SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Drama was high on the Upper Peninsula Friday night as the Lindenwood men's hockey team (1-2-0 Independent) clawed their way to a 5-4 come from behind victory over Lake Superior State (2-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) to secure head coach Keith Fisher's first career win. The Lions scored three goals in the final period to overcome a two-score deficit.
Game Overview
Lindenwood struck first just over ten minutes into the opening period, with
Brody Mortensen burying a shot for his first score of the season on a
Giovanni Morneau assist. However, Lake Superior State surged ahead before the first intermission with a goal by Branden Piku at the 18:09 mark before Connor Milburn found the back of the net just 16 seconds later to make the score 2-1.
Giovanni Morneau continued to be an offensive force for the Lions in the second period, doing it himself with an unassisted goal at the 3:43 mark to even the score. With less than a minute left in the frame, the Lakers pulled back in front with a Wilson Dahlheimer score.
Nearly three minutes into the final period, LSSU doubled their lead with a Reagan Milburn goal that put the Lions in a 4-2 hole. The deficit remained at two nearly halfway through the frame when
Charles Savoie cut the deficit in half with a goal assisted by
Adam Raesler and
Louis-Philippe Fontaine.
The same trio connected again just three minutes later on the power play to bring the game to an even 4-4 with seven and a half minutes remaining. Then, at the 16:06 mark, freshman
Jacob Fletcher converted on a feed from
Michael Bevilacqua to score his first career goal and complete the comeback for Lindenwood as the Lions went ahead 5-4.
The drama was far from over, however, as Lindenwood went on the penalty kill following an
Ethan Elias roughing penalty just 20 seconds after the go-ahead goal. The Lions' path to victory only became more arduous from there, as
Brody Mortensen was called for a five-minute major for hitting from behind, leaving LU shorthanded for the remainder of the game.
The Lions were two men down for the next 43 seconds while Elias served the remainder of his penalty but were able to prevent the Lakers from getting a shot off during the three-on-five.
With time dwindling to find an equalizer, Lake Superior State pulled their goaltender at the 18:42 mark to regain the two-man advantage, but the Lindenwood penalty kill unit held strong, turning away four shots with one on goal in the final minute and change to grind out a massive 5-4 win.
Game Notes
- The victory was Lindenwood head coach Keith Fisher's first career win.
- It was the Lions' first win after trailing by two or more goals since also erasing a two-goal third period deficit against Air Force on October 14th, 2022.
- Charles Savoie has recorded back-to-back multi-point performances and leads Lindenwood with four points (2 goals - 2 assists) this season.
- The Lions were a perfect 4-4 on the penalty kill, allowing just two shots on goal during 8:18 of total penalty time.
Quotable
"Proud of the guys for sticking with our game and coming from behind. The guys really gutted it out at the end with a big penalty kill. This was a great team win!" - Keith Fisher.
Next Up
The Lions and Lakers faceoff again on Saturday with puck drop scheduled for 5:07 CT.
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