As the Mercyhurst College men's hockey team prepares for a big weekend series against Rochester Institute of Technology, the Lakers have been dealing with more than just tough practices.

They’ve played on the road in four of the past five weeks — all in New England — in two-game series at Connecticut, Bentley, Holy Cross and Sacred Heart. The travel can take a toll.

This week, they juggled practice with final exams Monday through Wednesday.

“It’s been tough,” Mercyhurst senior forward Ben Cottreau said. “When finals come around, you have everything packed into three days. There’s a little bit of stress.”

The Lakers can get rid of that stress Friday and Saturday against RIT at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Both games start at 7:05 p.m.

Mercyhurst (11-16-5 overall, 11-8-5 Atlantic Hockey Association) is fourth in the Atlantic Hockey Association with 27 points. RIT (14-11-5, 12-8-4) is third with 28 points. Both teams are in contention for the AHA regular-season title; Army leads the conference with 31 points and Sacred Heart is second with 29 points.

The top five teams in the regular-season host best two-of-three playoff series. Winners qualify for the AHA tournament March 14-16 in Rochester, N.Y., and the conference champion will get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

-- Ron Leonardi