SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State (LSSU) hockey program (11-11-1, 8-6-1 CCHA) closed out the Cappo Cup Series with a 5-2 victory over the visiting Northern Michigan Wildcats (7-11-2, 5-7-0 CCHA) to bring the trophy back to the Soo on Saturday.

The Wildcats would get on the board first after Reilly Funk tipped in the puck to give his team a 1-0 lead at the 12:02 mark, and that score would hold throughout the remainder of the opening period.

Both teams continued to battle for most of the second period with neither side giving an inch, but Branden Piku (Harrison Twp., Mich.) slotted home his second goal of the weekend to tie up the game at the 15:31 mark with helpers from linemates Reagan Milburn (Kamloops, B.C.) and Luke Levandowski (Rosemount, Mich.).

Then, less than a minute later, Timo Bakos (Augsburg, Germany) firmly flipped the momentum in favor of the Lakers, quickly putting LSSU in front with help from John Herrington (Hudson's Hope, B.C.) and Nate Schweitzer (Champlin, Minn.), but the Lakers were not done yet.

Harrison Roy (Lakeville, Mass.) fired in the puck with just under 30 seconds to play in the second period, and it took a deflection off the skate of Dawson Tritt (Spokane, Wash.) who was credited with the goal. Ross Roloson (Woodbury, Minn.) was also credited with an assist on the play to wrap up an impressive five-minute stretch of Laker hockey to close out the second period.

At the 2:09 mark of the third period, Connor Milburn (Kamloops, B.C.) took advantage of a Wildcat penalty, firing in his eighth goal of the season after being set up by Jared Westcott (Imperial, Mo.) and Evan Bushy (Thief River Falls, Minn.).

The Wildcats were able to add one more later in the period on a Kevin Marx Noren goal, but an empty-netter from Tritt iced the game away to secure the Cappo Cup.

12 different Lakers recorded a point on the night. Meanwhile, Ethan Langenegger (Kamloops, B.C.) picked up his tenth win between the pipes this season to tie his career-high after stopping 30 shots that he faced.

FRIDAY GAME RECAP FROM LSSU ATHLETICS
 

The Lake Superior State (LSSU) hockey program (10-11-1, 7-6-1 CCHA) emphatically picked up three more points in the CCHA standings after a dominant 5-1 showing over the visiting Northern Michigan Wildcats (7-10-2, 5-6-0 CCHA) to take the series lead in goal differential on Friday, simplifying all that is required for retaking the Cappo Cup to merely winning the final game of the series.

Both teams battled early on with the Lakers able to kill off a penalty, the first of three Wildcat opportunities that the LSSU penalty kill unit would successfully fend off. However, NMU would strike first after Michael Colella stole away the puck before scoring unassisted to give the Wildcats a 1-0 advantage heading into the first intermission.

Sixteen seconds after coming out of the break, Carter Batchelder (Savage, Minn.) finished off the play, scoring his sixth goal of the season while simultaneously being slashed by a Wildcat defender to draw a penalty as well with Joshua Wildauer (Dearborn Heights, Mich.) and Evan Bushy (Thief River Falls, Minn.) picking up the helpers.

Branden Piku (Harrison Twp., Mich.) would then take advantage of the penalty drawn by Batchelder to give the Lakers their first lead of the night with a power-play goal at the 2:08 mark that turned out to be his second game-winner of the season after being set up by linemates Reagan Milburn (Kamloops, B.C.) and Luke Levandowski (Rosemount, Minn.).

Jared Westcott (Imperial, Mo.) would then go on to slot home his team-leading 13th goal of the season after some friendly bounces on its way in to cap off a strong second period of action for LSSU with assists from sophomores Connor Milburn (Kamloops, B.C.) and Bryan Huggins (Grand Rapids, Mich.).

The Lakers wasted no time extending their lead in the third period, stealing another power-play goal in the final second of the extra-man advantage with a snipe from Captain Harrison Roy (Lakeville, Mass.) with helpers from Dawson Tritt (Spokane, Wash.) and Timo Bakos (Augsburg, Germany), and John Herrington (Hudson's Hope, B.C.) finished off the night, putting one more past NMU's Beni Halaz late in the game to put an exclamation point on the night.

Goaltender Ethan Langenegger (Kamloops, B.C.) picked up the win between the pipes after stopping 23 out of 24 shots he faced for a save percentage of .958. Meanwhile, the LSSU penalty kill unit was a perfect 3-3 while the Laker power play was successful on two of six opportunities.