Lawrence University rallied for three goals in the third period to top Finlandia University 7-5 in a Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association game Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
The win clinched home ice for Lawrence (12-11-1, 10-9-0 MCHA) for the quarterfinal series of the MCHA playoffs on Feb. 25-26.
The Vikings trailed 5-4 midway through the third period but put together a rally to win it. Defenseman Corey Garrett scored his first goal of the season after a scramble in front of the net to tie the game at 5-5 at the 10:11 mark.
Lawrence then took the lead for good when defenseman Jon Sheridan beat Finlandia goaltender Mike Wuthrich on the short side at the 16:29 mark for a 6-5 lead.
Sam Johnson sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with just 36 seconds left.
Evan Johnson made 28 saves to pick up the victory. Wuthrich, who came on in relief of Ryan Donovan in the first period, made 30 saves and took the loss.
Lawrence, which was 3-for-4 on the power play, lost a pair of two-goal leads. Jon Bellotti, who had three points on the night, and Jameson Raymond both scored power-play goals in the opening period to give Lawrence a 2-0 edge.
Finlandia got a pair of goals from Cameron Goude to tie the score at 2-2 heading into the first intermission.
Josh DeSmit and Nate Scurfield scored just 47 seconds apart early in the second period to give the Vikings a 4-2 edge. Collin Saint-Onge then scored two power-play goals just 1:02 apart midway through the second period to tie the score at 4-4.
Kevin Smith then scored on the power play at the 5:53 mark of the third to put Finlandia up 5-4.
The teams wrap up the two-game series and the regular season on Saturday afternoon.