Box Score

ERIE, Pa. – The American International College men's ice hockey team lost Saturday night's finale with the Mercyhurst Lakers, 5-3. With the win the Lakers completed the weekend sweep, improving their overall record to 11-11-2 and their conference record to 11-5-2, while the loss drops the Yellow Jackets to 2-16-1 for the season and to 2-12-1 in Atlantic Hockey.

AIC jumped out to a 1-0 lead when junior forward #Tom Mele# (Bronx, N.Y.) found the back of the net at 3:59 of the first period with assists from freshmen #Jeff Ceccacci# (Placentia, Calif.) and #Steve Mele# (Bronx, N.Y.). The Yellow Jackets took a 2-0 advantage when junior defenseman #Mike Little# (Enfield, Conn.) netted a shorthanded goal nine-minutes later with assists from senior #Mike McMillan# (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) and junior #Greg Vatrano# (East Longmeadow, Mass.). Mercyhurst got on the board two-minutes later as senior Chris Risi (Thorold, Ont.) tallied a goal with an assist from classmate Neil Graham (Calgary, Alb.).

The Lakers took a 3-2 lead in the second period with goals from senior Matt Fennell (Melfort, Sask.) and sophomore Derek Elliott (Des Moines, Iowa). Mercyhurst also claimed to more goals early in the third period to take a 5-2 advantage. Risi and freshman Paul Chiasson (Toronto, Ont.) each lit the lamp for the Lakers.

Junior #Steve McLeod# (Atikokan, Ont.) attempted to spark a comeback for AIC as he found the back of the net on the powerplay, with assists from McMillan and Tom Mele. But the effort was too late as Mercyhurst skated to a 5-3 victory.

Freshman #Ben Meisner# (Halifax, N.S.) made 25 stops in the loss, while junior Ryan Zapolski (Erie, Pa.) stopped 22 shots in the victory.

AIC was outshot 30-25 on the night, but held a 12-9 advantage in the third period.

Next up, AIC takes on Holy Cross in a weekend home-and-home starting Friday at 7:05 p.m.