NO. ANDOVER, Mass. - Senior forward Mike Collins dished out four assists to help lift Merrimack College to a 5-2 win against Mercyhurst on Saturday night at Lawler Rink.
Looking to rebound from a heartbreaking one-goal loss the night before, Merrimack controlled the first period but came away with nothing to show for it and watched the Lakers take the lead on a 4-on-4 goal just 38 seconds into the second frame.
But from there on out, the home side would tally five unanswered strikes, all from different skaters, with two coming in the middle period and three more in the final 20 minutes to sum up their most potent offensive performance of the young season.
Making the performance that much more impressive was the Warriors' efforts on the power play; the hosts finished 3-for-8 (37.5 percent) on the night, snapping an 0-for-13 stretch on the power play in the three previous contests.
Junior Quinn Gould (Fort McMurray, Alberta) tied the game on a wraparound effort at 3:28 of the second before Kolomatis pounced on a loose puck that slid across the offensive zone on a missed chance by freshman Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) and buried it to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead - on the power play - at the end of 40 minutes.
Less than two minutes into the third, sophomore Justin Hussar (Lancaster, N.Y.) made it a two-goal lead, again on the power play, after taking a nifty feed from Collins and scoring backhanded at 1:37 to account for the game-winning goal. Three minutes later, sophomore John Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) poked in a puck on the crease to add to the Warriors' lead at 4:45, yet again on the man advantage, to make it 4-1, before the visitors cut the deficit in half on a goal 25 seconds later.
But that would be the closest Mercyhurst would get, and the Warriors would have the last laugh after sophomore Vinny Scotti (Vineland, N.J.) potted his first of the season with under four minutes to go to round out the night.
In net, junior Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) picked up his first win of the year by turning aside 20 shots, while Jordan Tibbett registered 35 saves for the Lakers.
Merrimack returns to action next Saturday, Oct. 26, when the Warriors continue competition against Atlantic Hockey foes against Army on Homecoming Weekend. Puck drop from Lawler Rink is set for 7 p.m.