Late comeback gives Lakers the sweep over Northern

MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Lake Superior State hockey team earned a thrilling 3-2 win in overtime against the Northern Michigan Wildcats in a nonconference game on Saturday, Jan. 9 at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich. 

With the win, the Lakers closed out their non-conference portion of the 2020-21 season with a 6-1-3 record. 

Heading into the third period, the Lakers trailed the Wildcats by a pair of goals. Ty Readman opened the game’s scoring at 7:43 of the first period and Alex Frye scored a power play goal at 2:52 of the second period.

The Lakers had a five minute power play opportunity at the end of the second period that continued into the third period after Northern Michigan was assessed a five minute major for a check from behind on junior forward Pete Veillette. Veillette, who was in a vulnerable position on the hit, would return to the game for the Lakers.  

At 7:33 of the third period, Veillette would get the Lakers on the board with his third goal of the season. Ashton Calder won a faceoff in the offensive zone and got the puck back to Lukas Kaelble, who skated around the circle. Kaelble sent the puck across the ice to Veillette, who was all alone on the doorstep in front of Northern Michigan’s goaltender. Veillette sent the puck into the open net to cut the Lakers deficit in half. 

With only 2:42 left in regulation, the Lakers tied up the game on Veillette’s second goal of the night. The play started in the neutral zone with Will Riedell sending a cross ice pass to Jacob Nordqvist. Nordqvist then carried the puck into the offensive zone and fired a shot on goal. Kent let out a big rebound on the play that darted out to Veillette. The forward sent a quick shot to tie the game and force overtime. 

The Lakers started the overtime on a power play with Northern being called for interference with one second left in the third period. To start off the extra frame, the Lakers power play gained possession of the offensive zone and began to set up the eventual game winning scoring play right away. Kaelble and Mitchell Oliver, who were playing the two points, exchanged passes on the blueline before Oliver took a slapshot that made its way on goal. When the puck was loose in front of the Wildcat goal, Calder would find the loose puck and send it to Louis Boudon, who would net  the game winning goal for the Lakers. 

For the second straight game, special teams played a big part of the Lakers win. The Lakers scored a power play goal for the second night in a row while also adding a shorthanded goal. 

Mareks Mitens finished the game with 32 saves for his second win of the weekend and his fourth of the season. Kent faced 32 shots in the game, including 16 in the third period, stopping 29 shots by the Lakers. 

The Lakers will begin conference play next weekend against the No. 4 ranked Minnesota State Mavericks on Friday, Jan. 15 at 7:07 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 16 at 5:07 p.m. Both games will be played at the Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. 

Even though spectators cannot currently attend Laker home games, there are still a number of ways that fans will be able to follow the game action. All Laker home games, and away games against WCHA opponents during the 2020-21 season will be available to watch live on FloHockey, the WCHA’s streaming partner. For more information or to sign up for a subscription, visit https:/www.flohockey.tv. Fans can also tune in to the radio broadcast on 99.5 Yes FM, the official radio station of Laker hockey.