Cleveland State (3-4, 1-0) opened Northeast Conference play with a commanding 14-6 victory over Mercyhurst (2-7, 0-1) on Saturday afternoon. The win was the Vikings’ third consecutive victory.

Mercyhurst struck first, but Cleveland State responded with four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead by the end of the first quarter. Brennen Hickey led the surge with three goals, while Creed McDonald added another.

The Vikings continued their momentum in the second quarter, with three different players scoring to extend the lead to 7-1 with 10:24 remaining in the half. After a Mercyhurst goal, Hickey added two more and Logan Angel recorded his first collegiate goal, helping Cleveland State take a 10-2 advantage into halftime.

Mercyhurst opened the third quarter with three consecutive goals, cutting the deficit to 10-5 with 5:40 remaining. The Vikings' Ethan Erker halted the run with a goal, though the Lakers added one more in the final 30 seconds to make it 11-6 CSU heading into the fourth quarter.

Cleveland State controlled the final period, scoring all three goals to secure the 14-6 win. Drew Graves and Sebastian West each recorded their first collegiate goals in the quarter.

At the faceoff circle, Robbie Stewart dominated, going 15-of-20 and collecting seven ground balls. Seth Alejandrino tied a program record with six caused turnovers and added six ground balls.

Hickey finished with a game-high seven points on five goals and two assists, while Erker also recorded multiple goals.

In goal, Oliver Vanyo improved to 3-0 on the season with 12 saves.

Cleveland State will wrap up its three-game homestand against Robert Morris  at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 21.