# 2023–24 Mercyhurst Lakers men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 Mercyhurst Lakers men's ice hockey season was the 37th season of play for the program, the 25th at the Division I level, and the 21st in Atlantic Hockey. The Lakers represented Mercyhurst University and were coached by Rick Gotkin, in his 36th season.

## Season

Mercyhurst began the season enough, sandwiching a pair of shootout victories between very narrow losses to two Big Ten teams. The Lakers then spent the remainder of the first half of their season playing around the .500 mark, seeing decent scoring totals buoyed by solid if unspectacular defensive play. The result was that the Lakers were sitting with a winning record in conference play and had an outside chance to earn a bye into the conference quarterfinals.
In the second half, Mercyhurst started with their best offensive performance to date, scoring 7 goals against Sacred Heart. Unfortunately, the offense dried up afterwards. Mercyhurst went over a month without a win, losing nine consecutive games. The streak sent the team plummeting to the bottom of the standings and also saw their defense surrender many glorious scoring opportunities. Mercyhurst managed to pull themselves out of the dive with a surprising win over ranked RIT but by then the damage had been done. The Lakers finished the year in 9th place and were forced to hit the road for their first round match.
The offense again went silent and Canisius scored the first four goals in the game. With nothing left to lose, Rick Gotkin pulled Owen Say for an extra attacked when the team got on a mid-third period power play and the extra attacker enabled the team to finally get on the scoreboard. Several minutes later, The Griffins were assessed a major penalty and gave Mercyhurst the opening the needed. The team was unable to capitalize during the first half of the power play but, after Canisius was given a slashing minor, Mercyhurst managed to add a second goal on the 6-on-3 man-advantage. Still needing two goals to tie, Say was again pulled when play resumed but, after about a minute, Canisius was able to cage an empty-net goal that sealed the game.
On November 11, Rick Gotkin became just the 16th coach in NCAA history to win 600 games. He was also the 7th coach to do so with one team.
Due to a snowstorm, the game against Niagara scheduled on January 13 was postponed to a later date.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Jon Bendorf | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Carson Brière | Forward | United States | Dismissed from program (signed with HC 19 Humenné) |
| Eric Esposito | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Orlando Solar Bears) |
| Gueorgui Feduolov | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Norfolk Admirals) |
| Tyler Harmon | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (signed with Atlanta Gladiators) |
| Dalton Hunter | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Fayetteville Marksmen) |
| Paul Maust | Forward | United States | Graduate transfer to Robert Morris |
| Joey Maziarz | Defenseman | Canada | Graduation (retired) |
| Brendon Michaelian | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Owen Norton | Defenseman | Canada | Graduation (signed with Maine Mariners) |
| Rylee St. Onge | Forward | Canada | Graduate transfer to Robert Morris |
| Cade Townend | Defenseman | Canada | Graduate transfer to Robert Morris |
| Carver Watson | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Barrett Brooks | Forward | United States | 21 | Stevens Point, WI; transfer from Western Michigan |
| Simon Bucheler | Goaltender | Canada | 21 | Saint-Laurent, QC |
| Tyler DesRochers | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Howell, NJ |
| Davis Fry | Forward | Canada | 20 | Regina, SK |
| Sean James | Forward | Canada | 21 | Almonte, ON |
| Will Margel | Forward | United States | 22 | Potomac, MD; transfer from New Hampshire |
| Jackson McCarthy | Defenseman | United States | 21 | West Seneca, NY |
| Connor Pelc | Forward | United States | 20 | Buffalo, NY |
| Cameron Ricotta | Forward | United States | 21 | Cheektowaga, NY |
| Trent Sambrook | Defenseman | Canada | 21 | Winnipeg, MB |
| Boris Skalos | Forward | United States | 20 | Clifton, NJ |
| Spencer Smith | Forward | Canada | 21 | St. Catharines, ON |
| Jaryd Sych | Defenseman | Canada | 20 | Airdrie, AB |

