Lake Superior State hit the road to face Minnesota State on Friday night, capitalizing on an early goal by Markus Loponen and a late-first period goal by Cooper Foster to grab a road point. The Lakers tied 2-2 with the Mavericks in Mankato, MN, losing in a shootout.
 
Markus Loponen scored a one-timer from the low slot at 3:03 of the first period. The Lakers (2-4-1, 0-2-1 CCHA) utilized an effective forecheck to force a turnover below the Mavs (2-4-1, 0-0-1 CCHA) goal line. Ethan Moore snapped up the puck and quickly slung a pass to the low slot, where Loponen hammered in the shot first-time.
 
The 2024 Winnipeg Jets draft pick scored his second goal of the season. Laker Head Coach Damon Whitten praised first year forward Ethan Moore, who picked up the assist.
 
"We love to use our forecheck effectively to create offense and possession. It starts with Ethan Moore, another one of those young guys. He has a really good F1 forecheck, finishes with a heavy, competitive play. Pierson Sobush is right there to pressure the next puck and force a turnover. Moore goes from a hard play to a skilled play. He makes a great saucer pass to Loponen who makes no mistake with it."
 
Cooper Foster punched in his second of the season later in the period to put the Lakers up by a pair. Charles Savoie notched an assist and Teo Besnier picked up the secondary helper. Savoie sits 10^th nationally with 11 points in his first seven Laker games.
 
"They've been really good," said Whitten of the Foster, Savoie and Calem Mangone trio. "They're difference makers. Confident and playing well. That shift is an example of what they're doing well. There's a great combination of grit and size with brains and skill. You see everything with that line, shift in and shift out."
 
Anders Miller made 24 saves for LSSU. The rookie goaltender played very well in a building that few teams in the country have experienced much joy in over the last decade. Whitten said, "He was able to look across the ice at a really experienced goaltender and match him save for save. You need that goaltending to have a chance to be successful."
 
Besnier picked up his second assist of the season and blocked three shots for LSSU. So did fellow Laker defenseman Doogan Pederson.
 
The Lakers and the Mavericks square off on Saturday at 7:07 PM ET in Mankato. See the game on Midco Sports Plus, listen live on 99.5 YES FM and follow along on the new Lake Superior State Lakers app, available on the App Store and Google Play.