SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State hockey program (7-8-1, 4-5-1 CCHA) fell to the Minnesota State Mavericks (6-6-2, 4-3-1 CCHA) by a final score of 4-3 after their comeback attempt came up just short on Saturday.

Both teams battled early in the opening period, but at the 16:03 mark, the Mavericks broke the tie with a goal from Sam Morton.

Minnesota State managed to double up their lead less than a minute into the second period with a goal from Adam Eisele, but the Lakers responded a few minutes later as defenseman Nate Schweitzer (Champlin, Minn.) put LSSU on the board with assists from Timo Bakos (Augsburg, Germany) and Connor Milburn (Kamloops, B.C.). Mason Wheeler was able to put the Mavericks back up by two, but with less than 30 seconds left in the period, Bakos was able to find the back of the net for the second time in the series after Harrison Roy (Lakeville, Mass.) stole the puck away.

At the 4:28 mark of the third period, Kaden Bohlsen once again put Minnesota State up by two, but the Lakers kept fighting. Then, at the 15:34 mark, Sasha Teleguine (North Attleborough, Mass.) tipped in his first goal in a Laker uniform after Evan Bushy (Thief River Falls, Minn.) fired the puck toward the net. LSSU would continue to create chances late in the game, and after pulling their goaltender, they nearly knotted up the game at 4-4 had it not been for an improbable stick save by Maverick goaltender Keenan Rancier as Minnesota State narrowly escaped with a win. 

The Lakers will look to bounce back when they travel to face the Bemidji State Beavers for a two-game series with puck drop for game one scheduled for Friday, Dec. 8 at 8:07 p.m.