Hockey

Category: Hockey

Inside LU Athletics: Lawrence skaters aiming for playoff berth

The Lawrence University hockey team should start growing those playoff beards now because the Vikings are already in full do-or-die mode.

This season has been a struggle at times for the young Vikings, and it is quickly becoming crunch time. With three weeks left in the regular season, Lawrence finds itself battling just to get into the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.

“We certainly know where we stand,” Lawrence coach Mike Szkodzinski said. “We understand that every point is crucial at this time of the year. We already feel like we are in the middle of our playoff run. It is going to be an exciting final three weeks of the season.”

The top eight teams make the NCHA playoffs, and Lawrence (5-13-1, 4-8-0 NCHA) currently holds down seventh place with eight points. Marian University is just ahead of the Vikings with 11 points, and MSOE and Northland College are tied for eighth place with six points.

The tight race made Lawrence’s 3-2 win last Saturday over No. 15 St. Scholastica positively huge.

“Being successful against a regional power like St. Scholastica is special,” Szkodzinski said. “They are well-coached and play hard in every aspect. And the fact that we had yet to win in 2014, it was certainly a welcome result for our group.”

That group is dominated by young players (seven freshmen, seven sophomores on the roster) at key positions. Captain and defenseman Brandon Boelter is a sophomore, top scorer Blake Roubos is a freshman and freshman goaltender Mattias Soderqvist has been on the team for less than two months.

Roubos is the leading rookie scorer in the conference at 1.06 points per game, and four Lawrence sophomores rank in the top six on the team in scoring. On the defensive side, four of the eight defensemen who have consistently been in the lineup are freshmen or sophomores.

Soderqvist has emerged as the top goaltender and picked up his first collegiate win against St. Scholastica. After a rough start, Soderqvist has raised his save percentage to .903 and lowered his goals against average to 3.73.

“Mattias has worked very hard since his arrival,” Szkodzinski said. “He is always one of the first guys on the ice and last guys off. His quiet, calm demeanor has settled our bench at key times. He is playing consistently, which is essential at that position.”

The talent on the squad has made the Vikings spectacular at times, highlighted by a 5-4 win over No. 2 St. Norbert College in early December, and very inconsistent at others.

“There are a number of factors, including youth at key spots, injuries and other unfortunate situations,” Szkodzinski said. “However, every program faces the same things, and we just need to find a way to truly commit to our style of play. We need to play structured and organized. We simply cannot play as individuals if we want to put our best product on the ice.

“Until we prove that we can bring our best night in and night out, we will continue to be up and down. We need 20 guys each night to contribute. We can’t have 18 or 19, we need all 20 guys to be fully engaged when the puck drops. If we get that, we have a chance to beat anyone as we have proven over the course of the year.”

Lawrence has a pair of wins over ranked opponents this season, and that marks the first time that has happened in the program’s history.

The Vikings have six games left in the regular season, two against Lake Forest College (including Friday at home), two at No. 1-ranked Adrian College and two at home vs. Finlandia University.

If the Vikings want to put off shaving, they are going to have to find a few more wins between now and the middle of next month.

Saunders earns NCHA honor

Senior forward Huck Saunders was named the NCHA Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against No. 15 St. Scholastica.

Saunders, a native of Seattle, Wash., scored a pair of goals in Lawrence’s 3-2 win over the Saints last Saturday. He also scored Lawrence’s lone goal in a 4-1 loss to St. Scholastica last Friday.

Saunders now leads the team with nine goals, and he has six assists for 15 points this season.

Scoring landmarks

Basketball players Chris Siebert and Alex Deshler continue to move up their respective scoring lists.

On the men’s side, Siebert is now tied with his head coach, Joel DePagter, for eighth place on the Lawrence career list with 1,243 points. Siebert, a senior guard from Baraboo, Wis., needs just five points to move past Lawrence Hall of Famers Matt Miota and Joel Ungrodt and into sixth place. Siebert is just 100 points away from passing Doug Fyfe (1,342) for fourth place.

Deshler, a senior guard from La Crosse, Wis., now has 811 points and ranks 15th on the women’s career scoring list. Deshler needs just 58 points over the final seven games to reach the top 10. Carrie Van Groll ranks 10th with 868 points.

Saunders earns NCHA Player of the Week honor

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Lawrence forward Huck Saunders, shown in action against the College of St. Scholastica last weekend, was named the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Offensive Player of the Week. (Paul Wilke photo)

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University’s Huck Saunders has been named the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Offensive Player of the Week.

Saunders (Seattle, Wash./Northwood), a senior forward, scored three goals in Lawrence’s weekend split with the 15th-ranked College of St. Scholastica.

In last Saturday’s 3-2 victory, Saunders scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner. The victory gave Lawrence its second victory over a ranked opponent this season, and that is a first for the program. Saunders also scored Lawrence’s lone goal in a 4-1 loss to the Saints on Friday.

With his three-goal weekend, Saunders took over the team lead with nine goals this season. Saunders also has six assists and ranks second on the team with 15 points.

This is the second time in his career that Saunders has been honored by the conference. He was named Freshman of the Week during the 2010-11 season.

Lawrence continues NCHA play this weekend when it has a home-and-home series with Lake Forest College.

