West Point, New York - - Streaks are made to be broken in the month of March as tournament time and NCAA berths are on the line in college hockey. Mercyhurst College came into tonight’s semifinal with a four-game win streak and Sacred Heart University came into the game having beat Mercyhurst in their last three meetings. Tournament time also means that the student-athletes are playing for more than a win; they are playing for tomorrow and a chance to extend their season one more day.

In the second semifinal of the day, Sacred Heart defeated Mercyhurst 3-2 and brought the Lakers win streak to an end. The Pioneers’ win makes them a perfect 4-0 against Mercyhurst this year and advances them to the Atlantic Hockey Tournament Championship Game for the first time in team history. Mercyhurst drops to 20-14-2.

Sacred Heart drew first blood at the 14:22 mark of the first period as Pierre-Luc O’Brien (Fr., F, Nicolet, QC) beat Lakers’ goaltender Jordan Wakefield (Fr., G, Spruce Grove, Alberta). This goal was assisted by Peter Ferraro (Fr., F, Pleasantville, NY) and Kalen Wright (Fr., D, Candle Lake, MN). The Pioneers out shot Mercyhurst in the first period 12-7 testing Wakefield who only saw 20:00 of action in the Lakers’ 5-4 win over Bentley Saturday night.

Four goals were scored in the second period with Mercyhurst coming out and tying the contest 1-1 at the 2:55 mark. The Lakers’ first goal was scored by Kyle Gourgon (Fr., F, Stittsville, ONT) unassisted as Gourgon took a break away from the blue line and beat Kevin LaPointe (Jr., G, Quebec, QC). A little over a minute later (4:06) Sacred Heart would answer back on a power play goal by Konn Hawkes (Sr., D, Watrous, SK) assisted by Garrett Larson (Jr., F, Rycroft, AB) and Rocco Molinaro (So., F, Dearborn, MI) regaining the lead, 2-1.

The Pioneers’ power play would have given them an opportunity to add to their 2-1 lead in the second as a five minute high sticking penalty was assessed to the Lakers at the 5:17 mark. Instead, Mercyhurst’s Erik Johnson scored a short-handed goal returning the game to a tie, 2-2.

The final goal of the second period, which proved to be the game-winning goal, was scored by Pierre-Luc O’Brien, his second of the night. The goal came in a short-handed situation at the 16:48 mark of the second and the Pioneers regained the lead 3-2 and did not relinquish it again for the remainder of the night. O’Brien’s goal was unassisted and the Pioneers improved to 14-16-5 in 2004.

Sacred Heart’s goaltender Kevin LaPointe made 22 saves adding to his 26 saves from last night’s contest against the University of Connecticut. He has a GAA of 1.00 and a save percentage of .960. His counter part Wakefield made 27 saves against the Pioneers in a solid performance between the pipes for the Lakers.

The stage is now set for the 2004 Atlantic Hockey Tournament Championship Game as Sacred Heart will face top seed the College of the Holy Cross on Saturday, March 20 at 7 p.m. at Tate Rink.