Mercyhurst Survives Late Bentley Run for 3-2 Win

January 10, 2004

Courtesy of Bentley Sports Information Department

Contact: Cam Robinson, 781-891-2417

ERIE , Pa. --- Junior Rich Hansen's (Northport , N.Y. ) goal at 14:00 of the second period proved to be the difference as Mercyhurst College weathered a late Bentley College flurry to down the Falcons 3-2 in Atlantic Hockey action Saturday night at the Mercyhurst Ice Center .

Hansen's goal added to a two-goal cushion for Mercyhurst. Hansen skated out on a break and came in on net, moved the puck to his backhand and flipped a shot over the left pad of Bentley goaltender Simon St. Pierre (Montreal, Que./College Bourget).

Down 3-0 going into the third period, the Falcons ran off two goals to get back into the game with 10 minutes still to play. Bentley's first score came from sophomore Ryan Lessnau (Southfield, Mich./Seaholm HS) who skated in shorthanded and slid a shot under Mercyhurst goalie Andy Franck's (Lakewood , Ohio ) pad.

Bentley climbed within one at the 8:52 mark when junior Brendan McCartin (Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff HS) netted his team-leading sixth goal of the season. But that would be as close as the Falcons would come, as the Laker defense kept the net clean despite constant pressure from the Bentley offense.

The loss dropped Bentley to 3-11-4 overall and 1-6-4 in conference games, while Mercyhurst improved to 9-9-1 overall and 6-3 in the conference.

The Lakers' first strike of the night came at 5:02 of the opening frame, when sophomore Dave Borelli (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) received a pass from teammate Mike Carter (Cambridge, Ont.) in the slot and sent a shot low to beat St. Pierre.

Mercyhurst's second tally came on the power play at 12:20 courtesy of freshman Scott Champagne. Champagne was on the receiving end of a Pat Henk (Mentor, Ohio) slap shot that zipped wide of the net and caromed off the boards behind the net right to Champagne who knocked it in.

St. Pierre had 17 saves for the Falcons and Franck collected 30 for the Lakers. Bentley hits the ice again next Friday to host American International at 7:30.

At Erie, Pa.

MERCYHURST 3, BENTLEY 2

Bentley (3-11-4, 1-6-4 AHA) 0 0 2 -- 2

Mercyhurst (9-9-1, 6-3-0 AHA) 2 1 0 -- 3

1st Period: MC, Dave Borelli (Mike Carter) 5:02; MC, Scott Champagne (Pat Henk, Carter) 12:20

2nd Period: MC, Rich Hansen (Mike Pochatek, David Wrigley) 14:00

3rd Period: BEN, Ryan Lessnau (Seth Vinocur) 3:19; BEN, Brendan McCartin (Paul Markarian, Bobby DeLong) 8:52.

Saves: BEN, Simon St. Pierre 17; MC, Andy Franck 30

Shots: BEN 32, MC 20

Penalties: BEN 5/21, MC 6/12

Power Play: BEN 0/6, MC 1/4