The Highlights

Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics

Vikings fall to Knox

GALESBURG, Ill. — Knox College’s Jodi Marver scored 24 points, and the Prairie Fire feasted on turnovers Saturday en route to a 90-54 Midwest Conference win over the Lawrence University women’s basketball team at Memorial Gymnasium.

Lawrence (1-14, 0-10 MWC) committed 38 turnovers, and Knox (6-9, 4-6) converted 40 points off the Lawrence miscues.

Amber Lisowe paced Lawrence with a double-double of 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Lawrence stayed with Knox throughout the first half, and trailed by only eight after Cathy Kaye’s jumper cut Knox’s lead to 35-27 with 1:07 left. Knox then scored the final six points of the first half to pull out to a 41-27 lead at the break.

The Prairie Fire opened the second half with another burst to pull away. Knox outscored the Vikings 13-5, capped by Chantal Heckman’s 3-pointer, to lead 54-32 with 16:38 remaining.

The Vikings pulled back to within 18 at 56-38 on Jeannine Schulz’s jumper with 14:01 left, but Knox steadily pulled away from that point. The Prairie Fire would lead lead by as many as 40 points in the second half.

Lawrence returns home to face Carroll University on Wednesday in a Midwest Conference game.

Box score

MSOE edges Lawrence in overtime

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Steve Shaffroth scored 1:18 into overtime to lift the Milwaukee School of Engineering hockey team to a 4-3 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University on Friday night at the Kern Center.

MSOE (10-5-1, 7-3-1 MCHA) scored the winning goal off a pass from Kyle Smith in the third consecutive overtime game for Lawrence (5-9-2, 4-5-2).

Lawrence grabbed a 2-1 lead early in the second period. Freshman Rudi Pino scored on the power play for the Vikings just 1:16 into the second period to tie the game at 1-1. Senior forward Phil Bushbacher then scored just 1:01 later to give the Vikings a 2-1 edge.

MSOE tied it at 2-2 on Jordan  Keizer’s goal at the 3:33 mark of the second. Lawrence grabbed the lead right back when Brad Scurfield scored his second short-handed goal of the season at the 6:02 mark.

Lawrence maintained that 3-2 lead until early in the third period when Bradley Tierney scored for the Raiders.

Nick Kohn made 31 saves for the Raiders, who also used goaltender Zach Polak, who made five stops. Lawrence goaltender Fabian Sivnert stopped 33 shots for the Vikings.

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

Inside LU Athletics: Rookies giving Lawrence skaters a boost

The Lawrence University hockey season is like a road test in a driver’s education class.

You’ve got some young guys with their hands on the wheel, you know there will be wrong turns and poor decisions, but in the end, you know they’re getting it.

With nine freshmen on the roster playing a huge role, Lawrence head coach Mike Szkodzinski has chosen to let the young guys drive this team, and the Vikings appear to have turned in the right direction.

“Going into this year, we knew we were going to have to rely on some young guys, and the only way to get them experience was to let them play through their mistakes,” Szkodzinski said. “We stuck to our guns and allowed them to grow. They still have a lot of growing to do, but they have certainly adapted well to this point.”

Lawrence has received 53 percent of its total points from the freshmen, and the rookies played a huge role in last weekend’s pair of ties against seventh-ranked Adrian College. The ties moved Lawrence to 5-8-2 on the season, and the Vikings are in fifth place in the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association with a 4-4-2 record. Lawrence also is second in the Northern Division, just two points behind Marian University with two games left against the Sabres this season.

“There certainly have been some bumps in the road,” said Szkodzinski. “Young men are bound to make mistakes at times. This year, more than in the past few seasons, we have had to do a lot of teaching away from the rink. We have made sure our guys know what is expected to be a part of our program, how to prepare for practices and games, how to act on campus and how important it is to be active in their education.  They have bought in to this point.”

Rookie forward Logan Lemirande leads the team with 19 points on four goals and 15 assists. He ranks fourth in the MCHA at 1.46 points per game and is second at 1.15 assists per game. Freshman forward Rudi Pino, also a golf standout for the Vikings, and freshman defenseman Brandon Boelter are tied for third on the team with 17 points. Pino has six goals and 11 assists, and Boelter has five goals and 12 assists.

Boelter is first in the conference in scoring by defensemen at 1.13 points per game, and Lemirande ranks second in the league in freshman scoring at 1.46 points per game. Pino and Boelter are tied for third in the same category.

Freshman forwards Matt Moore, Renato Engler and Ryan Rumble are also seeing significant action.

