Lakers vs. Wayne State
Lakers snap string of home ties with a 4-2 win
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Lake Superior moved into a three-way tie for sixth place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings after beating Alaska 4-2 Saturday to take four points in the series. The Lakers, cluster opponent Northern Michigan, and Alaska are knotted together with 35 points and trail fifth-place Ferris State by three points.
The Lakers (10-12-8 overall, 8-9-7-4) ended their streak of home-ice ties at four with the victory over Alaska (12-13-5 overall, 9-12-5-3). They also avoided a single-season school record ninth tie.
LSSU, which is 4-1-1 in its last six games, took at 1-0 lead at 5:12 of the first period when sophomore forward Domenic Monardo (12-13—25) scored a goal with an assist from senior forward Will Acton (8-12—20).
Alaska tied the game 1-1 at 2:58 of the second period with a power-play goal from Jarret Granberg, assisted by Aaron Gens and Dustin Sather. Laker junior forward Kyle Haines (4-4—8) made it 2-1 when he netted his first power-play goal of the season at 10:23 for the second period. Freshman forward Kyle Jean (1-10—11) assisted on Haines’ goal.
At 1:36 into the third period, the Nanooks tied the game, 2-2, on a Kevin Petovello goal.
With 2:37 left in the third period, the Lakers and Nanooks drew coincidental penalties for holding. Playing four-on-four, Acton tallied the game-winning goal unassisted at 18:08.
The Nanooks pulled goalie Scott Greenham in favor of an extra attacker, but the Laker defense held strong. Senior defenseman Matt Cowie forced a UAF turnover that led to an empty-net goal by netted an empty-net goal at 19:24 by fellow senior defenseman Dillin Stonehouse (1-3—4). Stonehouse’s goal was his first goal of the season.
Greenham totaled 19 saves, while LSSU goaltender Kevin Kapalka had 30. LSSU was 1-for-4 on the power play, while Alaska was 1-for-3.
The Lakers, who ha head to Ohio State Feb. 19-20. The Buckeyes sit just four points behind the Lakers in the CCHA standings with 31 points. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. both Friday and Saturday night.
Lake Superior State is 5-3-6 since losing four straight games at the end of November.