Series preview: Lawrence vs. Lake Forest

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University hockey team faces another tough opponent this weekend when it takes on Lake Forest College in a home-and-home Northern Collegiate Hockey Association series. The Vikings host Lake Forest at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Appleton Family Ice Center, and Lawrence then travels to Lake Forest for a 7 p.m. game on Saturday.

Preview

Saunders scores twice as Lawrence tops No. 15 St. Scholastica

APPLETON, Wis. — Huck Saunders scored a pair of goals, and Lawrence University knocked off the 15th-ranked College of St. Scholastica 3-2 in a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association game on Saturday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Saunders scored midway through the second period to give the Vikings a two-goal lead, and Lawrence (5-13-1, 4-8-0 NCHA) went on to defeat its second ranked opponent of the season.

Freshman goaltender Mattias Soderqvist, who joined the team at midseason, made 30 saves to pick up his first collegiate victory. Tyler Bruggeman stopped 30 shots for the Saints (10-5-4, 7-2-3) and took the loss.

St. Scholastica got on the board at the 12:34 mark of the first period on Derek Hills’ power-play goal. Saunders tied the game at 1-1 with just 2:12 left in the opening period when he scored off assists from Steve Hughes and Blake Roubos.

Sean Reynolds put the Vikings up 2-1 when he scored his first collegiate goal off assists from Renato Engler and Paul Zuke at the 7:22 mark of the second. Saunders gave Lawrence a 3-1 lead with a goal at the 12:06 mark of the second with Kevin Killian and Ryan Robertson earning assists.

After Lawrence’s Erik Soderlund got sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct, Brandon Nowakowski scored on the ensuing power play at the 13:09 mark of the second to trim the lead to 3-2.

That was it for the scoring, and the Saints were forced to kill off four penalties over the final 25:28 of the game. St. Scholastica pulled Bruggeman for the final minute of the game but didn’t get any serious scoring chances with the extra attacker.

Box score

Saints pull away late to down Lawrence

APPLETON, Wis. — The 15th-ranked College of St. Scholastica scored three third-period goals to post a 4-1 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University on Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Derek Hills scored a pair of goals for the Saints (10-4-4, 7-1-3 NCHA), including the game-winner.

Tyler Bruggeman stopped 20 shots to pick up the win for St. Scholastica. Mattias Soderqvist made 29 saves and took the loss for Lawrence (4-13-1, 3-8-0).

The game was tied 1-1 heading to the third period when Hills scored at the 8:59 mark. Lawrence kept pushing for the tying goal, but a turnover near center ice was converted into a quick goal by Dylan Nowakowski to give the Saints a 3-1 lead with 2:08 left.

Bobby Lipsett added an empty-net goal with 1:13 left to finish the scoring.

Hills started the scoring for St. Scholastica when he picked up a power-play goal at the 3:54 mark of the first. Lawrence tied it on Huck Saunders’ power-play goal at the 15:20 mark of the second.

The teams wrap up the series Saturday afternoon.

Box score

Vikings fall to MSOE

APPLETON, Wis. — The Milwaukee School of Engineering shut down the Lawrence University attack again on Saturday night and posted a 4-1 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

MSOE (4-12-1, 3-8-0 NCHA) jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and Lawrence (4-12-1, 3-7-0) never got its offense going. The Vikings were limited to a short-handed goal.

Nick Kohn made 27 saves to pick up the win for the Raiders, who had a 1-0 win over Lawrence on Friday night in Milwaukee. Mattias Soderqvist stopped 23 shots for the Vikings.

MSOE got on the board just 3:44 into the game when Michael Thompson scored off a pass from West Bauman. Laurie Genei then scored his first goal of the night, a power-play tally, at the 8:21 mark to give the Raiders a 2-0 edge.

Lawrence cut the lead in half when William Thoren scored a short-hander off a pass from Matt Moore at the 14:20 mark.

That was it for the Lawrence offense as MSOE added a second period goal from Genei, and a third-period score from Bauman to finish the scoring.

Box score

MSOE edges Lawrence 1-0

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Steven Shaffroth’s second-period goal was the lone tally as the Milwaukee School of Engineering downed Lawrence University 1-0 Friday night in a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association game at the Kern Center.

Shaffroth scored his second goal of the season at the 15:03 mark of the second off assists from West Bauman and Michael Thompson.

Austin Campbell stopped 22 shots to pick up the shutout for MSOE (3-12-1, 2-7-0 NCHA). Mattias Soderqvist made 50 saves but took the loss for Lawrence (4-11-1, 3-6-0).

Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play.

The teams wrap up the series Saturday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Box score

Tenth-ranked Blugolds shut out Lawrence

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Goaltender Jay Deo made 27 saves and the No. 10 UW-Eau Claire hockey team downed Lawrence University 4-0 in a nonconference game on Saturday.

The Blugolds (10-3-1) got goals from four different players, and Brian Nehring had three assists for Eau Claire.

Eau Claire grabbed a 1-0 lead on David Donnellan’s goal midway through the first period. The Blugolds got goals from Jon Waggoner and Mark Pustin in the second period, and Ethan Nauman’s third-period goal completed the scoring.

Mattias Soderqvist made 41 saves and took the loss for Lawrence (4-10-1). The Vikings forced Eau Claire to go 0-for-9 on the power play.

Box score