MARQUETTE, Mich.- Lake Superior State men's hockey fell 5-0 Friday at Northern Michigan in the deciding game of the Cappo Cup Series. The Wildcats all but secured their 14th Cappo Cup series title in the victory, going ahead 12-2 in the total-goals rivalry. The Lakers looked to gain valuable points in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings but were outmatched by the rival Wildcats.
The Lakers (7-24-2, 6-18-1 WCHA) still hold a three point advantage in the eighth and final playoff spot of the WCHA playoffs thanks to a 4-3 victory by Bowling Green over Alaska Anchorage, the only team that could leap the Lakers in the standings.
Starting in net for the Lakers once again was freshman standout Gordon Defiel. Defiel made 26 saves on the evening while facing a Wildcats squad that methodically moved the puck and struck at the right time against the Lakers' young defensive core. Northern Michigan countered with the junior Michael Doan, native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., marking his 23rd career appearance for the Cats.
The Wildcats (14-13-6 overall, 11-10-4 WCHA) got on the board with a tip-in goal by Reed Seckel (8-7--15), who received the centering pass by a streaking Shane Sooth. Jordan Klimek also tallied an assist on the goal to give NMU the 1-0 lead.
The Lakers went into the second period trailing the Wildcats and needed to kill off the last 13 seconds of a charging call against Ryan Renz. The Lakers sucessfully killed the penalty to Renz, however were whistled nine seconds later for too many players on the the ice.
A subsequent tripping call against freshman defender James Roll opened the door to the beginning of a two-goal period for the Wildcats in the middle frame. Sami Salminen netted the second goal for the Wildcats on a tipped shot from the blue liner Ryan Trenz. Brock Maschmeyer picked up his ninth assist of the year on the 2-0 marker.
Just over a minute after the goal by Salminen, Bryce Schmitt was called for elbowing and was given the gate at 7:49 of the second period. The Lakers battled hard and killed off 1:44 minutes of the penalty against Schmitt but Defiel was beaten on a back-hand-rebound shot by Shane Sooth giving the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.
The Lakers looked to get some offense going in the third as Alex Globke and Casey Purpur went off on coincidental minor penalties at 9:52 of the final period. The Lakers carried most of the offense during the four-on-four play until a three man rush by the Wildcats lead to a one-timer goal by Maschmeyer who buried the no-look centering-feed by Darren Nowick. Maschmeyer's ninth goal leads the Wildcats in that category.
Salminen burried his second goal of the evening with another tipped shot. Maschmeyer notched his third point of the night after firing a shot from the faceoff circle before the redirect by Salminen. Aaron Leach, a junior defenseman from Marquette, Mich. appearing in his first career game picked up the second assist on the goal.
The Lakers and Wildcats will round out the Cappo Cup Series Saturday night as they head into the finale with the Wildcats up 3-0 on the series this season. Puck drop is set for 7:07 pm ET. Prior to the game the LSSU Alumni Association will be hosting a pre-game social at the Ore Dock Brewing Company from 5:00 pm to 6:45 pm ET. Cost is $5 per person at the door, free for dues-paying members of the Alumni Association.