## Roster

As of September 14, 2023

## Standings

2023–24 Atlantic Hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OW | OL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #17 RIT †* | 26 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 102 | 64 | 40 | 27 | 11 | 2 | 156 | 96 |
| Holy Cross | 26 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 46 | 78 | 62 | 39 | 21 | 14 | 4 | 116 | 93 |
| Sacred Heart | 26 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 45 | 75 | 70 | 36 | 14 | 19 | 3 | 91 | 113 |
| Air Force | 26 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 88 | 75 | 38 | 18 | 19 | 1 | 115 | 119 |
| American International | 26 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 79 | 68 | 40 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 119 | 111 |
| Bentley | 26 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 41 | 69 | 58 | 35 | 16 | 17 | 2 | 95 | 82 |
| Niagara | 26 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 78 | 79 | 39 | 18 | 18 | 3 | 111 | 122 |
| Canisius | 26 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 73 | 87 | 37 | 12 | 21 | 4 | 103 | 126 |
| Mercyhurst | 26 | 7 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 77 | 91 | 35 | 9 | 22 | 4 | 98 | 126 |
| Army | 26 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 66 | 96 | 35 | 10 | 23 | 2 | 93 | 139 |
| Robert Morris | 26 | 7 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 60 | 95 | 39 | 11 | 25 | 3 | 94 | 142 |
| Championship: March 23, 2024 † indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy) * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll |||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 7 | 7:00 p.m. | #13 Ohio State* | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | L 3–4 | 2,050 | 0–1–0 |
| October 14 | 4:00 p.m. | Robert Morris | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | T 3–3 $^{SOW}$ | 582 | 0–1–1 (0–0–1) |
| October 21 | 7:00 p.m. | at Niagara | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Say | T 3–3 $^{SOW}$ | 988 | 0–1–2 (0–0–2) |
| October 26 | 7:30 p.m. | at Notre Dame* | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana | Peacock | Bucheler | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 3,919 | 0–2–2 |
| October 27 | 7:00 p.m. | at Notre Dame* | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana | Peacock | Bucheler | L 0–5 | 5,022 | 0–3–2 |
| November 3 | 7:07 p.m. | at Bowling Green* | Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio | FloHockey | Say | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 2,814 | 1–3–2 |
| November 4 | 7:07 p.m. | at Bowling Green* | Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio | FloHockey | Say | L 2–4 | 3,065 | 1–4–2 |
| November 10 | 7:05 p.m. | at #20 RIT | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | FloHockey | Say | L 2–5 | 3,925 | 1–5–2 (0–1–2) |
| November 11 | 5:05 p.m. | at #20 RIT | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | FloHockey | Bucheler | W 2–0 | 3,388 | 2–5–2 (1–1–2) |
| November 18 | 7:00 p.m. | Air Force | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Bucheler | L 2–5 | 734 | 2–6–2 (1–2–2) |
| November 19 | 4:00 p.m. | Air Force | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | W 5–1 | 783 | 3–6–2 (2–2–2) |
| November 24 | 7:05 p.m. | at Miami* | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | | Say | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,571 | 4–6–2 |
| November 26 | 4:00 p.m. | Miami* | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | L 0–2 | 630 | 4–7–2 |
| December 1 | 7:00 p.m. | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | FloHockey | Say | T 3–3 $^{SOW}$ | 719 | 4–7–3 (2–2–3) |
| December 2 | 7:00 p.m. | Canisius | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | W 5–1 | 635 | 5–7–3 (3–2–3) |
| December 8 | 7:00 p.m. | Army | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | L 3–4 | 1,017 | 5–8–3 (3–3–3) |
| December 9 | 4:00 p.m. | Army | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | W 4–3 | 1,005 | 6–8–3 (4–3–3) |
| December 30 | 5:00 p.m. | at Ohio State* | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio | | Say | L 3–5 | 5,096 | 6–9–3 |
| January 5 | 7:00 p.m. | at Sacred Heart | Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut | FloHockey | Say | W 7–2 | 2,497 | 7–9–3 (5–3–3) |
| January 6 | 3:00 p.m. | at Sacred Heart | Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut | FloHockey | Say | L 1–2 | 3,063 | 7–10–3 (5–4–3) |
| January 11 | 7:00 p.m. | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | FloHockey | Say | L 1–4 | 569 | 7–11–3 (5–5–3) |
| January 19 | 7:05 p.m. | at Bentley | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Say | L 0–4 | 879 | 7–12–3 (5–6–3) |
