ERIE, Pa. — The top-seeded Mercyhurst Lakers returned from a first-round bye week to beat the No. 11 Sacred Heart Pioneers, 4-2 in Game 1 of the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals on Friday.
It was a back-and-forth affair, with the Lakers taking an early lead, but needing a strong finish and a hat trick from Jonathan Charbonneau to put away the Pioneers. Mercyhurst lit the board first with a first-period goal by Charbonneau from Tyler Enns and Joey Duszak.
Sacred Heart freshman Marc Johnstone tied up the game with a goal for Sacred Heart. However, before the end of the period, Charbonneau scored twice more to complete his hat trick.
To solidify their lead, the Lakers struck in the third with a Michael Verboom goal from Kane Elliot and Wes Baker. Two minutes later, Sacred Heart battled back on the power play from Zach Tsekos. The Lakers outshot the Pioneers by a total of 30-29.
Both teams will return to the Mercyhurst Ice Center Saturday for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop as they continue their best-of-three quarterfinal series. will head to Rochester, NY for the semi-finals.
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