This past weekend, men’s hockey suffered their first defeat at Starr Rink this season and just their second of the 2014-15 campaign. After defeating the Mercyhurst Lakers Friday night 4-0, the Raiders couldn’t sweep the series, as the Lakers got the best of the Raiders on Saturday night with a 2-1 victory. Despite the loss, the Raiders remained constant at No. 4 in both the USCHO.com ranking and the USA TODAY/USA Hockey

Magazine poll.

Friday night, the Raiders showed their muscle as they won a commanding 4-0 over the Lakers. Starting with the scoring early, the Raiders took advantage of a power play opportunity to get on the board. After receiving a pass from sophomore forward Derek Freeman, senior captain Spiro

Goulakos fired a slap shot at the net. The shot was redirected by senior assistant captain Joe Wilson for his second goal of the season to put the Raiders in the early

driver’s seat.

Before the first period was halfway over, the Raiders had scored once again. This time, junior forward Tyson Spink set up sophomore defender Jake Kulevich who had his shot hit the post. First-year forward Mike Panowyk was there to put the rebound in the net and give the Raiders a 2-0 lead on the rookie’s

second goal of the season. 

With just 79 seconds remaining in the first period, the Raiders added even further to their lead when junior forwards Kyle Baun and Darcy Murphy found fellow junior forward Mike Borkowski who scored to cap a strong period for the Raiders.

After a scoreless second, the Raiders put the icing on the cake in the third period when Borkowski scored his second of the game,

deflecting a shot from junior defenseman Ryan Johnston. This gave the Raiders a 4-0 advantage, more than what they would need with sophomore goalie Charlie Finn in net. Finn recorded his third shutout of the season, making 23 saves and keeping the Lakers’

offense frustrated.

The very next night, the Raiders sought another victory over the same Lakers team. Despite the Raiders’ best efforts, however, the Lakers handed the Raiders their second loss of the season with a final score of 2-1. 

Early in the first period, the Lakers got on the board, knocking a rebound past Finn. This marked the first goal that Finn had allowed at Starr Rink this season after providing over 180 minutes of scoreless play for the Raiders’ opponents.

Another rebound goal late in the third period put the Raiders in a 2-0 hole and one that would be difficult to overcome. The Raiders received hope just 30 seconds later when Spink scored off a one-time pass from Goulakos. Senior forward John Lidgett was given the secondary assist on the goal that cut the Lakers’ lead in half. Unfortunately, this was all the Raiders were able to achieve with Finn on the bench and an extra attacker, as the Lakers defense held off a flurry of late Raiders’ shots to take a 2-1 victory. The Raiders outshot the Lakers 40-21 on the night but could not seem to find the right shot to even up the game in the

final minutes.

Despite the setback, the Raiders’ season continues to march on as they get ready to begin ECAC play this weekend. The Raiders will hit the road for their first League competition, drawing road games at both Quinnipiac and Princeton this weekend. The Raiders square off against the Bobcats on Friday, November 7, at 7 p.m. and the Tigers at the same time on Saturday, November 8.