Oct. 28, 2005

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst opened Atlantic Hockey Association play with a 5-2 win over visiting UConn before 1400 fans at the Ice Center. The Lakers improved to 2-1-0 overall while UConn dropped to 1-2-1 on the season in its conference opener.

After Mercyhurst senior forward Dave Borrelli (10:02, first) and Huskies' senior winger Chris Uber (5:17, second) traded power play goals in the game's first 25 minutes, Lakers' sophomore forward Ben Cottreau put Mercyhurst ahead to stay with his first of the year at 10:59 of the middle period. Freshman forward Chris Trafford lit the lamp for the first time this season at 18:53 as the Lakers left the ice after 40 minutes with a 3-1 lead.

UConn closed to within a goal early in the third, just after a Laker exited the penalty box, when junior forward Matt Scherer beat Mercyhurst junior netminder Mike Ella (1-1-0). But the Lakers jump-started a boisterous crowd again when junior Kyle Gourgon found the back of the net 48 seconds later and the two-goal lead (4-2) had been restored. Sophomore forward Kerry Bowman finished the scoring and UConn starting goalie Jon Anderson with an even strength tally three minutes later. Sophomore Brad Smith played the final 15 minutes between the pipes.

Special teams played a large role in the outcome as the Lakers and Huskies were whistled for a combined 27 infractions totaling 84 minutes. UConn finished just 1 of 12 with the man advantage while Mercyhurst was 1 of 6.

Ella made 28 saves in picking up his first win of the season. The teams will conclude the two-game weekend series Saturday night at 7:00pm.