| January 20 | 4:05 p.m. | at Bentley | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Bucheler | L 4–8 | 945 | 7–13–3 (5–7–3) |
| January 26 | 7:00 p.m. | Holy Cross | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | L 2–5 | 1,034 | 7–14–3 (5–8–3) |
| January 27 | 5:00 p.m. | Holy Cross | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | L 3–5 | 1,074 | 7–15–3 (5–9–3) |
| February 2 | 7:00 p.m. | Robert Morris | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | L 2–5 | 1,042 | 7–16–3 (5–10–3) |
| February 3 | 7:00 p.m. | at Robert Morris | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Bucheler | L 3–4 | 759 | 7–17–3 (5–11–3) |
| February 9 | 7:00 p.m. | #20 RIT | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Bucheler | L 6–7 $^{OT}$ | 1,017 | 7–18–3 (5–12–3) |
| February 10 | 4:00 p.m. | #20 RIT | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | W 3–2 | 1,027 | 8–18–3 (6–12–3) |
| February 16 | 4:35 p.m. | at American International | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Say | L 1–4 | 228 | 8–19–3 (6–13–3) |
| February 17 | 7:05 p.m. | at American International | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Say | T 2–2 $^{SOW}$ | — | 8–19–4 (6–13–4) |
| February 20 | 7:00 p.m. | Niagara | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | L 1–4 | 924 | 8–20–4 (6–14–4) |
| February 22 | 7:00 p.m. | at Niagara | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Say | W 6–1 | 719 | 9–20–4 (7–14–4) |
| February 24 | 7:00 p.m. | Niagara | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Say | L 3–4 | 1,002 | 9–21–4 (7–15–4) |
| Atlantic Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 2 | 6:05 p.m. | at Canisius* | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York (First Round) | FloHockey | Say | L 2–5 | 388 | 9–22–4 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Garrett Dahm | F | 35 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 23 |
| Boris Skalos | F | 35 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 10 |
| Steven Agriogianis | RW | 35 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 8 |
| Will Margel | F | 31 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 10 |
| Dustin Geregach | D | 34 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 35 |
| Mickey Burns | LW | 35 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 14 |
| Keanan Stewart | F | 31 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 10 |
| Kyler Head | F | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 36 |
| Philip Waugh | D | 31 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 32 |
| Trent Sambrook | D | 28 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 14 |
| Ryan Coughlin | F | 27 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 |
| Marko Reifenberger | C | 33 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 37 |
| Barrett Brooks | F | 27 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 23 |
| Tommy Bannister | F | 27 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 4 |
| Spencer Smith | F | 34 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| Adrien Bisson | F | 23 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 |
| Jake Beaune | D | 35 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 33 |
| Connor Pelc | F | 29 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| Cameron Ricotta | F | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Tyler DesRochers | D | 21 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Sean James | F | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nicholas Kent | D | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Tyler Nasca | D | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Jaryd Sych | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Owen Say | G | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Tyler Gaulin | F | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Simon Bucheler | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Davis Fry | F | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | | | 98 | 171 | 269 | 359 |
Source:

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals against | Saves | Shut-outs | SV % | GAA |
| Owen Say | 31 | 1697:52 | 8 | 17 | 4 | 91 | 950 | 0 | .913 | 3.22 |
| Simon Bucheler | 12 | 397:45 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 237 | 1 | .901 | 3.92 |
| Empty Net | - | 40:01 | - | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 35 | 2135:38 | 9 | 22 | 4 | 126 | 1187 | 1 | .904 | 3.54 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR |
| USA Hockey | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25. Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award |
| Owen Say | Atlantic Hockey Third Team |
| Trent Sambrook | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |
| Boris Skalos | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |