An incredible night at GFL Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada saw an 11-goal thriller between Lake Superior State and #16 St. Thomas on Friday.

Both teams dialed the entertainment factor up to extreme levels in a game that felt like a wild brawl with incredible swings. With tremendous skill and just the right amount of physicality, two very good teams hammered away at each other in a memorable college hockey game. In the end, the Tommies won 7-4 in front of nearly 2,000 fans in the Canadian Soo.

Lake Superior State Head Coach Damon Whitten said at the post game press conference, "We've got lots of people to thank and show our appreciation for, starting with the City of Sault Sainte Marie and the staff that oversees GFL Memorial Gardens. It's been five or six years since we've done this, but it's great to be back. Hopefully this is something we can do a bit more frequently going forward.

"We enjoyed the trip and loved being here."

The Lakers coach continued, "And also [thanks] to the Lake State administration. All the way from Dr. [David] Travis to Tory Lindley, our Athletics Director..Heavy, heavy lift for our administration to work with GFL Memorial Gardens and the City of Sault Sainte Marie to make this happen. And everybody did a phenomenal job, so we appreciate that. The only thing you don't like is the final result."

The Lakers raced out to an early lead, striking through Bryan Huggins at 1:54 on a great pass from Luke Levandowski. He played the puck right into the path of an onrushing Huggins, who ripped it home for his first goal of the season. It's the second tally of the senior's career. Branden Piku picked up the secondary assist - the beginning of a busy night for the junior, as he finished with three points.

Bauer Berry equalized for St. Thomas minutes later, at 5:04 of the first. But the Lakers quickly punched back twice. Piku took a layoff on an overlap and zipped a heavy wrist shot through for the 2-1 tally. Then William Ahlrik hammered home a rebound at 8:33 to put the Lakers up 3-1, a superb diving effort. The hosts were running riot on the visitors, who changed goaltenders at that point.

The change to Aaron Trotter ended up being significant. The only goal he allowed came on a beautiful lobbed pass from the Lakers defensive zone to Piku, who'd stolen a step on a defender. In alone, Trotter stopped the first shot, but Hunter Ramos crammed home the rebound to put LSSU up 4-1. Piku had his second three-point game of the season, Ramos had his sixth goal, and the Lakers had a big lead in front of an energized crowd. But Trotter made some special saves to buoy the Tommies, who began crawling back into the contest. Jake Braccini and Charlie Schoen each scored a pair of goals, and the Tommies would eventually recover to take the 7-4 victory.

Still, the lasting impressions were the excitement of the game itself and the quality of the event, which stood out to fans, staff and players alike. LSSU sophomore defenseman Adam Barone and freshman forward Calem Mangone attended the press conference with their head coach.

"I remember [a few years ago] when they played here," Mangone said. "I went there, and it was a great venue. I thought [the event] was even better than last time."

For Mangone and Barone, two childhood friends who returned home to play an NCAA Division I college hockey game at the rink they grew up in, it was a thrilling experience. With Soo Greyhounds public address announcer Phil Bumbaco introducing each of them as "hometown proud from Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario," the two young players were a focal point of the evening.

Barone said, "It's definitely pretty special. I take a lot of pride coming here. It's a hard-working town, and I try to carry that with me wherever I go."

Mangone added, "I played here a lot, and a lot of the fans didn't like me when I was in Saginaw [in the OHL]. But getting that little cheer from the fans was obviously awesome."

St. Thomas staff and players spoke highly of their experience at the Superior Ice Showdown as well. Lucas Wahlin said, "When I found out we were playing in Canada, I was like, 'Oh, that's pretty cool.' Then you walk in and see the history on the walls and you're like, 'Holy [cow], this is pretty cool.' It's really special to be playing here, and it's a really cool experience."

Tommies assistant coach Leon Hayward added, "Everything was first class, top to bottom."

The Lakers cross the St. Mary's River again for the second game of this CCHA series with St. Thomas on Saturday night. They'll play at their usual home of Taffy Abel Arena in the Michigan Soo, looking to take three league points. Opening faceoff is set for 6:07 PM. Buy your tickets online or at the Norris Center box office.