Boxscore
Troy, N.Y. – Sophomore
Ryan Zapolski stopped 46 shots to lead the Mercyhurst College men’s hockey to a 6-4 victory over No. 7 Princeton in the championship game of the 58
th Annual Rensselaer Holiday Tournament Saturday evening at the Houston Field House.
Zapolski, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, earned his fourth straight victory as Mercyhurst knocked off its highest-ranked opponent since the 2003-04 season when the Lakers vanquished then-No. 9 Ohio State, 3-2.
The Lakers (5-8-1) built an early lead for their second-year netminder with four goals in the opening stanza. Junior
Matt Fennell and sophomore
Brandon Coccimiglio tallied back-to-back on the power-play at 3:05 and 6:38 before sophomore
Steve Cameron chipped in his ninth goal of the season at 9:05. Coccimiglio closed out the frame with his second of the contest at the 17:08 mark.
The score remained 4-0 through the second period as both goaltenders combined for 29 saves. Thomas Sychterz, who replaced Zane Kalemba at the start of the frame, made eight stops while Zapolski registered 21.
Princeton, however, found an offensive groove in the third, scoring four unanswered goals to tie the game at 4-4. The Tigers got on the board with back-to-back even strength goals at 5:13 and 10:08, followed by two with an extra-attacker on the ice at 17:21 and 17:59.
The comeback would be short lived though as the Lakers sealed the game in the final two minutes. Sophomore
Scott Pitt provided the go-ahead score just 40 seconds later on an unassisted play at 18:39 while senior
Brett Robinson added an empty-net insurance marker at 19:01.
Princeton outshot Mercyhurst, 50-27, but was unable to convert on seven power-play opportunities. The Lakers were 2-for-5 with the extra-man.
Mercyhurst returns to Atlantic Hockey play next weekend when the Lakers take on American International on Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6 in Springfield, Mass.