Job well done.
Lake Superior State rebounded from Thursday night with a 4-3 victory over the Lindenwood Lions (2-2-0) on Friday at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, MO.
Calem Mangone scored twice,
Charles Savoie added three assists and
Cooper Foster added another three for Lake State (1-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) in the win.
The Lakers continued to show their gifted offensive abilities on the game's opening goal, a strike from Mangone at 13:54 of the first period. Foster plundered the puck in the neutral zone, quickly turning up the left wing side. From the left circle, he pivoted and layed the puck off to Mangone, who quickly zipped a pass over to Savoie on the right post.
It would have been a glorious chance all on its own - the kind of chance that goalies wake up from in a cold sweat and scorers dream of getting a few times a season. But Savoie, cool as you like, hit the puck back to Mangone on the left first-time. Mangone uncorked a one-timer and powered the puck by the Lindenwood goaltender to get the Lakers on the board. All three forwards showed excellent touch and composure, staying collected as the play evolved and continually breaking down the scrambling Lions defenders.
But don't worry about Savoie. He got another chance to score pretty quickly.
With four blue sweaters flooding over the blue line,
Raoul Boilard played a pass right into Savoie's path, just in front of the top of the crease. From close range, he hammered the puck in with venom, putting the Lakers up 2-0 at 17:27 of the first.
Two second period goals proved the deciders for LSSU. After Tyler Loughman pulled one back for the hosts, Casper Nässén responded at 11:28 and Mangone bagged his second at 17:41. On a faceoff win in the offensive zone, Savoie chucked the puck at the Lindenwood goal and Mangone simply banged in the rebound. The Lakers, like on Thursday, held a 4-1 second period lead.
There was plenty more work to be done, as Lindenwood responded at 19:56 with a snipe by Chase LaPinta. He zipped in a wrister to cut the Laker lead to 4-2 at the end of two. Then in the third, Adam Raesler scored for the Lions to force a 4-3 game, and the Lakers were forced to kill off a five minute major penalty late in the contest.
But the focus and drive endured. Lindenwood threw 22 shots at Laker goaltender
Anders Miller in the third, including during the long penalty kill. The Lakers locked in defensively, keeping many of the more dangerous chances from developing fully and relying on their goaltender to secure the win. For Miller, he earned the win with 49 saves in his first college hockey start.
Nässén scored a goal and an assist for LSSU in the win. The Lakers scored a power play goal for the second straight night and blanked Lindenwood's man advantage in both games of the weekend series. The Lakers also blocked 19 shots on Friday night.
The Lakers showed that they're capable of some spectacular, high-level offensive play throughout the weekend. On Friday, they also showed their grit and tenacity to withstand a furious late rally by the opposition. The team showed its resiliency, particularly in bouncing back from a situation that wasn't wholly dissimilar to the night before. The job was well done and a sign of growth from a young squad.
LSSU hits the road for a series at Alaska Anchorage next weekend, before heading home to host Bowling Green for Great Lake State Week in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. Buy your tickets online, and follow the Lakers all season long with the new Lake Superior State Lakers App, now available onÂ
App Store orÂ
Google Play, for all the latest news, scores and updates.