Lake State hockey earns split with Clarkson
SAULT STE. MARIE - The Lake Superior State hockey program (1-4-1) earned their first official win of the season against the Clarkson Golden Knights (2-5-0) in dominant fashion by a final score of 5-1 on Saturday.
Both teams would feel each other out early, despite not taking many shots, but that would change midway through the opening period as Logan Jenuwine was able to steal the puck near center ice and fire it into the back of the net to open up the scoring. Minutes later, Dawson Tritt was able to slip through what would ultimately be the game-winner after being set up by Brett Roloson and Timo Bakos
Senior captain Louis Boudon extended the Lakers' lead nearly five minutes into the second period with an assist from Brandon Puricelli, and the offensive firepower did not stop as senior defenseman Jake Willets capitalized on a power play opportunity with assists from Bakos and goaltender Ethan Langenegger who shoveled the puck to the blue line to give his teammates an advantage.
Clarkson got on the board in the third period with a goal from Trey Taylor, but it would not be enough as Jacob Bengtsson and Tritt disrupted the Golden Knights' attack and got the puck out to their captain for Boudon to seal the 5-1 victory with a shorthanded goal into an empty net.
Boudon led the attack with a two-goal performance with Tritt and Bakos also earning multiple points on the night. Meanwhile, Langenegger picked up the win between the pipes after stopping 19 of the 20 shots he faced while also earning the first point of his career.
The Lakers will now turn their attention to Friday, Nov. 4 when they open up Central Collegiate Hockey Association action with a two-game series against the Northern Michigan Wildcats with the first puck drop of game one scheduled for 7:07 p.m.
On Friday, the Lakers fell to the Golden Knights (2-4-0) in overtime after an improbable comeback.
The Lakers were able to strike early on the power play as senior captain Louis Boudon opened up the scoring at the 6:39 mark off of assists from Brandon Puricelli and alternate captain Jack Jeffers. However, the Golden Knights quickly responded just over thirty seconds of game time later with Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup managing to push the puck just past Seth Eisele.
Both teams were able to fend off several chances with each goaltender making one strong save after another. However, midway through the second period, Schmidt-Svejstrup scored his second goal of the contest after narrowly squeezing the puck past the glove of Eisele. Clarkson would tack on one more at the 7:46 mark in the third period as Mattieu Gosselin extended Clarkson's lead to 3-0.
The Lakers' chances appeared to be bleak late in the third period, but opportunity presented itself in the form of a power play after Clarkson was called for a holding penalty. The Lakers seized their chance at an advantage, pulling their goalie in favor of playing six on four. The gamble paid off as Puricelli found the back of the net after being set up by freshman Connor Milburn and junior defenseman Jacob Bengtsson.
Still down a goal, the Lakers once again pulled the goalie in favor of the extra attacker and with 1.7 seconds remaining on the clock, Milburn proved to be the hero, knotting up the game and forcing overtime after Puricelli passed him the puck when a shot from Jared Kucharek deflected off of the pads of the Clarkson goaltender.
However, shortly into the overtime period, Clarkson was able to capitalize off of a Lake State penalty to score the game-winner on the power play, breaking the hearts of the Laker faithful.
Despite the loss, Puricelli had an impressive three-point outing after being involved in every Laker goal, and Milburn also finished with multiple points, the first of his collegiate career.
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Lake State hockey earns split with Clarkson
