Makenna Olson’s stunning goal early in the third period grabbed the lead for good as Lake Superior State finished off a weekend series sweep over Minnesota with a 4-3 win Sunday afternoon.
The freshman, playing in her first college hockey game, produced a moment of magic, dekeing a defender and executing a stellar finish. The Lakers ACHA Division I women’s hockey team (2-0) locked the game down for the rest of the period, with stellar defense securing the win over the Golden Gophers (2-2).
“Your game winner comes from a freshman playing some big minutes in her first game and it just gets your team going,” said Lakers head coach Matt Parker. “When your defense is scoring, it gets your team going and when your freshmen contribute, too.”
But it wasn’t the Lakers first wondergoal of the game. Sarah Lamb scored on a scintillating second period strike. Taking a pass from Jerzi Calder, she got to her defender’s back shoulder, drew plenty of contact, protected the puck as she was dragged down and still managed to finish at the net. Parker called the goals by Lamb and Parker “art” postgame.
“[Lamb] just outworks that player for a goal,” he said. “That’s a huge goal for us as a team.”
Calder, a sophomore defender for the Lakers, pointed out the tremendous energy the Lakers have early. She said, “It felt really good. We really needed that to kickstart the season. The energy is good in the room. Vibes are high.”
Lindsey Tonello scored twice for the Lakers, her second and third markers of the year. Her first period goal gave the Lakers an early lead, and she deflected in another one early in the second. That goal put the Lakers up 3-1, and it looked like they were off to the races. But the Gophers found their footing and counterpunched with a pair of goals in the second period. Halle Hollenback, who also scored on Saturday, got her second of the season minutes after the Lakers went up by two, and Laramie Prell tied the game for Minnesota with her second of the season.
“I think that was probably one of the best aspects of our game this weekend was getting scored on and what we did immediately following the goals,” Parker said. “It’s been a big thing that we’ve put a strong emphasis on. We know we’re going to give up some goals, so how do we keep moving forward? That was one thing we did great this weekend. We got punched a couple times. Minnesota came back on us and we reacted really well to those goals.”
The Lakers reacted by cranking up the defensive intensity. Minnesota managed just five total shots in the third period, despite trailing from Olson’s goal at 6:27 onward.
Laney Pasemko made 23 saves in the win for LSSU. Her opposing goaltender, Timberlyn Mazeikis, saw far more action, stopping 34 shots in the loss for the Golden Gophers.
Next on the docket, Lake Superior State faces U-of-M Dearborn. Saturday, September 27th, the Lakers host the Wolverines at 7:00 PM, followed by a 1:00 PM faceoff on Sunday the 28th.
“That’s going to be a great weekend series for us that’s going to set us up for some strong showings later in the season,” Parker said. Admittance is free for both games at Taffy Abel Arena, which looks to be a high-stakes series with an annual ACHA powerhouse.
