MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State (LSSU) hockey team (2-5-0, 1-0-0 CCHA) came away with a decisive 5-0 shutout victory over the Northern Michigan (NMU) Wildcats (1-8-0, 0-3-0 CCHA) to open Central Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCHA) play and the 2024-25 Cappo Cup Series on Friday.

Timo Bakos (Augsburg, Germany) opened up the scoring at the 11:43 mark of the opening period, taking the puck the length of the ice by himself for the unassisted tally. Luke Levandowski (Rosemount, Mich.) would then pound in a power play goal with just over a minute to play in the period with assists from Evan Bushy (Thief River Falls, Minn.) and John Herrington (Hudson's Hope, B.C.) to double up the lead. 

Nate Schweitzer (Champlin, Minn.) continued LSSU's successful night while a man up by taking advantage of a 5-on-3 opportunity with help from Herrington and Connor Milburn (Kamloops, B.C.), and the second man in the NMU box would find their penalty time ending early as well after Dawson Tritt (Spokane, Wash.) scored his first of the season 21 seconds later.

Johnny Druskinis (Plymouth, Mich.) rounded out the scoring for the Lakers, firing a one-timer into the back of the net for his first collegiate goal 14:40 into the final frame to cap off an emphatic 5-0 victory.

LSSU first year goaltender Rorke Applebee (Chateauguay, Que.) stopped all 34 shots he faced to earn his second shutout of the season. Meanwhile, Milburn and Schweitzer each finished with 3 points on the night. 

Laker Special teams proved to be the story on the night with dominant showings on both ends. The power play unit converted on four of six opportunities, and the LSSU penalty kill held NMU scoreless while a man down on all four occasions, extending their nation-leading penalty kill to a perfect 30-30 on the season. 

The Lakers will be looking to complete the weekend sweep in game two of the series on Saturday, Nov. 9 with puck drop scheduled for 6:07 p.m.