MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State hockey team fell to the No. 20 Northern Michigan Wildcats in overtime by a final score of 2-1 in the second game of a weekend Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) series at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich. After the overtime loss, the Lakers hold a 12-15-1 overall record this season and an 8-12-0 mark in conference play.
Senior forward Miroslav Mucha recorded the Lakers goal in the game while junior goaltender Seth Eisele finished the night with 33 saves against the Wildcats.
The Wildcats scored the opening goal of the game at 6:56 of the first period as defenseman Ben Newhouse netted the goal for a 1-0 advantage. The play began after Northern Michigan goaltender Charlie Glockner made a kick save on a shot from Laker defenseman Jacob Bengtsson. Glockner let out a big rebound that was scooped up by Andre Ghantous who led an odd-man rush up the ice with Newhouse. Newhouse was set up by Ghantous and took the shot that beat Eisele to give the Wildcats the game's first lead.
Later in the first period, the Wildcats were assessed a major penalty after forward Jett Jungels was called for kneeing Laker freshman forward Josh Nixon. The Lakers were unable to capitalize on the five minute power play but created a few good scoring opportunities, including a shot from the doorstep by sophomore forward Benito Posa that was stopped by Glockner.
In the second period, the Lakers came close to tying the game around the five minute mark as Nixon made a great move around a Wildcat defender to get off a shot that rang off the crossbar.
As the second period played on, the teams were called for coincidental penalties with 4:25 left on the clock. While playing four-on-four, the Lakers drew a penalty which resulted in a :58 second power play. The Lakers would capitalize on the man advantage as Mucha netted his third goal of the season to tie the game at one.
The play that led to Mucha's goal, which came at 17:01 of the second period, began following an offensive zone faceoff for the Lakers. Sophomore forward Harrison Roy took the faceoff for the Lakers and the team would gain possession of the puck with junior defenseman Jake Willets carrying the puck back to the blue line. As the Lakers power play unit got set up in the zone, Willets connected a pass to Bengtsson. Bengtsson traded passes with the eventual goal scorer, as the two skaters were positioned between the top of the circle and the goal line. Mucha fired off a low shot from a sharp angle that beat Glockner on the short side to make it a 1-1 game headed into the final period of play.
Through the first 10 minutes of the third period, the game remained tied between the two U.P. rivals. Eisele continued his solid play for the Lakers as he kept the game tied after making a point blank save on Wildcat forward Alex Frye with 12:23 left on the clock.
With 6:06 left in the third period, Mucha skated in on Glockner on a breakaway looking to get his second goal of the game but the shot went wide of the net. Neither team would be able to break the tie in the final minutes of regulation as the conference matchup went to overtime.
With 3:52 left in the five minute overtime, the Wildcats came close to winning the game as Eisele made a highlight reel save on defenseman Trevor Cosgrove. Northern Michigan would secure the overtime win at 2:30 of the overtime period as senior forward David Keefer scored the game winning goal.
Eisele finished the game with 33 saves while Glockner stopped 23 shots by the Lakers in the overtime win.
After the game, the Lakers were presented with the Cappo Cup, as the winners of this season's series between the two Upper Peninsula teams. The Lakers have won the Cappo Cup for three consecutive seasons, which is named after the late Monsignor Louis Cappo. The Cup has been awarded annually since the 1994-95 season.
The Lakers will have nearly two weeks before their next game as the team has a bye week on the schedule for next weekend. Lake Superior State will return home for a pair of CCHA games against Ferris State on Friday, Feb. 11 and Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Friday's game is set for a 7:07 p.m. start while Saturday's puck drop is scheduled for 6:07 p.m.
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