BEMIDJI, Minn. - The Lake Superior State hockey team won a 5-3 game against the No. 10 Bemidji State Beavers in the second game of the best-of-three Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Quarterfinals on Saturday, March 7 at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minn. With the win, the Lakers have forced a decicing third game that will be played tomorrow night at 7:07 p.m. in Bemidji, Minn.
The game opened with the home team scoring first as Alex Ierullo scored for the Beavers at 11:28 of the first period. The play would begin when a Bemidji skater came in alone with the puck on a break, and Laker defenseman Lukas Kaelble would hustle back to break up the play to prevent a goal from being scored. The puck would find Ierullo who was following up on the play, and the Beavers forward would give Bemidji State a 1-0 lead.
At 13:33 of the first period, the Lakers would even the game at one when Miroslav Mucha netted his third goal of the season to get the puck past Beavers goalie Zach Driscoll for the first time in the series. Ashton Calder would gain entry into the offensive zone as he skated in on the wing with the puck before connecting a pass to freshman center Dustin Manz. Manz got off a shot on net and the rebound bounced to Mucha, who was positioned right outside the crease to make it a 1-1 game.
Just :13 seconds later, the Lakers took the lead. Bryan Basilico scored off a quick wrister from the slot to give the Lakers a 2-1 advantage over the Beavers. The play started as Chase Gamelin was strong on the forecheck as he managed to get the puck behind Bemidji's net and send a pass to Brendan McKay. McKay, who was standing in the faceoff circle, got off a quick pass to Basilico, who was all alone, to set up the go-ahead goal.
Before the first twenty minutes on the clock expired, the Beavers would add a second goal to tie the game. Alex Adams skated in alone on Mitens and fired a shot that beat the Laker netminder five hole to even the game at two at 15:00 of the first period.
In the second period, the Lakers would double their goal total in the game, as Max Humitz and Hampus Eriksson each tallied a goal. At 3:29 of the middle frame, Humitz regained the Lakers lead with his 20th goal of the season to put the Lakers ahead 3-2. The goal mark the first time in Humitz's career that he has reached the 20-goal plateau.
Pete Veillette would collect the puck along the boards and send a pass to Mitchell Oliver who was at the blue line. Riedell fired a shot from the point that was redirected by Humitz right in front of Driscoll for a 3-2 Laker lead.
Eriksson would extend the Lakers lead at 7:42 of the second period as he sent a backhander from the slot past Driscoll for his sixth goal of the season. Calder and Riedell would trade passes with the puck along the boards before the puck caromed off the end boards to Eriksson who gave the Lakers the two goal cushion, with the eventual game winning goal.
In the third period, the Lakers would lock down defensively to hold off the Beavers from overcoming the two goal lead.
With just over six minutes remaining in the final period, the Beavers would come within a goal as freshman defenseman Elias Rosen scored on a shot from the blue line to make it a 4-3 game.
The Lakers would hold on in the final minutes of play, as the Beavers pulled Driscoll in favor of an extra skater with 1:43 left in the game. With the net empty, the Lakers held off Bemidji's offensive push and would seal the victory when Humitz netted an empty net goal with :1 second left on the clock. The goal marked Humitz' second of the game and 21st of the season.
Mitens finished the game with a season-high 45 saves to lead the Lakers to the deciding game tomorrow night. Driscoll stopped 24 shots in the game in the loss. The Beavers outshot the Lakers by a 48-29 margin in the game.
The team's will decide the fate of the series in the game tomorrow night, on Sunday, March 8, at 7:07 p.m. in Bemidji, Minn. at the Sanford Center.
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