MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State hockey program (5-4-0, 2-1-0 CCHA) fell in an offensive showcase against the Northern Michigan Wildcats (2-6-1, 1-3-0 CCHA) by a final score of 6-4 on Friday.

The defenses came to play early on as both teams felt each other out, but with just under 90 seconds remaining before the first intermission, Jared Westcott (Imperial, Mo.) broke the stalemate with his sixth goal of the season off of an assist by Dawson Tritt (Spokane, Wash.).

The Wildcats came to life in the second period, jumping out to a 3-1 lead with goals from Michael Van Unen, Michael Mesic, and Artem Schlaine, but Westcott would bring the Lakers back to within one at the 12:18 mark with his second goal of the night, taking advantage of a power-play opportunity with help from Tritt and captain Harrison Roy (Lakeville, Mass.).

Roy would waste no time coming out of the second intermission, tying up the score at 3-3 15 seconds into the third period off of an assist from Nate Schweitzer (Champlin, Minn.), and a few minutes later, Tritt was able to capitalize on a power-play opportunity to give the Lakers a 4-3 lead with assists from Westcott and rookie John Herrington (Hudson's Hope, B.C.). However, NMU would quickly equalize with another goal from Schlaine, and Schlaine would then complete the hat trick at the 12:13 mark while on a power-play to retake the lead for Northern Michigan. LSSU would keep fighting and were able to create multiple chances to tie up the score, but Michael Colella would ultimately ice the game away with an empty-netter to give the Lakers their first loss in nearly a month.

The Lakers will be looking to split the series on Saturday, Nov. 11 with the first puck drop scheduled for 6:07 p.m.