Box Score A game with plenty of penalties turned into plenty of powerplay goals for Lake Superior State. The Lakers scored three goals on the man-advantage, getting a monster night from Ryan Beck in the process and earning a 5-3 win at St. Thomas in CCHA play Friday night.

Both teams scored with 5-on-3 advantages in a chaotic first period. The Lakers (6-10-1, 3-8-0 CCHA) grabbed the lead with a pair of very early goals, hammering the Tommies (6-7-3, 3-3-2 CCHA) on both of their penalties early in the first. Johnny Druskinis scored his second of the season on a blast from the high slot, then Branden Piku tapped home a goal moments later as the Lakers cashed in on the Tommies' double trouble. By 3:47 of the first, the Lakers held a 2-0 lead. Ryan Beck assisted both goals, playing a massive role in the Lakers building the early advantage. He would finish the night with four points, tying a career-high mark that he set while at Colorado College in a 7-1 beating of North Dakota in February of 2024.

"You want to start on time on the road, and I thought we did that," said Laker head coach Damon Whitten postgame. "Fortunately, we draw a couple of penalties because of the good start, Even more important, our guys go and execute on that. That's huge, to get a two-goal lead, in large part due to the work Ryan Beck did. It starts with effort, to recover a puck, and then he makes elite passes and thinks it so well. Ryan Beck was tremendous tonight. He goes 75% in the faceoff dot and has a four-point night. He had a huge impact on tonight's game."

Though LSSU wrecked St. Thomas for a pair of early goals, the Lakers gave up their own first period 5-on-3 with a pair of penalties. The Tommies punched back for a powerplay goal through Lucas Van Vliet at 17:02 of the first to cut the score to 2-1, then began building back into the game during the second period. But the stellar play of goaltender Rorke Applebee kept the hosts in check. In his fifth straight start, he produced another outstanding result, showing his class as one of the top goaltenders in the CCHA.

"I think we took four straight penalties," Whitten pointed out. "After a good start, you're killing four straight, which allows them to shift some momentum. They were able to use their special teams to take some territorial control. It wasn't just the quality of saves by Rorke, but the timeliness of them. He made some big-time saves at the right moment to keep us in the lead. I think that game feels a lot different if they get the equalizer and tie it 2-2. We talked pregame [with James Cardarelli on 99.5 YES FM] about him giving us a chance to win every night, and he certainly gave us a chance in tonight's victory."

Beck hit the Tommies again in the second period. Off the draw on another powerplay, he hammered a slapshot toward the goal that William Ahlrik tipped in. Ahlrik scored his fourth goal of the year and leads the team with 15 points. Beck moved into double-figures with his monster game. He's got 12 points this campaign.

"Really good faceoff execution. Not only does Ahlrik get the goal, but he should be credited with a clean faceoff win. Really good execution by the whole unit. A quick faceoff play over to Beck for a great one-timer. What does Ahlrik do after the faceoff? He's going net-front and makes a great tip-in. That's a big goal that creates separation again."

Though Jake Bracccini scored for the Tommies early in the third, it came against the run of play, as Applebee continued to star. Minutes later, the Lakers got that goal back. Hunter Ramos galloped down the left wing and fired a shot off of Tommies goalie Aaron Trotter. Calem Mangone quickly gathered the loose puck and ripped it home, restoring a two-goal lead for LSSU at 4-2. The two freshman have both electrified for the Lakers this season.

Evan Bushy scored a third period goal to put the Lakers up 5-2, and Nathan Pilling scored with seconds remaining to lock in the final score line at 5-3. But the game was well in hand for Lake Superior State by that point. For Bushy, the goal was just his second as a Laker. The junior assistant captain piles up assists for LSSU, but he'd only struck for one as a freshman against Bemidji State. He's up to 10 points this season.

"Evan's played really well going into break," Whitten said. "Good to get rewarded. It's a little bit of a fortunate bounce. Things we weren't getting earlier in the year, but we certainly got them on that goal.  Another faceoff win and a great play by him to get that puck on net. And it's a great play again to give us some breathing room and finish that game out."

The Lakers have earned points in six of their last eight games, It's a strong run of play heading into the Christmas break. LSSU finishes the series tomorrow against the Tommies in St. Paul, MN, then takes a few weeks off before heading to Milwaukee, WI for the Qwik Trip Holiday Faceoff on December 28th. The penalty kill shows great improvement from its early season struggles, Applebee continues to dominate in net, and the Lakers look like a team in good form going into the break. But one more match looms tomorrow night, a 7:07 PM EST start time at the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena against the Toms.

"We're enjoying the growth in this team," Whitten said. "There's a long way to go, but I think we're showing great signs of who we can be and where we're going to."