One goal decides Lakers' fate against No. 1-ranked Irish

SAULT STE. MARIE - No. 1-ranked Notre Dame once again brought out the best in the Lake Superior State hockey team, but the Irish prevailed 3-2 in a close contest Friday at Taffy Abel Arena.

The Irish (19-3-2 overall, 13-2-2-2 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) extended its unbeaten streak to 19 games by pulling out the one-goal victory despite being out-shot, 33-27. LSSU (6-10-7 overall, 3-7-5-1 CCHA) fell to 0-2-1-0 against UND this season.

The game, played in front of LSSU's second-best home crowd of 2,598 fans, included a surprisingly-high number of power-play chances for two teams known for keeping penalties to a minimum. UND, with the league's best power-play percentage of .257, finished 1-for-5 with the man-advantage, while LSSU was 1-for-7.

Senior Josh Sim scored the Lakers' power-play goal at 9:56 of the first period. Simon Gysbers and Troy Schwab picked up assists. Schwab improved his career totals to 28-71--99.

Sim, who has a goal in all three games against the Irish this season, missed an open net and was stopped by UND goaltender Jordan Pearce as he generated scoring chances throughout the contest.

Notre Dame overcame the 1-0 deficit with three straight goals. Justin White and Calle Ridderwall scored 2:20 apart in the first period to give the Irish a 2-1 lead. Ridderwall's goal, his 10th of the season, was a power-play goal. Christiaan Minella made it 3-1 at 12:34 of the second period.

LSSU cut the lead to 3-2 when Will Acton scored at 16:01 of the second period. Steve Oleksy and Sim had the assists.

LSSU out-shot Notre Dame 14-5 in the scoreless third period. Pearce, who totaled 31 saves for the night, made several big stops down the stretch. Lakers Acton, Steven Kaunisto and Chad Nehring had scoring chances during the final three minutes. Pearch turned away a shot by Nehering as the Lakers played the final minute of regulation with the goalie pulled in favor of an extra attacker.

Brian Mahoney-Wilson totaled 24 saves for LSSU.

Box Score