The Lawrence University hockey team won the battle last weekend, but winning the war is firmly on their minds.
The Vikings won both games in the Battle of Highway 41 series with Marian University last weekend. The two wins propelled Lawrence into a first-place tie with the Sabres in the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association’s Northern Division. Lawrence and Marian are tied with 19 points, but the Vikings won the season series (2-0-2) with the Sabres and own the tiebreaker.
With four regular-season games remaining, the Vikings now control their own destiny when it comes to winning the Northern Division title. The division title gives that team a bye into the semifinals of the MCHA’s Harris Cup, where a NCAA Division III Tournament berth is at stake.
“It sounds cliché, but we really do focus on getting better each day,” Lawrence coach Mike Szkodzinski said. “Our team undoubtedly wants to compete for a championship, but it is one step at a time right now. If we stick with our plan, the results will be there.”
The results show the Vikings riding a season-best four-game winning streak right now. Last weekend’s victories marked the first time the Vikings had defeated Marian since the final game of the 2006-07 season.
“We have had some program-building wins in the past against great teams like UW-Stevens Point, UW-Eau Claire, and St. Scholastica,” Szkodzinski said. “This series was probably the first time we have been able to put back-to-back big games together other than in the playoffs. It certainly meant a lot to our senior class to win both games.”
The Vikings collected the Battle of Highway 41 trophy, a 40-pound metal prize that the Sabres had held for the last two seasons, with the wins over Marian. Lawrence continued to show some of the traits against Marian that have provided the Vikings a formula for success.
“Our overall team defense has been very solid over the past eight, nine games,” Szkodzinski said. “We are paying attention to the details, taking away time and space, making it difficult for the opponent to gain ice, and we are protecting the puck well right now. Our goaltender has also given us a chance each night to get two points.”
The goaltender, freshman Peter Emery, pushed his season record to 9-7-2 with a 2.45 goals against average and .924 save percentage. Emery is on pace to break the season save percentage record (.918, Evan Johnson, 2008-09) and has a shot to reach the season wins record (13, Evan Johnson, 2010-11).
The Vikings are allowing only 3.10 goals per game, which would be second in school history to the 2.43 the Vikings gave up in 2008-09.
While the defense has been outstanding, the Vikings knew the offense would have a blue-collar feel. With no Gretzky-like scoring machine on the team, the Vikings have been scoring by committee. Szkodzinski hopes his team broke out a bit after scoring a season-best six goals this past Saturday.
“We still have a hard time putting the puck in the net at times,” Szkodzinski said. “It started to turn a little bit there on Saturday, but we know we have to be demanding at the net front to put goals on the board. Our guys have been working at finishing their rebound chances on a daily basis lately.”
Senior forward Matt Hughes is tops on the team with 13 goals, and junior forward Brad Scurfield leads the team with 24 points. Lawrence has 16 players with at least one goal, but Hughes is the only one in double figures. Lawrence has averaged 4.0 goals per game over its four-game winning streak after averaging 2.7 in the first 17 contests.
The defense is playing tough and the offense is coming around, and that is all part of the plan to put together a championship-caliber team.
“Our team has had their goals set for the entire season,” Szkodzinski said. “The main goal each week is to prepare for the next game. Our guys believe that if we stick to that plan, the larger goals will take care of themselves.”
Emery wins again
For the second consecutive week, Emery claimed one of the MCHA’s weekly awards.
The freshman from Goleta, Calif., was named the Defensive Player of the Week after winning a pair of games against Marian. Emery was chosen as Freshman of the Week the previous week.
In the two games against Marian, Emery posted a .938 save percentage and a 2.40 goals against average.
Alumni hoops this weekend
The Lawrence men’s and women’s basketball programs have their alumni games on Saturday morning. The women’s game is set for 9:30 a.m., and the men’s game is at 11 a.m. More than two dozen former stars from the men’s program are set to play in their alumni game.
Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.