No. 20 Lakers Earn a 3-1 Win at No. 18 Michigan Tech

HOUGHTON, Mich. – The No. 20 Lake Superior State hockey team earned a 3-1 road victory against the No. 18 Michigan Tech Huskies on Tuesday, Feb. 16 at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, Mich. in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) game. Benito Posa, Ashton Calder and Yuki Miura scored the goals for the Lakers while Mareks Mitens made 35 saves for LSSU in his seventh win of the season. 

Freshman forward Benito Posa scored his second goal of the season to give the Lakers the game’s first lead at 16:35 of the first period. With the goal, Posa now has four points (2G, 2A) in his last five games for the Lakers. 

The play started with senior defenseman Lukas Kaelble carrying the puck up the ice and into the Huskies defensive zone. After Kaelble held the puck along the boards, Posa would swing in and collect the loose puck. Posa would then skate in through the face off circle and fire off a quick shot that beat Michigan Tech’s goaltender, Blake Pietila on his low blocker side for a 1-0 Laker lead. 

Only 33 seconds into the second period, the Lakers would take a 2-0 lead over the Huskies as Calder would score what would hold up as the game winning goal. Following back and forth action between the two teams to open the second period, sophomore defenseman Arvid Henrikson would send a pass to Louis Boudon after a Michigan Tech player fanned on a shot in the Lakers defensive end. Boudon collected the cross ice pass and would find Pete Veillette open in the neutral zone. Veillette skated into the offensive zone on an odd man rush with Calder, with the Husky defenseman sliding on the ice to break up the play. Veillette sent a saucer pass over the sliding defender to Calder, who buried the puck for the 2-0 lead. 

At 7:15 of the second period, Trenton Bliss scored for Michigan Tech to bring the Huskies within a goal of the Lakers. Brain Halonen and Justin Misiak both recorded assists for Michigan Tech. 

With 2:04 left in the game, the Huskies scored a goal that was then called off after a short review as the play was offside. 

The Lakers clinched the win at 18:33 of the third period when Yuki Miura scored his career-best third goal of the season to give the Lakers a 3-1 lead. Miura’s goal, which was scored on an empty net, was assisted by Hampus Eriksson and Jacob Nordqvist. 

Mitens finished the game with 35 saves to record his seventh win of the season while Pietila stopped 20 shots by the Lakers in the game.

The Lakers have now strung together three consecutive wins against ranked opponents as the Lakers swept the No. 12 Bowling Green Falcons last weekend on the road. 

The Lakers will return to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. for a pair of games against the University of Alabama Huntsville Chargers this weekend. The first game is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 19 and the series will conclude on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 5:07 p.m. at the Taffy Abel Arena. 

Even though spectators cannot currently attend Laker 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.

For more information, visit lssulakers.com.