SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State (LSSU) hockey team (7-7-1, 5-2-0 CCHA) fell to the Bemidji State Beavers (8-6-2, 5-3-1 CCHA) by a margin of 4-2 on Friday.

The Lakers struck first just under five minutes into the game with a power play goal as Nate Schweitzer (Champlin, Minn.) fired the puck toward the net for it to deflect off of the sticks of Timo Bakos (Augsburg, Germany) and Sasha Teleguine (North Attleborough, Mass.) before finally reaching the back of the net. However, at the 13:50 mark, Austin Jouppi was able to tie up the score for the Beavers. 

Jake McLean managed to put Bemidji State in front midway through the second period, and Kirklan Irey made it a 3-1 game with a shorthanded breakaway opportunity. Then, Johnny Druskinis (Plymouth, Mich.) trimmed the lead back down to one with a power play goal at the 12:34 mark to give the Lakers new life, and both Schweitzer and Connor Milburn (Kamloops, B.C.) picked up assists on the play.

The Lakers had to open the third period with a strong stand defensively, killing off a five minute major penalty that included two minutes of five-on-three, and they kept the Beavers off of the score sheet for the entire stretch. However, with just over 2.5 minutes left in regulation, Patrik Satosaari iced the game away with a snipe from distance into the corner. 

The Lakers will look to bounce back to split the series in game two on Saturday, Dec. 7 with puck drop scheduled for 6:07 p.m.