SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State capped the weekend Western Collegiate Hockey Association series against Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech Saturday night with a 6-2 loss.
The Huskies (10-6-2, 9-6-1 WCHA) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with a barrage of early scoring led by a pair of power-play goals by Alex Petan and even-strength tallies by both Joel L'Esperance, who opened the scoring 1:12 into the game, and Jake Luchinni.
Petan's back-to-back power-play markers put the Huskies up 3-0, 6:41 into the opening frame, and effectively ended Gordon Defiel's (4-7-3) night in net. Petan
Defiel was tagged for three goals, including the game-winner by Petan, in under seven minutes of action and registered just four saves.
The Lakers (6-10-4, 4-4-4 WCHA) replaced Defiel with Nick Kossoff, who made 27 saves in the 1-1 tie on Friday night. Kossoff allowed three goals as well and made 10 saves in just over 53 minutes of action.
Austin McKay (1-1--2) opened the scoring for the Lakers 2:09 into the middle period by jamming away at a goal-mouth scramble in front of Huskies starter Jamie Phillips (10-5-2). The goal by McKay, his first of the season, was assisted by Bryce Schmitt (1-2--3) and Peter Spratte (1-2--3).
McKay's goal was met by jubilation from the 2,152 fans in attendace and a shower of teddy bears as part of the annual LSSU Teddy Bear Toss, supporting local charity organizations.
Just over two minutes later, however, Mark Auk put the Huskies up 5-1 with a goal assisted by Alex Petan and Michael Neville.
The assist by Petan was his third point of the night and fourth on the weekend after scoring in the series opener.
Gus Correale (4-5--9) added his fourth goal of the season to cut the lead to 5-2, but that was all the scoring the Lakers could muster. James Roll (1-5--6) and Josh Nenadal (3-1--4) sprung Correale for the goal.
Joel L'Esperance netted his second goal of the evening and eight on the season to put the Huskies up 6-2 with 4:28 left in the second period.
The Lakers outshot the Huskies 37-20 but Phillips was sharp in net and made 35 saves to secure the victory.
LSSU will wrap the season's first half at the Catamount Cup in Burlington Vermont with a pair of nonconference games. The Lakers will play Vermont in the opening game of the holiday tournament on Dec. 28 before facing Brown on the Dec. 29.
