BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Lake Superior State defeated Bowling Green 5-3 Friday to take a 3-0 lead in this season's four-game series between the two Western Collegiate Hockey Association schools.

The former Central Collegiate Hockey Association rivals had a 3-3 tie midway through the third before the Lakers (12-12-1 overall, 8-9-0 WCHA) capped the final period with a pair of goals to seal the victory.

Bowling Green (12-10-5 overall, 9-7-3 WCHA) jumped out to an early advantage off the stick of Ryan Carpenter in the first period. The Falcons controlled most of the first frame, outshooting the Lakers 12-4. Carpenter missed the November series at LSSU due to injury but is regarded as the Falcons' top forward.

In the second period the teams traded a pair of goals. Bowling Green took a late second period lead and carried it into the second intermission. For the Lakers, senior defenseman Zach Sternberg (5-10--15) opened up the scoring with a 4-on-4 goal at 9:19 of the second period. He also got the lone helper on Bryce Schmitt's (3-4--7) goal that tied it 2-2 at 12:37. The Falcons answered quickly with Carpenter's second goal of the night for a 3-2 BGSU lead.

The Lakers came out firing in the third period with a 12-1 shots avantage. Just over six minutes into the period, junior defenseman Kevin Czuczman knotted the game with a short-handed goal assisted by Matt Johnson (4-3--7).

For Czuczman it was his ninth goal of the season, which leads all WCHA defensemen in goals. It was also his second short-handed goal of the season, leading the Lakers in that category. Freshman Alex Globke (10-14--24) added another goal to his impressive rookie season with an assists going to Eric Drapluk (5-5--10) and Colin Campbell (9-10--19).

Campbell cemented the win with an empty-netter and totaled a goal and two assists for the evening. Johnson picked up his second assist.

In net it was LSSU's Kevin Murdock (5-7-0) facing Bowling Green's Tommy Burke (9-3-5). Both goaltenders faced a flurry of pucks at different stages of this contest. Murdock made 20 saves that lead the Lakers to their first victory in five games. He also snapped a six-game losing streak. Burke totaled 27 saves.

Special teams were also pivotal in securing the win for the Lakers as they held the Falcons scoreless on their five power-play attempts. LSSU went 1-2 on its power-play tries and tallied its second short-handed goal of the season.

The Lakers and Falcons will be back at it Saturday at the BGSU Ice Arena at 7:07 p.m. for the second game of the weekend series. The game will be available on 99.5 YES FM and the America One Sports Network.

Final: LSSU 5- BGSU 3