In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, Lake Superior State overcame the loss of All-American netminder Jayme Platt to a migraine headache, defeating Wayne State 2-1 Friday at the Taffy Abel Ice Arena.
Play on the ice was perhaps not as close as the score indicated, as the Lakers outshot the Warriors 57-21 with Wayne State netminder David Guerrera keeping the Warriors in it.
Laker coach Scott Borek commented, “They’ve (Wayne State) done a great job. They’re playing these games to learn how to compete at a high level defensively, and they did it. I think they worked very hard, were very physical, and played very well.
“The shots were obviously disproportionate, but I thought it was an even hockey game.”
After a hard-hitting first period, assistant captain Jason Nightingale netted his third goal of the season at 4:06 in the second to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead. Nightingale scored from the far corner with assists from Kevin Wilson and Jeremy Bachusz.
Sophomore Aaron Phillips grabbed the Lakers’ second goal of the evening on a power-play opportunity near the halfway mark of the second period.
Sophomore Nick Schrader tallied the lone goal for the Warriors, scoring at 10:38 in the second period. Brent Renfrew and Steve Nichols assisted on the Schrader goal.
Platt, meanwhile, left the game at 11:49 in the first period. The 1999-2000 All-American was replaced by sophomore Scott Murray.
Borek said, “Platt had a migraine headache heading into the game. He thought after warm-up he had shaken it off, but then he started seeing dots and things. He just didn’t think he could see the puck well enough.”
Murray made 19 saves during his season debut. He played in only four games last season and recorded a goals against average of 4.73.
“Murray played very well in a difficult situation. He had no idea he was going in, but he jumped in and made about four big saves, which is great for a guy who really hasn’t played much,” said Borek.
The Lakers finished the game with 57 shots on goal and tallied their second win of the season.
“We didn’t generate as much speed in the offensive zone as we would’ve like to have seen, but we played through some clutching and grabbing very well,” Borek said.
The Lakers will complete their two-game series with the Warriors Saturday night and will head to the East Coast to play New Hampshire and Providence next weekend. Wayne State, meanwhile, travels to Notre Dame this coming Tuesday.
