Lake Superior got a late goal from Chris Ciotti at the tail-end of a five minute major power play, and Domenic Menardo added a late empty-net goal to defeat Bemidji State 2-0 in non-conference play.
I made it all the way through this one, so here were my notes:
Lake Superior is going to be a frustrating match-up for a lot of teams this year. Bemidji State controlled time of possession and kept the puck in the Lake State zone for the majority of the first period, but Bemidji came out of the period without a goal, and really didn’t have any notable scoring chances. That has to be tough to play a pretty good period, but still be stuck playing exactly the type of game that Lake Superior wants to play.'
Lake Superior is a really big team, and not a particularly fast team, but they had an outstanding team defensive effort tonight, and Kevin Kapalka made a couple huge saves the few times he was called upon. It's not a strategy that's going to win the CCHA for them, but they'll win some games, and cause a ton of headaches for anyone that has to play them.
This one looked like it was headed for a scoreless tie until Lake Superior received a 5-minute power play after David Boehm boarded Domenic Menardo into the boards from behind. It looked like that power play would go for naught until Chris Ciotti picked up a loose puck off a face-off and finished off a nice goal. It looked like a bit of a weird bounce that snuck behind Bemidji's defense, leaving Ciotti all alone on the goal.
Once Lake Superior scored, I don't think Bemidji State was able to generate another shot on goal. Just an absolute defensive lockdown by the Lakers.