Lawrence University scored four times in the second period and rolled to a 5-1 victory over Finlandia University in Friday’s opening game of a Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal playoff series at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
Lawrence (13-10-3) needs a win or tie in Saturday’s series finale to advance to the Harris Cup semifinals.
The Vikings were already up 1-0 thanks for Brad Scurfield’s first-period goal when they scored four times in a stretch of 11 minutes in the second period.
Patrick Coyne got things started for the Vikings when he scored on the power play at the 6:28 mark to give Lawrence a 2-0 edge. Lawrence went 1-for-4 on the power play on the evening.
Phil Bushbacher made it 3-0 at the 9:56 mark, and the Vikings scored again on Huck Saunders’ goal just 25 seconds later to make it 4-0.
Coyne, a freshman forward, scored again at the 17:53 mark to give Lawrence a 5-0 lead. It was the first multi-goal game of Coyne’s career.
Alex Heinonen broke up the shutout for Finlandia (7-18-0) when he scored on the power play with just 17 seconds left in the second period to trim the lead to 5-1.
Peter Emery stopped 28 shots to earn the win for Lawrence. Cedrik LaFrance made the start and allowed four goals for Finlandia in taking the loss.