Senior forward Brad Olsen’s first goal of the season, 2:14 into overtime, gave the Mercyhurst Lakers a 3-2 win over visiting Army Friday night at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Olsen had missed the prior four games with a shoulder injury.
The victory got the Lakers above .500 for the first time at 4-3-1 and kept them unbeaten in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Hockey League at 4-0-1. The Lakers are 4-0-1 in their last five games. Army, meanwhile, fell to 1-5-0, 1-3-0.
After a scoreless first period, Mercyhurst sophomore forward Adam Tackaberry scored twice in the middle period to give the defending MAAC champs a 2-0 advantage after 40 minutes.
Tackaberry’s first lamplighter, his fourth of the season, came at 1:12 on a power play and was assisted by senior forward Louis Goulet. The second came at 17:31 with assists to junior forward Marty Rychley and senior defenseman Marc Varteressian.
But the Black Knights refused to fold and tied the quickly-played contest with a pair of goals in a five-minute span of the third.
Freshman Chad Mayfield scored his second goal of the season at 7:43 and freshman Chris Casey followed suit with his third of the year at 12:56. Both teams had several scoring chances in the game’s final seven minutes of regulation, but Mercyhurst senior goaltender Peter Aubry and Army freshman netminder John Yaros were both equal to the task.
Each team had one shot in overtime, with alternate captain Olsen’s shot from between the circles settling the contest. Army outshot Mercyhurst 26-23. Each team was penalized five times for ten minutes.
Mercyhurst is now 4-0 lifetime against the Black Knights. The two teams will complete the weekend series Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.
