Calem Mangone scored his eighth goal of the season for Lake Superior State in a 4-1 loss at St. Thomas Saturday night. With 15 points in his first 18 games of college hockey, Mangone's metronome consistency continues to catch the eye for the Lakers.
"Cal's played extremely well," said Laker head coach
Damon Whitten about the freshman. "We knew what we were getting there. You see the offense and scoring that you appreciate, but even more than that is his competitive spirit. His nose, his ability to get to hard areas and play there and finish there. He continues to play at a high level for us. We love what he's produced for us and we expect even more in the second half."
His goal, at 4:15 of the first period, countered a Tommies strike by Lucas Wahlin, at 3:47 of the first. Just like the night before, two goals went up on the board before five minutes were completed. Unlike Friday's contest, when the Lakers struck twice on a 5-on-3 advantage, the talliies split evenly between St. Thomas (7-7-3, 4-3-2 CCHA) and Lake State (6-11-1, 3-9-0 CCHA). But the Tommies scored two more in the frame. Lucas Van Vliet on the powerplay, and Wahlin with his second of the night on a shorthanded tally.
Whitten said, "We ran out of gas a little bit tonight. It's the end of a long semester and we're a little short in the tank there. It's also tough to come out and trail. You give up the early goal, and we get a good response, which was great to see. It gave us some life and kept us in there. Then we give up a couple more in the first period. You're already out of gas and chasing the game and it makes it a really tough night. I thought our guys stayed with it."
Jake Braccini's mid-second period goal set the final score, but the Lakers had great chances in the third period. They scored early in the frame, but the goal was called back after a review. Still, the Lakers pressed the attack, creating quality chances and threatening the Tommies goal.
As the first half of the season draws to a close, the Lakers have played well. Points in six of their last nine games, breakout performances by players like Mangone and
William Ahlrik, and improving special teams have the team seeing green arrows heading into finals week on campus. It's an excellent academic group that posted a perfect score of 1,000 in the latest APR report, a remarkable achievement in the world of college hockey.
"I think the players are excited to finish the semester strong academically and then get a chance to go be with family and celebrate the holidays," said Whitten.
The Lakers return to play on December 28th and 29th at the Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff, theh head back to Taffy Abel Arena for a showdown with Northern Michigan on January 3rd and 4th. Buy your tickets and don't miss a minute of the action in the exciting second half of the CCHA's regular season.
