Hockey

APPLETON, Wis. — Desperation is a great motivator. Just ask the Lawrence University hockey team. Faced with being at the end of their rope, the Vikings tied a knot and held on.

Presented with a must-win game in the season finale, the Vikings did just that, win, and earned a spot in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.

“This group has been extremely resilient,” Lawrence coach Mike Szkodzinski said. “There has been a lot of adversity to overcome over the past 10 to 12 months both on and off the ice. These guys have stuck together through thick and thin.”

Lawrence plays at St. Scholastica in a quarterfinal playoff game Wednesday, and the winner heads to either St. Norbert or Adrian for a two-game semifinal series this weekend.

The Vikings trailed MSOE by two points for the final playoff spot heading into the season finale last Saturday vs. Lake Forest. The Vikings rallied from two goals down to beat the Foresters 6-3 and kept alive Szkodzinski’s record of going to playoffs in every year of his Lawrence tenure.

“We’ve been building all year long,” said Szkodzinski, in his 10th season at Lawrence. “It took some time to find our identity. Since the break, the guys have really bought in to our team concept.”

It was like the Vikings turned the page after returning from the holiday break. Since restarting NCHA play in January, Lawrence is 6-5-3 against a tough league schedule despite missing multiple star players. Forwards Blake Roubos and Jake Kreutzer, the leading scorers from a season ago, have combined to play in eight games all season (all by Kreutzer). Stellar defenseman Brendan Vetter also has played in just eight games.

“It’s very easy to feel sorry for yourself when things don’t go your way,” said star forward Renato Engler, who leads the team with nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points. “However, (Szkodzinski) did a great job reminding us that we have to focus on what we can influence.”

No one has been more focused in the past two months than junior goaltender Mattias Soderqvist, who has been named the NCHA Defensive Player of the Week twice this month and three times this season. Soderqvist has posted a 2.69 goals against average and .929 save percentage in the past two months.

“Mattias is playing the best hockey of his career right now,” said Szkodzinski, an All-America goaltender in his playing days. “He is in control of his movements and seeing the puck real well. Part of that success is directly related to the D-corps and how consistent they have been over the past month.”

The Vikings are giving up 2.2 fewer goals per game during the second half of the season while scoring 0.6 more goals per game compared to the first half.

“I think we stepped up our game at the right time,” Engler said. “We kept getting better as the season progressed, and we are at our best going into the first round of the playoffs, which is what every team aims for.”

The Vikings’ offense has gotten a boost from its recent balance. Twenty-one players have registered a point in the second half, and 10 have at least five points. Freshman forward Nick Felan is second on the team in goals (7), assists (13) and points (20), with 14 of those points coming in the past two months. The Vikings also have gotten a nice boost from defenseman Brandon Boelter, who has nine assists in his last 14 games.

“They started believing more in themselves,” Szkodzinski said. “And that has translated into some real good hockey.”

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University scored three times in the third period to power past Lake Forest College 6-3 in a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association game at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

The win in the regular-season finale gave Lawrence a berth in the NCHA playoffs. The Vikings will play at St. Scholastica on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

The game was tied 3-3 heading to the third period, but the Vikings struck early. Rookie forward Nick Felan hammered in a rebound just 1:21 into the period to put the Vikings up 4-3.

After killing off a pair of penalties, Lawrence expanded its lead when Sean Reynolds scored off a rebound at the 12:34 mark for a 5-3 advantage.

The Foresters then pulled goalie Leo Podolsky with just under three minutes left, but Matt Montemurro sealed the win for Lawrence with a short-handed empty-net goal with 1:01 remaining.

Mattias Soderqvist stopped 40 shots to pick up the win for the Vikings (9-13-3, 8-9-3 NCHA). Podolsky made 47 saves for Lake Forest (10-15-0, 8-12-0).

Lake Forest grabbed the early lead on Ian Pichel’s goal with 3:31 left in the first period. The Vikings tied it when Felan raced through the Lake Forest defense and scored on the power play with 1:14 left in the opening period.

In a wild flurry early in the second period both team scored twice. Charlie Izaguirre and Davis DeKorte scored in a span of just 27 seconds to put Lake Forest up 3-1.

