MANKATO, Minn.- Lake Superior State entered their first ever matchup in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinals as they faced the Minnesota State Mavericks in the first game of a best-of-three series. The Mavericks, on the wave of a four goal frame in the second period, defeated the Lakers (8-27-2, 7-20-1 WCHA) by a score of 9-2.
The No. 2 Mavericks (26-7-3, 21-4-3 WCHA) put the game out of reach before the end of the second period and responded in the third with three more goals. The Lakers' two goals during the game be
The Mavericks were the first to strike in the game as Max Gaede made the Lakers pay for a bench minor for too-many men on the ice. Gaede collected his fifth goal of the season off of a rebound that trickled just out of reach of the Lakers' starting goaltender Gordon Defiel. Jon Jutzi (seventh) and Jordan Nelson (eighth) picked up the assists for the Mavericks on the opening goal.
The Lakers tied the game with an unassisted strike by Stephen Perfetto (11-7--18) just 1:12 minutes after the opening tally. Perfetto picked off a pass in the neutral zone before speeding by the Mavericks' defenders and lifted a shot past Stephon Williams, the starting netminder for the Mavericks.
Prior to the big finish by the Mavericks, the Lakers had tied the game up at two with a perfectly devised power play that set Gus Correale(4-6--10) up with his fourth goal of the year. Ryan Renz (0-4--4) lifted a perfect pass to the tape of Eric Drapluk (3-7--10) who found Correale in the slot as the sophomore forward put a perfect back-hand shot into the net. The goal was the final bright spot for the Lakers, as the sleeping giants awoke from their slumber with a vengeance to close out the final two periods.
The Mavericks, having gone up 6-2 and leading in shots 44-13, continued to bombard the Lakers through the third period as well.
Hoping to give his starting goaltender a rest and get him prepared for game two, head coach Damon Whitten inserted Aaron Davis between the pipes for the Lakers to start the final period. Defiel finished his night allowing six goals on 44 shots.
Davis, who was serving his first career minutes in net at the collegiate level had a rocky outing as he was sent in to face one of the most potent attacks in the nation. The sophomore goaltender from Mound, Minn. allowed three goals on 12 shots in his 20 minutes of action.
The Lakers head into Saturday night's game two needing a victory to push the three-game series to Sunday's possible third game. The puck will drop at 8:07 pm ET and can be heard live on 99.5 YES FM.