MANKATO, Minn, - The Lake Superior State hockey program (4-19-2, 3-13-1 CCHA) fell to the No. 17 Minnesota State Mavericks (15-9-1, 10-6-1 CCHA) by a final score of 3-2 in overtime on Friday. 

The defenses proved to be key early on as both teams found themselves scoreless going into the first intermission after 12 saves from junior goaltender Ethan Langenegger (Kamloops, B.C.).

The Mavericks would open up the scoring five minutes into the second period with a strike from Christian Fitzgerald, but the Lakers were able to respond at the 16:13 mark as Dawson Tritt (Spokane, Wash.) used a deflection off of a Minnesota State skate to score his eighth goal of the season with help from Timo Bakos (Augsburg, Germany) and Jeremy Gervais (Prince George, B.C.).

Midway through the third period, the Mavericks were able to retake the lead after capitalizing on a power play opportunity with Ryan Sandelin finding a deflection off of the pipe for the put back, but once again, the Lakers would find a way to respond a few minutes later after some nice passing from Brandon Puricelli (Ellisville, Mo.) and Jared Westcott (Imperial, Mo.) gave captain Louis Boudon (Grenoble, France) a clean look at a wide open net, sending the game into overtime and securing a point in the CCHA standings. 

However, despite a strong effort from the Lakers, Akito Hirose would slot home the game-winner just over two minutes into the overtime period, breaking the Lakers' hearts.

Despite the loss, Langenegger recorded 34 saves on the night while Jacob Bengtsson (Stockholm, Sweden) and Gervais took some pressure off of him with four blocks each. 

The Lakers will look to bounce back in game two of the series on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 6:07 p.m. Central Standard Time.