Site: Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. (Taffy Abel Ice Arena)
Score: Lake Superior State 5, #12 Michigan 2
Records: Lake Superior State (5-0), U-M (3-3)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 3 — at Lake Superior State (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.), 7:07 p.m.
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — The No. 12 ranked Michigan Wolverines (3-3) fell short in game one of the weekend series with Lake Superior State, 5-2, on Friday night (Nov. 2) at Taffy Abel Ice Arena.
The Wolverines got on the board first in the opening period when sophomore forward Josh Norris found the back of the net on a two-on-one break for his fourth goal of the season, giving Michigan a 1-0 lead at the 7:16 mark.
Michigan went on the powerplay with 8:09 remaining in the period when Lake Superior State got called for holding but the Wolverines were unable to convert and extend their lead. The Lakers instead tied up the game when a shot that bounced off the post and found an LSSU player open in front of the net for a short-handed goal.
Just under a minute later, the Lakers got a friendly bounce in front of the net and converted for another short-handed goal to give them a 2-1 lead with 5:11 remaining in the period. U-M was able to kill off a Lake Superior State powerplay late in the period before heading into the locker room for the first intermission down 2-1.
Lake Superior State extended their lead to 3-1 39 seconds into the second period. Shortly after the early goal, the Lakers went on the man-advantage when Michigan was called for slashing and converted on the powerplay for their fourth goal of the game to extend the lead to 4-1.
The Maize and Blue would not back down as junior forward Jake Slaker beat the Lakers goalie on a backhanded shot for his third goal of the season, which brought the Wolverines within two goals with 11:07 remaining in the second period.
Michigan had their best chance in the later stages of the second to cut the lead with less than a minute left on the clock on a power play opportunity. Will Lockwood ripped a shot from inside the circles far-side but the Laker netminder was able to stretch out his pad to make the stop.
Lake Superior State went on another man-advantage early in the third period when the Wolverines were caught for slashing. As Michigan was killing off the penalty, Brendan Warren found the Lakers goalie out of position and fired a shot on net but the LSSU netminder was able to recover and deflect the shot out of bounds.
Just over five minutes into the final period, Michigan went on another powerplay but were unable to take advantage and cut into the Lakers lead. Back-and-forth action ensued before LSSU found the back of the net with 6:13 remaining in the game to extend their lead to 5-2.
As the final period was winding down, the Wolverines went on another man advantage with 5:12 left in the game. Michigan put the pressure on the Lakers goalie but were unable to capitalize before the final buzzer sounded.
Michigan will wrap up the weekend series in Sault Ste. Marie tomorrow night (Nov. 3) at 7:07 p.m. against Lake Superior State.
