ERIE, Pa. - A tough first period put the Niagara men's hockey team (15-10-3, 12-8-1 AHA) in a 2-0 hole from which they couldn't climb out of, dropping a 4-0 decision to the host Mercyhurst Lakers on Saturday night.

"They were just a little bit better in all areas of the game, from goaltending on out," Head Coach Dave Burkholder said. "We had a lot of pucks on net again tonight, but not enough time spent battling for rebounds."

Much like Friday night's game, the Lakers held a 2-0 lead over Niagara after 20 minutes. Dan O'Donoghue beat junior netminder Chris Noonan low, glove side at the 5:05 mark for the 1-0 lead, while a wild scramble in front of the net near the end of the period provided the two-goal cushion, off the stick of Scott Pitt.

Mercyhurst would take a 3-0 lead nearly halfway through the second period, when Pitt tipped a shot through the five-hole of Noonan. Niagara had its chances to dent the scoreboard, with senior Paul Zanette stopped on a breakaway early in the middle stanza and senior David Ross hitting the post late in the period.

Pitt rounded out scoring with his hat-trick goal, an empty-net goal coming with less than a minute to go.Noonan made 30 saves in the contest.

The Purple Eagles are back in action on Friday, Feb. 11, when they travel out west to take on Air Force. Gametime is slated for 9:05 eastern time.