"We belong."

Damon Whitten told Lake Superior State's players those two massive words moments after the game against #2 Wisconsin finished.

"We belong."

Though the Lakers (6-12-1, 3-7-0 CCHA) lost 3-2 to the second-ranked Badgers (13-2-2, 8-2-0 Big Ten), LSSU dueled with one of the nation's best teams just days after returning from holiday break at a major midseason tournament.

"First off, we started on time," said LSSU Assistant Coach DJ Goldstein. "That's a huge thing for us. After a few weeks off and time at home with only three practices together, we came out and started the game on time, which you worry about with a break like that. I thought the guys started on time and that fed into the rest of the game like that."

A stellar second period nearly scored the upset. Goals by Adam Barone and Luke Levandowski, with stellar play by Carter Batchelder, put the Lakers up 2-1 and left the Badgers reeling midway through the game. Spectacular saves by Rorke Applebee kept LSSU in prime position as the game clock ticked through its halfway point.

With the Badgers up 1-0 to start the second, Barone took a penalty for LSSU. It was a stroke of fortune for the Lakers, who successfully killed off the penalty. Just as he jumped out of the penalty box, Ryan Beck stole the puck away from a Badger defenseman and created a breakaway chance. Rather than take it himself, he mailed the puck up to Barone. The sophomore may as well have been in another ZIP Code. He cooly dispatched a forehand finish to tie the game at 1-1.

"It's so funny that it's his first," Goldstein said. "He had a couple of point shots that we thought were his, but they ended up getting tipped in front.

"Coach Whitten said it postgame, Barone had a tough first year where he didn't play as much as he wanted and had a tough transition. Well, he had an unbelievable summer, maybe the best summer we've seen in recent years. He got so much stronger and worked so hard. He's been rewarded. It's good to see him get his first career goal. I still think we're seeing the tip of the iceberg with him. His ceiling is really, really high."

Then Carter Batchelder put on a show. He dazzled in the second period, creating numerous scoring chances with Wisconsin defenders chasing him wildly. Minutes after the goal, he drew a penalty on a breakaway off of his own steal in the defensive zone. The junior poked the puck off a Badger stick to Branden Piku, then flared around that defender. The Badgers, again pulling their defensemen up a bit, left a ton of space in behind. The quick touch by Piku sent Batchelder galloping toward the enemy goal, and it took a hefty whack and a minor penalty to deny him a score.

Shortly after that penalty expired, Batchelder made the Badgers pay. The Lakers overloaded on the right wing as they entered the attacking zone, creating a small-ice odd-man situation. Batchelder got around one man and passed to a rushing Luke Levandowski, who dumped the puck in from the low slot to put the Lakers in front 2-1. Levandowski scored his second of the season and ninth goal as a Laker at a key time in the middle of the second. Lake State nearly extended the lead further moments later, but the crossbar denied a two-goal lead.

"Because [Carter's] so smart, he's always in the right spots. You get that from him all the time. Tonight, his legs were really moving. You saw that on Levandowski's goal, where he gets the primary assist. And you saw it on the breakaway, where he gets some separation, gets pulled down and draws the penalty. He had a great night."

It took a missile wrist shot off a faceoff to beat Applebee and tie the game at 2-2, then a Wisconsin breakaway in the third to win the game for the tournament's hosts. But it took a whale of an effort to secure the win, as the Lakers continued threatening one of the nation's top teams through the third period. Applebee's goaltending work stole the show in front of a partisan Wisconsin crowd, too.

Goldstein praised the sophomore goaltender after the game. "It's that attitude hes got. Coach Ryan Shelley says, 'Rorke's a killer.' He's got that mindset that's not going to be denied. He absolutely kept us in that game. A couple of chances, especially in the second period where we gave up some odd-man rushes and gave Wisconsin a number of grade-A opportunities but Rorke stands tall like he has his entire career. But the last six to eight weeks, it wouldn't be hard to say he's been our best player."

On Monday at 4:00 PM, the Lakers face #12 Boston College in the third place game at the Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff, after the Eagles dropped a 5-3 result to #7 Western Michigan. For LSSU, the coaches' message going into another high profile game against a ranked opponent remains the same.

"It's going to be a tough game tomorrow, too," said Goldstein. "These are three Top 20 teams in the country at this tournament, so it's going to be a great test tomorrow. But we're not satisfied. We've taken steps, and we're getting better and better. The last seven games, I'd say, have been our best games of the year. We've taken steps – all good. Now let's walk through the door. Actually, Coach Whitten and Coach Shelley said it, 'Let's kick it open.'

"We belong."