lake (Calgary, Alb.), and Evan Jasper (Whitby, Ont.) each had a shot on goal saved in the first minute. Jacob Brightbill (Anneville, Pa.) blasted a shot from the blueline with 18:50 remaining that Wildung stopped, leading to Mercyhurst clearing the rebound. The Pioneers outshot the Lakers 6-1 in the first five minutes of the period, but were still scoreless.

That changed with 10:25 remaining in the second. With Sacred Heart on the power play, George deflected in a David Iacono (Newmarket, Ont.) shot from the blueline to make the score 3-1. Sabatini also had an assist on the power play marker to extend his point-scoring streak to six games. Thirty-four seconds later, Mercyhurst scored on a goal by Phillippe Drouin that put the score at 4-1. The Lakers scored twice more in the second period to take a 6-1 lead, despite being outshot 12-10 in the frame by Sacred Heart.

Both teams scored once in the third period. Brightbill scored his second goal of the season on the power play with 13:01 to play in the game, as his shot from Mitch Nylen (Lawrenceville, Ga.) went right off Wildung's pads and into the net to make the score 6-2. Mercyhurst's Matthew Zay scored with 8:45 remaining to make the final score 7-2. The Pioneers outshot the Lakers 15-4 in the final period, but couldn't get closer than four goals.

Sacred Heart outshot Mercyhurst 35-23 for the game. The Lakers were 2-for-2 on the power play while the Pioneers were 2-for-3.

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