ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Lake Superior State men's hockey team recorded a 5-3 win over the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves on Sunday, Jan. 5 in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) game at the Seawolf Sports Complex in Anchorage, Alaska.
In the first period, the Lakers would net the game's first goal as Ashton Calder scored his fifth goal of the season when he capitalized on an unassisted breakaway at 12:29. Calder stickhandled his way in on Seawolves goaltender Kris Carlson and would force the goalie to make the first move as he dropped down onto the ice. Calder, as he was sliding into the net himself, would tap the puck over the goal line to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead.
Alaska Anchorage would respond less than two minutes later when Tanner Schachle took advantage of a Seawolves power play at 14:02. With Tyler Anderson in the penalty box, Seawolves defenseman Tom Hiekkavirta would fire a puck from the blue line that made its way through traffic and was deflected by Schachle to beat Lakers goaltender Mareks Mitens to tie the game at one.
Only 1:26 later, the Seawolves would go ahead 2-1 when Zach Nazzarett netted his first collegiate goal. Nazzarett would collect the puck in the Lakers zone and would deke in on Mitens, who would move across his crease leaving an opening for the Seawolf forward to put the puck in the Lakers net.
After falling behind in the game, the Lakers would capitalize on a second period power play after Alaska Anchorage was assessed a tripping minor. Senior captain Max Humitz would score his team leading 13th goal of the season to tie the game at two. The goal, Humitz's second power play goal of the season, was set up as a result of extended offensive zone pressure by the Lakers. Jacob Nordqvist would record the secondary assist on the play as he connected a pass to fellow defenseman Mitchell Oliver. Oliver, who registered his seventh assist of the season, made a perfect cross zone pass to Humitz who was stationed to Carlson's right. Humitz would cap off the well-executed man advantage play as he sent the puck into the top corner of the goal to make it a 2-2 game at 10:16.
The Seawolves would regain the lead at 3:52 of the first period when Luc Brown notched the team's second power play goal of the game to put the team ahead 3-2.
At 13:27 of the third period, senior Brayden Gelsinger scored his first goal of the season to tie the game once again. The game tying goal was started by Hampus Eriksson who carried the puck through the offensive zone, setting the stage for a two-on-one with Gelsinger. Eriksson sent a pass around the Seawolf defenseman who went down sliding in an attempt to break up the play but the puck found Gelsinger. The senior forward would outwait Carlson, who dropped down as a result, and would send the puck high into the net to make it a 3-3 game.
Less than three minutes later, sophomore Pete Veillette would add onto his career high totals as he scored his sixth goal of the season to give the Lakers the lead with under four minutes left in regulation. Freshman forward Louis Boudon would receive the puck from Humitz and take a shot on goal from the faceoff circle that Carlson stopped but could not control the rebound. The puck bounced out to Veillette, who was positioned right outside the crease, and he was able to beat Carlson five-hole to give the Lakers the go-ahead goal, which would prove to be the eventual game winner. Veillette leads the Lakers with two game winning goals this season.
The conference win was sealed by Humitz's 14th goal of the season as he fired the puck almost the full length of the ice at 19:12 into the empty net to put the Lakers ahead by two goals, which sealed the 5-3 win. With the goal, Humitz ranks second among all WCHA players in goals and is tied for third among all NCAA players. Humitz finished the game with three points (2G, 1A) which ties his career high in both goals and points. Humitz's last three point game came on Jan. 11, 2019 in a game against Alabama-Huntsville and his last two goal effort came on Dec. 14, 2019 in a win over No. 10 Bowling Green.
The Lakers would put a total of 33 shots on goal in the game, with 26 shots coming in the second two periods of play. Alaska Anchorage would record 25 shots. In his 50th career start in goal, Mitens would earn the win as he stopped 22 shots by the Seawolves. Carlson finished the game with 28 saves.
Lake State will look to continue their WCHA success as they stay in Alaska for another weekend of conference play as the team heads to Fairbanks to take on the Nanooks. The games are scheduled for 11:00 p.m. EST starts on both Friday, Jan. 10 and Saturday, Jan. 11 at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks, Alaska.
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