All season, the Lakers of Mercyhurst have been building, and going forward with a young team full of skill and offense. This team gained more confidence in the regular season every time they faced the number two seed in Atlantic Hockey, Canisius. Head Coach Rick Gotkin had some thoughts on the win.

Gotkin said “ it was a great series, we have tons of respect for Canisius,I thought they played well tonight. All these games could have gone either way. This was about as close of games as you could have found. The regular season wins helped build our confidence.”

On his goalie, Kyle McClellan, Gotkin said “ he’s seeing the puck well, it’s just good, our guys are playing hard.”

Gotkin praised the leadership of his team for keeping things going “ they’ve been great.”

The Lakers have a ton of players up and down their lineup who block shots and make life tough on skilled offenses. Gotkin mentioned a few like Paul Maust and Garett Dahm, “those are the guys that are blocking pucks, eating shots.”

He praised Jonathan Bendorf for creating the turnover and scoring on a line change. That goal proved to be the game winner, and caught everyone by surprise. Because the team was on a line change Gotkin did not see the initial play but said this of Bendorf. “Jon Bendorf is a goal scorer.”

Now the team gets ready to face AIC in Utica on Friday. The winner plays for the Jack Riley Memorial Trophy and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

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