The Vikings struck back just as quickly as Steve Hughes and Renato Engler scored at the 3:34 and 3:58 mark to tie the game at 3-3.

Lawrence went 1-for-4 on the power play, and the Foresters were 0-for-7.

Box score

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Lake Forest College scored three times in the third period Friday to post a 4-2 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.

The game was tied 1-1 heading into the third, but Charlie Izaguirre scored twice in a span of 1:45 to give Lake Forest (10-14-0, 8-11-0 NCHA) a 3-1 advantage. Izaguirre scored at the 5:24 mark and then added an unassisted goal at 7:09.

Lawrence (8-13-3, 7-9-3) got right back into the game as Steve Hughes scored just 18 seconds later off assists from Brandon Boelter and Matt Montemurro to trim the margin to 3-2.

The flurry of goals continued as Lake Forest’s Shawn Nelson scored just 1:16 later to push the lead back to 4-2.

The Vikings pulled goaltender Mattias Soderqvist for the final 2:11 but couldn’t get any closer. Soderqvist finished with 32 saves, and Leo Podolsky stopped 32 shots for the Foresters.

Lawrence grabbed a 1-0 lead at the 7:49 mark of the second on Matt Moore’s seventh goal of the season, but Lake Forest tied it on Vito Aluia’s goal with 3:07 left in the period.

Lawrence’s loss, coupled with MSOE’s loss at St. Norbert College, leaves the Vikings two points behind the Raiders heading into Saturday’s season finale at the Appleton Family Ice Center. Lawrence needs a win over Lake Forest on Saturday to reach the NCHA playoffs. The puck drops at 7 p.m.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University wraps up the regular season with a huge Northern Collegiate Hockey Association series with Lake Forest College this weekend. Both teams are fighting for their playoff lives, with Lawrence two points out of the final playoff spot in the North Division and Lake Forest tied for the final playoff berth in the South Division. Friday’s game is at Lake Forest, and Saturday’s game is at 7 p.m. at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Preview

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University goaltender Mattias Soderqvist has been named the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season.

Soderqvist (Stockholm, Sweden), a junior, won the honor for the second consecutive week after picking up a win and a tie in a critical road series at Northland College. Soderqvist, who has been the NCHA Defensive Player of the Week five times in his career, posted a 1.92 goals against average and .949 save percentage.

Soderqvist, who ran his unbeaten streak to four games, made 41 saves in Lawrence’s 4-2 victory last Friday at the Bay Area Civic Center. That was career win No. 17 for Soderqvist and moved him into third place on the school’s win list. He followed that with 34 saves in a 2-2 overtime tie on Saturday.

The three points earned in the standings moves Lawrence to within two points of MSOE for the final playoff spot from the NCHA North Division.

Over the last four games, Soderqvist has 2-0-2 record with a 1.68 GAA and .959 save percentage. He has improved to 8-9-3 on the season with a 3.58 GAA and .901 save percentage.

Lawrence wraps up the regular season with a home-and-home series with Lake Forest College this weekend. The Vikings play at Lake Forest on Friday night and then face the Foresters in a 7 p.m. game Saturday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

ASHLAND, Wis. — Lawrence University settled for a 2-2 overtime tie with Northland College on Saturday in a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association game at the Bay Area Civic Center.

Neither team scored for the final 21:52 of regulation or in the five-minute overtime, but the Vikings (8-12-3, 7-8-3 NCHA) had the better of the play. Lawrence out-shot the Lumberjacks 10-6 in the third period and had three quality chances in the overtime.

The Vikings jumped on Northland just one minute into the game when freshman Josh Koepplinger scored off assists from Ryan Robertson and Jake Roeper for a 1-0 lead.

The Lumberjacks scored just 1:47 into the second period on Wyatt Garagan’s goals, but Lawrence took the lead back late in the second.

The high-scoring line of Lane King, Renato Engler and Nick Felan struck again when King scored with 4:28 left in the second off assists from Engler and Felan. The Lumberjacks tied it 2:26 later on Jason Reynolds’ first goal of the season.

