BOWLING GREEN, Ohio- Lake Superior State ended the weekend with a split after falling 3-1 to No. 6-ranked Bowling Green State Falcons Saturday. Despite the loss, LSSU is 5-3 during the month of January.
The Lakers (7-20-1 overall, 6-14-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) picked up very valuable points in the WCHA standings heading into a bye week next weekend. They are tied with Alabama Huntsville for eighth in the standings.
The Falcons (15-5-4, 11-3-2 WCHA) took the game's first lead on Adam Berkle's fifth goal of the season. Falcon's captain Dan DeSalvo and BG's leading goal scorer, Kevin Dufour, assisted on the opening tally. Berkle snuck the puck past Lakers' starter Gordon Defiel (7-18-1) as the sprawling freshman could not close off the short side after a big rebound.
BGSU took a 2-0 lead in to the locker room after Ben Murphy collected his eighth goal of the season with 1:16 remaining in the opening frame. Murphy lifted the puck just over Defiel's shoulder.
In the second period the lead was extended to three goals by freshman forward Brett D'Andrea as he picked up his second goal of the season at 6:02.
LSSU senior assistant captain Stephen Perfetto (8-3--11) scored his team's lone game late in the second period. Garret Clemment (3-2--5) found Perfetto with a centering pass that the senior forward buried, closing the gap to just two. Gus Correale (1-5--6) also assisted on the goal and helped make the Clemment-Correale-Perfetto trio the Lakers' most prolific attack on the weekend.
The Lakers had opportunity late to further cut into BGSU's lead but were unsuccessful during a three-on-one opportunity led by Andrew Dommett. The Lakers' captain Dommett found Bryce Schmitt alone in the slot but the shot sailed high.
The Lakers lost their 20th game in a season for the first time since 2012-13 when they finished 17-21-1 for the season.
The Lakers will host a Blue vs. White scrimmage at 4 p.m. on Jan. 31 at the historic Pullar Stadium.
Photos by Todd Pavlack, bgsuhockey.com
