Mercyhurst Routs Brock, 8-0, In Exhibition Contest

Mercyhurst received goals from seven different players in routing Brock 8-0 in an exhibition game Friday night before nearly 600 fans at the Ice Center.

Many of the fans hadn't settled into their seats before the Lakers opened a 2-0 lead in the game's first two minutes. Senior defenseman Preston Briggs lit the lamp just 44 seconds into the game and freshman forward Matt Pierce followed with the first of three Mercyhurst power play tallies just 63 seconds later. Brock opted to change starting goaltender Tom Lee with Matt Harpwood at that point and the sophomore from Welland, Ontario, held the fort until freshman forward Chris Trafford upped the lead to 3-0 with an even strength marker at 13:47.

Mercyhurst increased its lead to 7-0 after forty minutes in a second period interrupted by a 43 minute delay because of a damaged board. The teams left the ice while repairs were made and then tacked on the last six minutes of the middle period with the entire third stanza. The lone goal in the third was courtesy of junior defenseman Jamie Hunt. The Badgers opted to go back with Lee following the delay.

13 different skaters had points for Mercyhurst with sophomore forward Ben Cottreau the team's only multiple-goal scorer with two. Mercyhurst finished with a trio of power play goals in six chances while the defense, backstopped by junior netminder Jordan Wakefield, limited the Badgers to 27 shots and an 0 for 6 night with the man advantage. Wakefield, who missed all of last season because of injury, became the third different goaltender to start for Mercyhurst this season. Junior Mike Ella played the entire game in a season-opening 4-3 loss at Michigan Tech last Friday. Freshman Tyler Small earned AHA Rookie of the Week honors with a 41-save performance and a 5-2 victory against Tech the following night.

Mercyhurst improved to 5-0-2 lifetime against Brock. The Lakers will now rest for two weeks before opening their Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) season with a pair of games against UConn Friday and saturday, October 28 and 29. In their last meeting in March, the Lakers rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Huskies 7-4 at the Ice Center in an Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal game. Mercyhurst went on to edge both Holy Cross and Quinnipiac to advance to the NCAA playoffs for the third time in the last five years.

The 2004-05 team was honored with championship rings before Friday's game with the Badgers.