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Defiel's 57 saves helps extend Lakers season

Courtesy of Michael McSweeny
Courtesy of Michael McSweeny
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Scoring Summary

2nd - 16:00 - PP - J.T. Henke (Lake Superior State)
3rd - 10:15 - Austin McKay (Lake Superior State)

Game Leaders

Lake Superior State
G: 2 Players (#7, #9) - 1
A: 2 Players (#16, #20) - 1
Sh: 2 Players (#7, #8) - 3
Sv: Gordon Defiel - 57
Minnesota State
G: N/A
A: N/A
Sh: Nelson, Casey - 10
Sv: Huggins, Cole - 12

Team Stats

Lake Superior State
Minnesota State

PowerPlays

1 for 3
0 for 6

Shorthanded Goals

0
0

Penalties (min)

7 (14)
4 (8)

Shots on Goal

14
57

Face Offs Won

22
37
full stats
Mar 12, 2016
MANKATO, Minn. - On the back of sophomore goaltender Gordon Defiel's career-high 57 saves, Lake Superior State snapped an 11-game losing streak against Minnesota State- Mankato to even the Western Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinals series at one game apiece. The win for the Lakers (14-21-5, 10-13-5 WCHA), their first in the program's history against the Mavericks (19-12-7, 16-5-7 WCHA), sets the stage for a third game at 8:07 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Defiel's seventh career shutout moves him into a three-way tie with John Grahame and Duffy Lewis for fourth place on the LSSU all-time shutout list. Defiel's 57 saves was also the second-most by a Lakers netminder in school history behind Matt Violin's mark of 60 saves against Alaska on Jan. 17, 2003.

The Lakers got goals from leading scorer J.T. Henke (10-12--22) and captain Austin McKay (2-4--6) against Mavs goaltender Cole Huggins to aid Defiel's strong play. Huggins finished with just 12 saves as MSU dominated the shots on goal tally, 57-14.

Defiel stood strong through the first period while being peppered with 21 shots for the period and kept the Mavericks at bay. The first period ended with both teams scoreless and the Mavericks holding a 21-5 shots on goal advantage.

MSU kept the heavy pressure on Defiel, racking up 22 shots in the second period, but it was the Lakers netting the game's first goal. With the Lakers on their third power play of the game, Henke added the game's first goal with four minutes left in the middle frame. Mitch Hults (9-11--20) found Henke all alone to set up the goal and earned the 20th point of his freshman campaign. Senior defenseman Eric Drapluk (0-2--2) also assisted on the play.

The goal for the Lakers came on just their fifth shot of the period and sent them into the second intermission up 1-0, despite being outshot 43-10.

In the third period the Lakers were content playing a lock-down defensive game to maintain their lead. The Lakers only totaled four shots in the third period but got the ever-important insurance goal from McKay with 9:45 left in regulation. McKay's tally went unassisted and was helped by a deflection off of a Mavericks defenseman.

The Mavericks pulled Huggins with just over four minutes remaining in regulation to try to find their first goal of the game but were unsuccessful as the Lakers played the final minutes much like they had on the penalty kill all night. LSSU also blanked the Mavericks on six power-play attempts in the game. The Lakers finished 1-for-3 on their power play opportunities.

Defiel's mark of 57 saves also set a WCHA record for the most saves by a goaltender during regulation time of a playoff game.  

The teams head into Sunday's contest in a winner-take-all scenario with a trip to the WCHA Final Five in Grand Rapids, Mich., on the line. The winner will move on to the semi-finals while the losing team's season will come to an end.