Photo courtesy of Kylee Surike/RMU Athletics
NEVILLE TWP.,PA- For the Mercyhurst Lakers, it’s all about momentum at this point of the season. Momentum created by goals, saves and wins as they turned a two goal deficit into a tie and shootout win on Saturday night at Clearview Arena as they earned a point with the regulation tie and an extra marker after the final whistle in overtime. Forward Mickey Burns scored goals less than two minutes apart in the third period to send the game into bonus time and gave the Lakers positive results in three of their last four games.
“We didn’t start very well in the first period but it was just 1-0,” Mercyhurst head coach Rick Gotkin said. “So we felt like we still had a lot of hockey left and after the first we talked about being better in the second and it felt like it started to go our way a little more, we started to make plays and build momentum but it was 3-1 and I told the boys we’ve go out and play our best period of the weekend and see what that gets us. We changed goaltenders, got a goal and got more momentum. “
In stark contrast to Friday night’s contest, the Colonials were able to keep the Lakers off the scoreboard early and scored a critical first goal when forward George Krotiris finished a tic-tac-toe play on a Colonial power play to make it a 1-0 game at the 14:55 mark. Dustin Geregach then equalized for the Lakers with an even strength tally, beating starting Colonial goaltender Dylan Meilun at 8:18 of the second frame. The Laker goal seemed to stir the Colonial’s energy level as they dominated the middle portion of the middle frame, keeping possession of the puck in the Laker end and coming up with a goal from forward Walter Zacher at 9:46 to retake the lead, then pushed the margin to two with a power play goal on a sharp angle shot from Mitch Deelstra at 13:59.
Burns and the Lakers then took command in the third after sending starting Mercyhurst net minder Carter McPhail to the bench in favor of Michael Chambre who kept the Colonials off the score sheet. Burns then went to work, coming up with to laser beams that made their way into the net which also included a power play tally to knot the score at three with the second goal coming at 10:33 of the third frame. The teams battened down the hatches the rest of the way with both goaltenders coming up with key saves to keep their teams alive through regulation and then highlight reel saves for each in the five minute, three on three overtime period. In the ensuing shootout, both teams came up with goals in the first four frames until Boris Skalos beat Meilun for the game winner in round five while Chambre put the extra point on ice with his save on the Colonials final shooter McKay Hayes.
“It’s been a really tough year,” Gotkin remarked, “It’s been a grind. Before Christmas we had lost several one goal games so it felt like we were close and then we beat Niagara who’s having a great year and played really well in the second game and we’ve won three out of four now. We come home now to play AIC who we know is really good and hopefully we can keep building on some of this momentum.”
Robert Morris faces off with a weekend road set of games at Bentley University next Friday and Saturday.
