Box Score Cool as you like, these Lakers.

In the dying seconds of regulation, William Ahlrik scored to level the hockey game at 3-3 as Lake Superior State earned a tie at St. Lawrence Friday night. Ryan Beck's shot skittered in off the sophomore at 19:27 of the third period, completing a torrid cameback by LSSU (2-4-1, 0-2-0 CCHA) that saw two goals in the final two minutes at Canton, NY's Appleton Arena.

"The belief was there," said Laker head coach Damon Whitten after the game. "I thought we had really good, positive talk from the leadership group and the whole team. Guys bought in and guys played hard."

"Two in the last minute there got the guys pretty fired up," co-captain Connor Milburn said. "Obviously we don't want to put ourselves in that position too often. We let the game slip away from us. But the guys were pretty fired up there. It's good to see a little juice on the bench, especially being down."

Ahlrik continues to dominate the conversation. An excellent two-way player with high-level hockey sense and determination, the Tidaholm, Sweden native hits targets every night that make people pay attention. Whether he's on the scoresheet or not, Ahlrik's play continues to drive his team forward. Milburn scored twice, including the opener, but took special note of Ahlrik.

"He's a stud," Milburn said. "You could see flashes of it last year. He's just sound in everything he does, very simple. I think he really worked on his skating this summer. When he came in this year, you could immediately tell that he was quicker. It's not surprising to me at all, the amount of success that he's having for us. Couldn't be happier for the guy, he's the nicest guy you'll meet on the planet and he just works his tail off."

The sophomore, in turn, credited his coaches for his growth. He said about coming to LSSU, "It's a perfect match for me, and every day I'm learning and trying to play into my strengths. I think the habits are a big part of my game. It's a great match here."

Milburn scored twice against the Saints (1-5-1, 0-0-0 ECAC). The opener came on a nasty wrist shot in the first period that put the Lakers ahead 1-0,  but his third period goal at 18:18 sparked the comeback. Ahlrik and Beck assisted that goal before pairing up again moments later to knot the game up at 3-3.

Ahlrik said, "He's our captain, and so important for us. When he's playing the game like he did today, he's one of the best players in the league."

While Milburn put LSSU in front with his first period strike, St. Lawrence burst forward in the second, scoring a shorthanded goal from Gunnar Thoreson midway through the frame. Minutes later, Tyler Cristall scored on the powerplay and the Saints went up 2-1. Add in Filip Juricek's powerplay tally at 17:03 of the third, and this game looked done and dusted. Down 3-1 with under three minutes left? Curtains for most teams. But the Lakers got up off the canvas, bit down on the mouthpiece and got back into the game in the closing moments.

"It's been the story of our season," said Whitten. "We've been inconsistent weekend-to-weekend, inconsistent within the game here, too. I think it's a game where we played well enough to win. There's a moment in the second period after Branden Piku hits a post and Ryan Beck hits a post in the second period and you just look at each other and wonder when those go our way. We showed some good fight to stay with it, with grit and toughness to get the tie. But overall, it's a pretty frustrating feeling because we felt like we left some points and a win on the table from a pretty good effort for a lot of the game."

Though Ahlrik and Milburn were fired up in the moment, both echoed their coaches feeling that a better result was the aim on Friday. Ahlrik said, "It was a huge goal to tie the game up. But obviously, we wanted to have another result going into the third."

Adam Barone assisted the game-tying goal for his sixth point of the season. The sophomore from Sault Ste. Marie, ON continues to impress with stellar two-way play early in the campaign.

"I wouldn't want to go into a game without him," said Whitten. "Adam's been our most impactful player and continues to be that. I can't speak highly enough about the transformation he made from last year to this season."

While Milburn scored twice, the Lakers co-captain dished out plenty of plaudits for his linemates, fellow captain Sasha Teleguine and freshman Calem Mangone. The trio have piled up a combined 16 points through the first seven games of the season.

"I love playing with Sasha and Calem," said Milburn. "They're two dynamic players in the O-zone. I just get it to one of those two guys, and I might 10-15 feet behind them because they're way quicker than I am, but it's pretty easy playing with those guys. It's a lot of fun and it makes my job way easier."

Whitten hopes his team can build off of the late rally on Friday. 

"It definitely builds confidence, builds belief. We talk about playing 60 minutes – I'm not sure we got 60 minutes, but we certainly got the last 10 minutes to keep our foot on the pedal and get a couple of big goals."

In the end, the Lakers earn a tie in a thriller with old foe St. Lawrence. The two teams met in the 1988 NCAA Division I National Championship game. Newly inducted Lake Superior State Hall of Famer Kord Cernich scored twice in that game, and Mark Vermette famously won the game in overtime for the Lakers first of three NCAA Division I National Championships.

On Saturday, the Lakers travel a short way to Potsdam, NY to face Clarkson, a team they met twice over the next few years in the NCAA Tournament. Milburn knows the Golden Knights well. He scored his first career goal against them at Taffy Abel Arena with a mere 1.4 seconds remaining to force overtime, back on October 28^th, 2022. Opening faceoff from Cheel Arena is 7:00 PM, on ESPN + and 99.5 YES FM.