Laker hockey drops pair to No. 5 Michigan on Great Lake State weekend
SAULT STE. MARIE — The Lake Superior State hockey program (0-3-1) fell to the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines (5-1-0) by a final score of 5-1 on Saturday.
Both defenses started off strong, fending off multiple early chances, but the Wolverines would open the scoring at the 10:08 mark with a goal from Florida Panthers' draft pick Mackie Samoskevich.
Michigan would score again a few minutes later as Adam Fantilli was able to capitalize on a fortunate bounce from a miss by Ethan Edwards, and the score would remain 2-0 going into the first intermission after the Lakers' penalty kill unit held their ground.
TJ Hughes extended the Wolverines' lead to 3-0 nearly three minutes into the second period, but the Lakers responded a few minutes later with a power play goal from sophomore forward Timo Bakos with assists from Jared Westcott and Jared Kucharek. However, the Wolverines would score a power play goal of their own as Hughes netted his second goal of the period at the 8:45 mark, and the teams would go into the second intermission with Michigan leading 4-1.
The Wolverines would tack on one more goal midway through the third period with a score from Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick Dylan Duke. The Lakers would keep fighting, but it would not be enough as Michigan was able to hold on to win the second game of the series by a final score of 5-1. Despite the loss, senior goaltender Seth Eisele was able to stop 33 shots in his first start of the season.
Meanwhile, Grant Hindman was able to take some pressure off of Eisele as he blocked a pair of Wolverine attempts.
On Friday, The Lakers fell to the Wolverines by a final score of 5-2.
The Wolverines struck quickly with a goal from Adam Fantilli 45 seconds into the game. Fantilli would then score his second goal of the contest midway through the opening period before Vancouver Canucks' draft pick Jacob Truscott gave Michigan a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
Both teams would open the second period with multiple chances, but the defenses held strong with Ethan Langenegger coming up with multiple huge saves. However, Michigan would extend their lead with a goal from Kienan Draper to push the score to 4-0.
The Lakers were able to get on the board at the 8:55 mark in the second period after sophomore
forward Jordan Venegoni netted his first goal of his collegiate career with assists from Jared Westcott and alternate captain Jacob Bengtsson.
Early in the third period, the Lakers took advantage of a slashing penalty from late in the second period as senior forward Brandon Puricelli scored his second goal of the season on the power play after receiving assists from captains Bengtsson and Louis Boudon However, the defenses held firm for the remainder of the game, and the Wolverines iced the game away with an empty-netter from Fantilli.
Despite the loss, Bengtsson was able to secure multiple points for the ninth time in his career.
Freshman defenseman Bryan Huggins also proved to be a force on the defensive end, leading all players with three blocks, and Langanegger earned 35 saves.
The Lakers return to action on Friday, Oct. 28 when they host Clarkson in Taffy Abel Arena with the first puck drop scheduled for 7:07 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Lake Superior State hockey drops pair to No. 5 Michigan
