WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's ice hockey team scored four of its five goals on the power play and held on despite a furious Misericordia University rally late in the third period as the Colonels posted a 5-4 win on Friday afternoon at the Toyota SportsPlex.
 
Wilkes improved to 9-2 overall and 9-1 in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play following its fifth home ice win of the season. The Colonels also swept the season series with the new rival Cougars in the process. Misericordia dropped to 1-7-3 overall and 1-6-2 in league games.
 
Nick Swain (Jackson, NJ) began the scoring for Wilkes when he gathered a loose puck in front of the goal and scored top shelf on the power play thanks to assists from Cole Jungwirth (Bloomington, MN) and Patrick Roginski (Shelby Twp., MI) just under seven minutes into the first period. Wilkes would settle for the 1-0 lead after one period of play despite dominating time of possession in its offensive zone.
 
Misericordia tied the game 4:22 into the second period off an even strength goal. Swain then added his second power play tally of the game on a 5-on-3 at the 12:38 mark with more helpers from Jungwirth and Roginski. Leyton Pettypiece (Rochester, MI) made it three straight power play goals for the Colonels when he notched a goal at 13:19 with assists from Daniel Nau (Wake Forest, NC) and Christopher Paige (Massena, NY). Cam Lowe (Lancaster, MA) finished off the three-goal second period with an even strength strike with passes from Nau and Terski to put the Colonels ahead 4-1 after 40 minutes of play.
 
Misericordia responded to start the third period with a short-handed and power play goal just three minutes apart and five minutes into the final frame making it 4-3 Wilkes.
 
Jungwirth then put the game out of reach when he drilled a shot at the top of the circle on the power play that found the back of the net to put Wilkes ahead 5-3 with 13 minutes remaining. Misericordia added one more score with under five minutes remaining, but the Cougars were unable to score in the final minutes as the Colonels held on for the conference home victory.
 
Swain finished with two goals, while Jungwirth added one goal and two assists. Roginski posted three assists while Nau finished with two helpers.
 
Duncan Rolleman (New Hamburg, ON) made 25 saves in net for Wilkes to record the victory. Jacob Perrin stopped 33 shots for Misericordia in the loss.
 
The Colonels continue their home stretch Monday with a non-conference tilt against SUNY Cortland starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Toyota SportsPlex.