SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State hockey program (7-7-1, 4-4-1 CCHA) picked up a point in the CCHA standings before eventually falling in a shootout to the Minnesota State Mavericks (5-6-2, 3-3-1 CCHA) with the result officially recorded as a 2-2 tie on Friday.

The Mavericks were able to jump out to a two-goal lead midway through the opening period with goals from Lucas Sowder and Jordan Steinmetz, but at the 11:11 mark, Branden Piku (Harrison Twp., Mich.) was able to knock the puck free before it found its way to Luke Levandowski (Rosemount, Mich.) who finished the job and got the Lakers on the board to make it a one-goal game heading into the intermission. 

Both defenses would step up in the second period, keeping both teams off the scoreboard during the stanza.

In the third period, the Lakers were able to outshoot the Mavericks by an outstanding mark of 17-2 with several quality opportunities, but Maverick goaltender Alex Tracy proved to be up to the challenge. However, Timo Bakos (Augsburg, Germany) capitalized on the Lakers' only power play opportunity of the night, scoring with assists from first-year players Ross Roloson (Woodbury, Minn.) and Cam Kungle (Red Deer, Alb.), tying up the score and sending the game into overtime.

Both teams had a pair of chances, but neither could capitalize during the extra five minutes of action, sending the game into a shootout to decide who would receive the extra point in the league standings. However, Tracy would ultimately close out the night for the Mavericks with two more stops to secure the extra point.

The Lakers will face the Mavericks in game two of the series on Saturday, Dec. 2 with the first puck drop scheduled for 6:07 p.m.