The LU hockey team split last weekend’s
series with Minnesota-Crookston, posting a 3-2 win Friday before losing 4-3 Saturday. The split between the Vikings and the Golden Eagles (4-13-2, 4-9-1 MCHA) means that the two teams remain 4th and 5th place in conference standings. The Vikings are now 7-10-2 overall and 6-6-2 in conference, which puts them within striking distance of 2nd place where Marian and Finlandia are logjammed.
In Friday night’s game, Crookston struck first at the 9:11 mark of the second
period. The Eagles outshot LU by a 2:1 ratio in the first period; however the the Vikes answered back in the second, outshooting UM-C 14-8. Freshman Adam Brand scored the equalizer at the 12:16 mark of the second, with assists from Joe MacDonald and David Olynyk.
Despite being outshot 17-6 in the third period, the Vikings were able to grab their first lead of the game at 12:01 of the final period. The score came on a Pete Mossberg goal set up from a Joe Searl assist. However the lead would not hold. Crookston capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play late in the third period to make it a 2-2 game. With the game still tied at the end of regulation, the game headed to overtime.
Joe Searl got the game winner 3:22 into the extra session. Andrew Isaac had 39 saves in the win.
Friday’s first period saw no goals; Saturday night saw a different story. Crookston took advantage of two power plays, skating to a 3-1 lead after a period. The lone Vikings goal came from David Olynyk with assists by Aaron LaFave and Mossberg. The Golden Eagles added to their lead early in the second period and took a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. Lawrence wasn’t finished quite yet, with Searl scoring at 6:01 and MacDonald at 10:43, but the late charge by LU wasn’t enough.
Searl was named the MCHA Player-of-the-Week for his 3-point weekend performance, including Friday night’s game winning goal. Lawrence is only 2 points back from Marian and Finlandia heading into this weekend’s series with Finlandia, making this weekend extremely important in determining the conference standings down the final stretch.
Hockey splits with UM-Crookston
