ERIE, Pa. -- Second-ranked Mercyhurst beat ninth-ranked Pfeiffer 12-5 on Saturday afternoon. Brady Heseltine scored five goals and the Laker defense allowed just two goals in the final three quarters at Tullio Field.
Pfeiffer tied the score at 4 with 3:23 left in the first half. Mercyhurst quickly regained control, as Heseltine finished a Brandon Thomson assist with 1:54 remaining. After a Falcon turnover, the Lakers called timeout with 39 seconds left. Ian Brooks hit the post on a bouncing shot, but Heseltine was there to collect the ground ball and score with 0.2 seconds showing on the clock.
Pfeiffer took a penalty early in the second half, setting up an extra-man chance for the Lakers. Two shots went missing, but Jake McAndrew found Connor Enright for a man-up goal with 13:44 to play in the third. The visitors scored later in the frame, but Deven Alves found McAndrew for a goal with 24 seconds to go, making it 8-5. Michael Grace made a save and outletted ahead. The ball bounced through several players and wound up in the stick of Heseltine, who sprinted in and scored with three seconds remaining, putting Mercyhurst up 9-5.
In the fourth period, Cory Becker and Chad Levick each scored man-up goals around a Heseltine score as the Lakers snuffed out any Falcon hopes.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, as Brooks scored from Thomson just 2:59 into the action. Pfeiffer answered 16 seconds later and then went ahead 2-1 on a ball that took a Falcon bounce and rolled into the net with 11:21 to go in the period. John Plaskey assisted on a Deven Alves goal a few minutes later, tying the contest.
After a Grace save, Plaskey scored on his own, putting the hosts up 3-2 with 6:29 remaining. Later in the frame, the Falcons evened the score again, making it 3-all heading into the second quarter.
Heseltine finished with five goals and an assist. McAndrew posted a goal and two assists, while Thomson had three helpers. Alves and Plaskey had a goal and an assist each. Grace tallied 11 saves in goal. The Lakers had a 32-26 advantage in shots and went 3-8 on man-up opportunities.
Coach Chris Ryan has guided his squad to 36 consecutive regular season wins and 21 consecutive home regular season victories.
