SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State went seven periods and a five-minute overtime frame without scoring a goal until the floodgates finally opened in the third period of Saturday evening's Western Collegiate Hockey Association series finale against Ferris State.
Ater being held scoreless in the series opener, and not scoring since the first period of a 1-1 tie with Bemidji State on Nov. 21, the Lakers (4-9-3, 2-3-3 WCHA) rallied for three goals during the final frame to ensure their first WCHA victory over in-state rival Ferris State.
The Lakers entered the matchup 0-9-0 against the Bulldogs (6-6-4, 5-5-2 WCHA) since the teams joined the WCHA.
Andrew Mayer opened the scoring with a goal for the Bulldogs just 1:53 into play.
A goal by Ryker Killins with 2:06 remaining in the second period appeared to give the visitors the insurance necessary with, Darren Smith turning aside all 25 shots by the Lakers during the opening 40 minutes.
Through the first two periods Smith looked poised for a repeat of Friday night, in which he earned his first collegiate shutout with a 1-0 victory, that was until the Lakers found their scoring touch in the final frame.
24 seconds into the third period Alex Globke (3-2--5) put the Lakers on the board by jamming away a loose puck in Smith's crease. Anthony Nellis (1-6--7) and Gus Correale (2-4--6) assisted on the power-play tally by Globke.
It took only a minute and 12 seconds for the Lakers to tie the game at 2-2.
Peter Spratte (1-1--2), a senior defenseman appearing in his 34th career game as a Laker, scored his first career goal to bring the 1,558 fans in attendance to their feet in jubilation.
A befuddled Bulldogs bench was outshot by the Lakers 13-11 in the final period, the first time the Lakers were able to accomplish that feat all weekend.
With 3:21 remaining in regulation, freshman blue-liner Owen Headrick (3-2--5) received a faceoff win from J.T. Henke (5-4--9) and fired a seeing-eye shot through a screen set by Bryce Schmitt (1-1--2) to net the Lakers a 3-2 lead. The tally by Headrick, assisted by Henke, went down as the game-winning goal after FSU was unable to tie things up with Smith pulled in lieu of the extra attacker.
Sophomore goaltender Gordon Defiel made 36 saves en route to his third victory of the season. Defiel stopped 67-of-70 shots to guide the Lakers to a split.
The Lakers travel to Alaska next weekend to face the Nanooks Dec. 4-5. Following the road trip, the Lakers return home for a series against Michigan Tech on Dec. 11-12.
