Lakers falter over weekend

by Mike Burrill/LSSU Beat Writer

The young Lake Superior State Lakers earned some valuable experience in the inaugural Superior Showcase last weekend.

In Friday’s game against Minnesota-Duluth, the Lakers gave up 39 shots on goal, but sophomore goaltender Pat Inglis was up to the task in stopping 37 of them.

Fellow sophomore Nathan Perkovich scored the first Laker goal of the season in the second period with an assist going to freshman Will Acton. Alternate captain Dan Eaves put the Lakers up 2-1 in the third with assists going to sophomore Nik Sellers and freshman Chad Nehring.

LSSU wasn’t able to hold the lead, however, giving up a power-play goal minutes later to settle for the 2-2 tie at the DECC.

The Lakers were 0-for-5 on the power-play, while the home Bulldogs were 1-for-5.

On Sunday evening in Houghton, the Lakers played the Michigan Tech Huskies in their second game of the Showcase.

The young Laker defense struggled early with the Huskies speed and transition game and quickly found themselves down 2-0. They gained some momentum at the end of the period, however, when a rough bounce off a clearing shot by sophomore defenseman Simon Gysbers slid into the net, cutting MTU’s lead in half.

The Lakers took that momentum into the second period, dominating the Huskies and scoring twice in the first 10 minutes. Sellers got his second point of the weekend, banging home a juicy rebound on a shot by Nehring. Eaves earned the other assist.

Perkovich scored his second of the weekend two minutes later with assists going to junior Josh Sim and freshman Rick Schofield.

After the Lakers took the lead, questionable officiating saw a steady stream of Laker Blue going to the penalty box, which gave the hometown Huskies a power-play goal to close the period and all the momentum they needed to cruise to a 4-3 win.

Inglis was in net for the Lakers again and made 21 saves on the night. LSSU was shutout on the power-play, going 0-for-4, while MTU went 2-for-6.

The Lakers host Western Ontario Saturday night at Taffy Abel Arena in exhibition play.