Lawrence goaltender Mattias Soderqvist made 34 saves for the Vikings. Jason DeLillo stopped 29 shots for the Lumberjacks.

Lawrence wraps up the regular season next weekend with a home-and-home series with Lake Forest College.

Box score

ASHLAND, Wis. — Lawrence University scored the game’s final two goals Friday and posted a 4-2 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Northland College at the Bay Area Civic Center.

Four different players scored for Lawrence, and goaltender Mattias Soderqvist made 41 saves to get the win for the Vikings (8-12-2, 7-8-2 NCHA).

The game was tied 2-2 when Ryan Eardley gave the Vikings the lead for good with just 1:06 left in the second period. He scored off assists from Brandon Boelter and Felix Henriksson to put the Vikings up 3-2.

Lawrence expanded that lead to 4-2 just 5:14 into the third period when senior forward Renato Engler scored off assists from linemates Nick Felan and Lane King.

The Vikings then withstood nearly two minutes at the end of the game with an extra attacker on the ice for the Lumberjacks (7-14-1, 6-11-0).

Northland jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 1:32 into the game when Anthony Stempin scored. The Vikings tied it at 1-1 at the 8:05 mark on Matt Moore’s goal off a pass from Ryan Rumble.

Rumble gave the Vikings a 2-1 advantage when he scored on the power play with Boelter and Steve Hughes picking up assists at the 12:57 mark of the first. The Vikings went 1-for-2 on the power play, and Northland was 0-for-4.

The score stayed that way until Northland’s Oscar Larsson scored with 4:45 left in the second to tie it at 2-2.

AJ Smith made 27 saves and took the loss for Northland.

The teams wrap up the series on Saturday afternoon.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University travels to Northland College for a big Northern Collegiate Hockey Association series this weekend. The Vikings and Lumberjacks are battling for a playoff berth from the NCHA’s North Division. With just four games left in the regular season, Lawrence is just one point out of the playoffs, and Northland is just three back. Friday’s game at the Bay Area Civic Center is at 7 p.m. and Saturday’s contest begins at 2 p.m.

Preview

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University’s Mattias Soderqvist has been named to the D3hockey.com Team of the Week in the wake of a great performance.

Soderqvist (Stockholm, Sweden) was named to the national team of the week after earning a win and a tie in a critical Northern Collegiate Hockey Association series with MSOE. Soderqvist posted a .968 save percentage and 1.44 goals against average for the two games.

In last Friday’s 2-2 overtime tie at MSOE, Soderqvist stopped a season-high 44 shots. He followed that with another season high, this time making 46 saves, in a 2-1 victory over the Raiders at the Appleton Family Ice Center on Saturday.

The Vikings picked up three points and closed to within one point of MSOE for the third and final playoff spot from the NCHA North Division with four games left in the regular season.

Soderqvist, who was named the NCHA Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, improved to 7-9-2 on the season with an .894 save percentage and 3.79 goals against average. This marks the first time a Lawrence player has been chosen for the D3hockey.com Team of the Week.

The Vikings head to Northland College this weekend for a pair of league games before finishing up the regular season with a home-and-home series with Lake Forest College on Feb. 19-20.

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University’s Mattias Soderqvist was simply spectacular last weekend and earned the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Defensive Player of the Week award.

Soderqvist (Stockholm, Sweden), a junior goaltender, picked up the honor after earning a win and a tie in a critical NCHA series with MSOE. Soderqvist posted a .968 save percentage and 1.44 goals against average for the two games.

In last Friday’s 2-2 overtime tie at MSOE, Soderqvist stopped a season-high 44 shots. He followed that with another season high, this time making 46 saves, in a 2-1 victory over the Raiders at the Appleton Family Ice Center on Saturday.

The Vikings picked up three points and closed to within one point of MSOE for the third and final playoff spot from the NCHA North Division with four games left in the regular season.

Soderqvist improved to 7-9-2 on the season with an .894 save percentage and 3.79 goals against average. This is the second time in less than a month that Soderqvist has won Defensive Player of the Week and the fourth time in his career.

The Vikings head to Northland College this weekend for a pair of league games before finishing up the regular season with a home-and-home series with Lake Forest College on Feb. 19-20.