Sunday, October 15, 2006

GVSU finishes second in Grand Rapids Showcase

Grand Valley State University competed in the second annual Grand Rapids Showcase Tournament, hosted by Davenport University, last weekend and finished in second place.

Invited to the tournament were Calvin College, Hope College, Davenport and GVSU.

GVSU opened up the weekend against Hope College on Friday. The Lakers played without many regulars in the contest, giving many players their first chance of playing time. The game started slow, with GVSU only going up 1-0 after the first period on a Nate Beverwyk goal.

The second period was just as sloppy, with GVSU allowing three Hope goals, while only netting two of their own. Kyle Gorka scored his first collegiate goal and Phil Murray added another.

It wasn’t until the third that GVSU finally started to play up to their potential, dominating the period and adding three more goals of their own to win 6-3. Tom Anderson put in his first goal for GVSU, while Murray added his second of the game and Nick Biondo rounded out the scoring. Kevin Chapman was in net for the Lakers, stopping 16 Hope shots. GVSU outshot Hope 44-19 on the night.

After a 5-1 win against Calvin, Davenport advanced to play GVSU on Saturday night in the championship game. Both teams exchanged early scoring chances, but it was Davenport who got on the board first with a goal four minutes in. Nate Morang added one for the Lakers, but fell behind 3-1 after one period.

The teams exchanged goals in a high scoring, end to end game but GVSU found itself on the losing end when the final horn sounded by the score of 7-5. Chris Rader scored his first ACHA goal after three years out of the league and Morang, Biondo and Nick Boyle added goals for the Lakers. Anderson picked up three assists on the night as well. Grant Lyon was in net for the Lakers in the loss, as GVSU was outshot 36-30.

GVSU plays two regional games next weekend, the first at Ferris State University for the Lakers' first GMHL game. On Saturday. GVSU returns home to play Central Michigan University at 8:00 p.m.

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