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ERIE, Pa. - Senior defenseman Nick Jones had two goals and an assist and junior goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant turned aside 30 shots as the Mercyhurst University men's hockey team upset 14th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) by a 5-2 final in front of more than 1,100 fans at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The Lakers improved to 5-6-1 on the season while the Engineers dropped to 6-5-2 on the season.

It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The prior eight meetings were played in Troy, New York, with the Engineers winning six of those eight contests.

The Lakers used three third period goals, all coming in the final five minutes of regulation, to break a 2-2 tie. The win was Mercyhurst's fourth in its last five contests, thanks in large part to consistent goaltending from Sarjeant. After allowing two first-period goals, the junior netminder slammed the door shut, stopping 17 shots over the final two periods to improve to 5-2-1 on the season.

Jones gave the loud and boisterous crowd something to cheer about when he beat Engineers goaltender Scott Diebold for a 1-0 Mercyhurst lead at the 4:22 mark of the opening period. Juniors Kyle Just and Daniel Bahntge provided the hard work inside the RPI zone and the loose puck squirted free to the right point where Jones slapped a shot over the glove hand of Diebold for his second goal of the season.

One second after a penalty to junior Matthew Zay expired, the visitors tied the game at 1-1 at 8:08 when Phil Hampton let go of a perfectly-placed shot from the right point, through traffic, and past Sarjeant for his first career goal. Mike Zalewski and Chris Bradley had the assists.

RPI then took a 2-1 lead at the 17:30 mark of the first when Bradley beat Sarjeant for his first career goal. Matt Tinordi and Johnny Rogic had the assists.

The Engineers have now outscored their opponents in the first period by a 20-4 margin. The visitors outshot the Lakers 15-7 in the opening twenty minutes.

It remained a 2-1 RPI lead until junior Chris Bodo scored at the 12:59 mark of the second period to knot the hockey game at 2-2. Junior Zac Frischmon was able to send junior Ryan Misiak out to the neutral zone, who then played it ahead to a wide-open Bodo who got behind the RPI defense. Bodo lifted the puck over the sprawled out Diebold, just under the crossbar, for his second goal of the season.

Mercyhurst returned the favor in the shots department during the second period, outshooting RPI, 15-5.

senior Daniel O'Donoghue recaptured the one-goal lead for the Lakers with 4:55 left in regulation on a perfect redirection for his seventh goal of the season. With the senior parked in front of the RPI goal, Jones snapped a shot from the right point that O'Donoghue was able to get his stick on to change the direction. The puck went through the legs of Diebold for the senior's second game-winning goal of the season, and sixth of his career. Zay extended his point-scoring streak to nine games with the other assist.

Diebold was pulled for an extra attacker with exactly two minutes left on the clock, but the Lakers were able to seal the deal with a pair of empty-net goals. Zay, driving hard to the empty-net, was hauled down from behind by an RPI defender, but had enough on the puck to have it trickle across the goal line anyway, giving the Lakers a 4-2 lead with 1:19 left. Zay's sixth goal of the season was assisted by senior Randy Cure.

Then, with O'Donoghue in the penalty box giving RPI a 6-on-4 advantage, Jones blocked a shot inside of the Laker zone, got the rebound, and fired a shot towards the empty net that went in from just outside the Mercyhurst end. It was Jones' second goal of the night, third of the season, and second career shorthanded tally.

Sarjeant stopped 30-of-32 to improve to 5-2-1 on the season. He is 4-0-1 in his last five starts and has not lost since October 25 at Alaska. Diebold dropped to 5-4-2 overall with 27 saves in defeat.

Neither team was able to capitalize on the power play. RPI was 0-for-3 while Mercyhurst went 0-for-5.

The same two teams will conclude the weekend series on Saturday night at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.