Lakers sweep Ohio State
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Lake Superior State advanced to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s second round of playoffs after beating Ohio State 3-2 Saturday at Taffy Abel Arena and sweeping the first-round series. The Lakers are competing in the second round for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
LSSU's second-round opponent will be decided following the completion of the Northern-Bowling Green and Michigan State-Alaska series. The NMU-BGSU series is tie 1-1 with an if-necessary game scheduled for Sunday, while Alaska has a 1-0 series lead heading into their second game.
Freshman goaltender Kevin Kapalka (11-10-8-5), who recorded his third sweep of the season, played a total of 102:59 scoreless minutes during two OSU games. He compiled the most consecutive scoreless minutes by a Laker goaltender in the playoffs since Blaine Lacher strung together three straight shutouts during the 1994 playoffs.
LSSU opened the scoring with a power-play goal by sophomore forward Ben Power (4-4--8) at 11:15 of the first period. It was assisted by senior forward Chad Nehring (6-4—10) and junior forward Fred Cassiani (4-4—8).
Senior forward Will Acton (9-14—23) made an impressive move after getting a pass from linemate Rick Schofield (16-17--33) and gave the Lakers a 2-0 lead at 6:14 of the second period. Schofield made it 3-0 at 19:32 of the second with a power-play goal from Power and Acton.
With a cluster of Buckeyes in front of Kapalka at 2:59 of the third period, Sergio Somma punched in OSU's first goal of the series and the series. Ohio State came within one goal of the Lakers at 5:47 when Danny Dries scored a goal that was assisted by Shane Sims and Alex Szczechura.
Kapalka made 28 saves for the Lakers, while Cal Heeter stopped 31. Kapalka totaled a season-high 76 saves for the series.
The Lakers were 2-for-4 on the power-play, while holding Ohio State to 0-for-3.
