The Bulldogs split their series against Lake Superior State which snapped their eight-game losing streak.
The Bulldogs first fell to the Lake Superior State Lakers on Friday, December 3rd, 3-0. This shutout loss extended their seven-game losing streak to eight despite the Bulldogs having the edge in shots, 35-22.
Coach Bob Daniels tried diagnosing the issues that have led to the 8 game skid.
“It’s a variety of things,” Daniels said. “I think in some respects, there’s been nights where it would be, I would say, [there would be nights] where it was the goaltending. That was a concern. I think some nights it was turnovers. And then I thought there were other times where it’s been on the forecheck. We’ve given up odd-man rushes by being overly-aggressive. So it’s been kinda a different thing. Within those eight games, I’ve seen some pretty darn good games where I felt we deserved maybe a better outcome. I think tonight is kind of in that category.”
Like previous games, the Bulldogs had a quiet first period, with the only eventful happening was a Bulldog penalty.
Seven minutes into the second period, the Bulldogs would take their second penalty of the night. The Lakers would take advantage of the penalty for a power-play goal. Just over a minute after their first goal, the Lakers would net a second.
In the waning minutes of the second period, the Bulldogs would take a third penalty of the night. The Bulldogs would kill the penalty off and head into the third period down 2 – 0.
The Bulldogs wouldn’t be able to crack the Lakers goaltender throughout the third period. The Lakers would add one more goal after the Bulldogs pulled their goalie.
The game would end and the Bulldogs were left looking at a 3 – 0 loss.
All three penalties taken by the Bulldogs on Friday night came from freshman forward Zach Faremouth.
The Bulldogs would rebound strongly on Saturday, December 4th against the Lakers and won 3 – 1, ending their eight game skid.
Daniels spoke on the long awaited win and how it felt for the team
“All wins feel good. They do. Regardless, it was tacked on to an eight game winning streak. They just all feel really good to me. But the most important thing is, with an eight game skid, the guys continue to work as hard as they have and try to implement what we’re talking about. It’s really important. Y’know if you lose that, Monday we’re gonna turn around and keep harping on the same things but is there gonna be buy-in? I think they saw the success they had. I think they felt pretty good.”
The Bulldogs would take an early high-sticking penalty in the first period. The Lakers jumped at the opportunity and would score. After the Laker goal, the period would be uneventful and come to a close, 1 – 0 Lakers.
The second period would be mostly quiet until senior forward Ethan Stewart jumped on a rebound to net his 4th goal of the season. The Bulldogs would head into the third period with a 1 -1 tie,
The Bulldogs wasted no time as senior forward Justin Michaelian would score the go-ahead goal just two minutes into the third period, putting the Bulldogs up 2 – 1.
Only a few minutes later, senior forward Jake Transit would add to the Bulldog lead, putting them up 3 – 1.
The Bulldogs would finish the third period posting a 3 – 1 victory against the Lakers.
Senior captain Ethan Stewart put up 1 goal and 1 assist in the win.
Stewart commented on how winning this game felt for the team.
“It feels great,” Stewart said. “The guys deserve it. They [have] been working their bags off in practice and workouts. We worked really hard tonight. We earned that.”
The Bulldogs now sit at 5-13-0 overall and 3-7-0 in CCHA play.
The Bulldogs will hit the road to take on Bowling Green State on Friday, December 10th and won’t be back home until the new year, when they have a tilt with St. Thomas on Friday, January 14th.