There are no longer any unbeaten teams in college hockey.
The Lake Superior State Lakers entered action Saturday as college hockey’s last undefeated team, but dropped a 4-3 decision in overtime to Alaska in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action at Taffy Abel Arena.
“It’s disappointing,” Lakers Coach Damon Whitten said. “It’s been a good run here so that makes it a little more difficult.”
The Lakers had opened the season with sweeps of Michigan State at home and Alabama-Huntsville on the road and beat Alaska on Friday night to extend their winning streak to five games prior to Saturday’s loss.
Whitten said the message going forward will remain the same after the first loss of the season.
“We talked about not getting loose in our play and making a loss wake us up to play the right way,” Whitten said. “I thought tonight was our best game in three games. It’s a funny game that way. You get away with some things and get a couple of wins and then you get bit a little bit tonight.”
Whitten said the Lakers “probably played well enough to win in some ways” but said special teams was a factor.
The Lakers finished the night with a single power-play goal in eight opportunities in a game that saw the two teams combine for 16 power plays.
“Special teams became extremely important and for the first time we were on the wrong end of it and that can cost you a hockey game,” Whitten said. “Our special teams have been good so I’m not overly concerned (going forward).”
Both coaches noted the number of power plays making things difficult to get a regular rotation of lines going.
“It’s a little bit of a lesson for us to make sure we get those guys (who don’t play on special teams) involved a little bit,” Ferguson said.
“It’s really difficult (to get a flow going),” Whitten said.
Marcus Basara scored his second goal of the game 2:09 into the extra period to give Alaska the victory. Goaltender Jesse Jenks was a difference-maker, stopping 38 shots.
“Our goaltender was our best player tonight,” said Alaska coach Dallas Ferguson. “Jesse was huge, especially early on in the first five or six minutes, (Lake State) had a really big push and he made some big saves for us.”
Ross Heidt had a goal and an assist for Alaska while Troy Van Tetering and Chad Staley had a pair of assists each for Alaska. Zach Frye also scored.
Mitch Hults had two goals and an assist to pace Lake State offensively while Gage Torrel had the other Lakers’ goal. Nick Kossoff stopped 22 shots in his first start of the season.
WCHA roundup
Bowling Green 4, at Miami 1
Pierre-Luc Mercier had a goal and an assist for Bowling Green, which scored four unanswered goals in the win. Matt Pholkamp, Mark Friedman and John Schilling also scored for Bowling Green, while Mitchell McLain had two assists. Ryan Larkin made 37 saves in the loss.
Michigan Tech 5, at Northern Michigan 1
Mitch Reinke had a goal and an assist for Michigan Tech, which got goals from five different players in the victory.
No. 20 Bemidji State 4, Alaska Anchorage 0
Michael Bitzer made 17 saves for the shutout while T.J. Roo, Dylan McCrory, Kyle Bauman and Gerry Fitzgerald completed the scoring.
Ferris State 4, at No. 9 Minnesota State 3
Gerald Mayhew’s second goal of the game broke a 3-3 tie with 1:01 remaining in regulation time to give Ferris the victory. Minnesota State scored three times in the third period to tie the game.
No. 10 St. Cloud State 5, Alabama Huntsville 2
Jack Ahcan had a goal and two assists for St. Cloud, which outshot the Chargers 29-12 in the win. Will Borgen had two assists for St. Cloud.
