Hockey

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.

As much as fans love offense, coaches will tell you in virtually every sport that defense wins championships.

The Lawrence University hockey team is putting together that type of championship defense as it enters the final month of the season.

Lawrence has been outstanding over its past seven games against some quality competition, including four games against nationally ranked opponents.

“Since day one we’ve believed that senior leadership, team defense and chemistry are the keys to a successful season,” Lawrence coach Mike Szkodzinski said. “Right now, there‘s no doubt that our senior leadership has been outstanding and our defense has been steady.”

Over the past month, Lawrence has been outstanding in its own zone. The Vikings are allowing only 2.14 goals per game in the last seven contests and that includes shutouts over Augsburg and Northland.

“As a whole, we’re playing pretty well defensively in all three zones,” said senior defenseman Jameson Raymond. “Starting with our goalie to our (defensemen) to our forwards, we’re all playing pretty well.”

With four games against nationally-ranked Adrian and MSOE in that recent stretch, the Vikings endured three one-goal losses in those four.

“Even when we came out on the short end of the stick in the series vs. MSOE and Adrian, we strongly felt we’ve been playing some of the best hockey we’ve played in a long time,” Szkodzinski said.

“It’s a matter of scoring a big goal at the right time or making a save when we need it. The margin in our league has become so slim. That one play could be the difference in an entire series.”

Raymond is the type of player who gives the Vikings all those intangibles that make a difference in a tight game and is the leader of this group of young defensemen.

“Jameson takes away time and space from the opponents better than anyone in the league,” Szkodzinski said. “He’s able to see things three steps ahead of the other guys.”

The corps of defensemen includes only one other senior, Jesse Byam-Katzman, and All-Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association selection William Thoren, only a sophomore. New to the mix are freshmen Erik Soderlund, Kevin Killian, Cory Bastian and Kyle Forte, and all have all played key roles.

“The entire team fully embraced the fact that we were bringing in 17 new faces this season,” Szkodzinski said. “That allowed for our young men who are getting regular shifts to feel comfortable and confident.

“That closeness has shown itself over the past seven, eight games for us. The fact that our young men have not wavered from the system and completely embraced the way we have to play.”

Raymond said the upperclassmen knew they would need to play a role in incorporating the rookies in the mix.

“With only having two seniors, we took it upon ourselves to get the younger guys involved in the system, and how coach (Szkodzinski) wants us to play defense,” Raymond said. “They’ve taken to it well.”

The other big factor has been the play of freshman goaltender Peter Emery, who this week was named the MCHA Freshman of the Week for the second time this season.

“Peter has been very, very steady,” Szkodzinski said. “He has a lot of talent and is a big body who covers a lot of net. If he continues to keep his game simple, we will see good results.”

Emery has a 3-4-0 record in his last seven games, but he has a sparkling 2.15 goals against average and .932 save percentage in that stretch. On the season, he is 7-7-2 with a 2.46 GAA and .921 save percentage.

“There’s no doubt he’s a calming influence when he’s in the net. He has a demeanor that’s consistent and not a whole lot seems to rattle him. That’s a trait for a good goaltender,” said Szkodzinski, who heaped praise on goaltending coach Brian Garavaglia for Emery’s development.

Raymond said Emery has made the routine saves, and then he’s made a few that are simply spectacular.

“He (Emery) makes all the saves he should, and then he makes saves that he shouldn’t make,” Raymond said. “Those are the ones that matter.”

Record breaker

Junior Sam Stevens broke the Lawrence record in the 3,000 meters at the UW-Oshkosh Open last Friday. The Suamico, Wis., native won the event in 8:50.83, which broke the record of 8:53.58. The record was set way back in 1996 by Lawrence Hall of Famer Scott Sprtel.

Private champs

In the last tuneup before Lawrence hosts the Midwest Conference Championships on Feb. 17-19, the Vikings had three individual winners at the Wisconsin Private College Championships last Saturday at Carthage.

Peter Brengel and Cameron Gmehlin took titles in the 200-yard backstroke and 200 breaststroke, respectively. Brengel and Gmehlin teamed with Charlie Mann and Pat Vincent to win the 200 medley relay as well.

On the women’s side, freshman Taylor Winter won the 1,650 freestyle and took second in the 500 freestyle.

The Vikings were third in the team standings for both the men and women.

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.