“(Assistant) coach (Kalle) Larsson did a tremendous job evaluating the talent at the junior level last year,” Szkodzinski said. “This allowed us to bring in some very talented young men. We certainly had hoped they would be able to fill the roles that they have filled, but it is never a guarantee that freshmen can make the jump to not only college hockey, but college life in general. We are happy with their progress.”

While Boelter has proven to be a high-scoring defenseman, freshman Steve Hughes has also proven to be a gritty defender. Hughes, the younger brother of former Lawrence star Matt Hughes, has a goal and two assists for three points.

The recent addition of freshman goaltender Fabian Sivnert, a transfer from Bemidji State, has given the defense a boost as well. Sivnert is 1-1-2 while facing three teams ranked in the top seven. He has a 4.08 goals against average and .894 save percentage.

“We are always looking to bring in quality people, not just quality players,” Szkodzinski said. “Each of these young men were, at some point, captains of their junior or high school programs. We expected a mature group, and they have proven to be that so far.”

The Vikings will need some poise down the stretch to make a move for a top seeding in the MCHA playoffs.

“They are on the right track, but we still have 10 important games to go starting with MSOE on Friday night. We will assess the progress of the entire program after the season,” Szkodzinski said.

“Each game is a new experience for them. At this time of the year, each game gets more important and more intense. As long as they play in these situations, they will continue to grow, and that should mean positive things for the future of Viking hockey.”

Boelter nabs award

Boelter was been named the MCHA Freshman of the Week after helping the Vikings to a pair of ties this past weekend against seventh-ranked Adrian.

A first-year defenseman, Boelter had a goal and two assists on the weekend. Boelter had an assist in last Friday’s 5-5 overtime tie. He scored on the power play in the first period on Saturday, and then assisted on the game-tying goal in the 4-4 overtime tie.

Boelter’s key assist came on Saturday with the Vikings trailing by a goal with less than four minutes left. His blast from the left point was tipped into the net by Brad Scurfield to tie the game and force the overtime.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Director of Athletic Media Relations 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.

Ripon shoots down Lawrence

APPLETON, Wis. — The Ripon College men’s basketball team had a hot shooting night and rode that to an 83-58 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Tuesday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Taylor Koth hit 12 of 18 shots from the floor and scored a game-high 33 points for Ripon (7-8, 5-5 MWC). Kyle Loughrin added 19 points and Brad Brooks had 14 for the Red Hawks.

Ripon hit 17 of 27 shots (63 percent) from the floor in the first half and then went 15-for-30 (50 percent) from the floor in the second half.

Chris Siebert scored 20 points, and Conor Klusendorf added 11 points for Lawrence (6-8, 4-5).

Ripon got off to a great start and went on a 17-4 run midway through the first half to explode to a 30-14 lead. Lawrence trailed 46-31 at the half.

Lawrence never put a dent in the lead early in the first half, and the Red Hawks went on a 13-2 run to build a 65-39 lead with 10:32 left in the game.

Lawrence never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

Box score

Ripon topples Vikings

APPLETON, Wis. — A slow start and too many turnovers combined to help the Ripon College women’s basketball team to a 56-38 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Tuesday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Erin Lind paced Ripon (6-9, 5-5 MWC) with 13 points and six steals, and Jill Van Eperen added 11 points and five steals for the Red Hawks.

Alex Deshler led Lawrence (1-13, 0-9) with 12 points and she added eight rebounds and four steals.

Lawrence shot only 21.1 percent (4-19) from the floor in the first half, and the Vikings committed 17 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Lawrence finished with 30 turnovers and shot only 27.9 percent (12-43) for the game.

Ripon led 14-8 with eight minutes left in the first half and then quickly pulled away for the reminder of the half. The Red Hawks went on a 14-4 run to finish the half and led 30-12 at the break.

The Red Hawks led by as many as 28 points in the second half, and Lawrence never got closer than the final margin of 18 points.

Box score

 

 

Boelter nabs MCHA Freshman of the Week award

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University standout Brandon Boelter has been named the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Freshman of the Week.

Boelter (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage) earned the honor after helping the Vikings to a pair of ties this past weekend against seventh-ranked Adrian College.

A first-year defenseman, Boelter had a goal and two assists on the weekend. Boelter had an assist in last Friday’s 5-5 overtime tie. He scored on the power play in the first period on Saturday, and then assisted on the game-tying goal in the 4-4 overtime tie.

Boelter’s key assist came on Saturday with the Vikings trailing by a goal with less than four minutes left. His blast from the left point was tipped into the net by Brad Scurfield to tie the game and force the overtime.

Boelter is the top-scoring defenseman in the conference at 1.13 points per game. He has five goals and 12 assists for 17 points.

Lawrence returns to action this weekend when it has a home-and-home series with the Milwaukee School of Engineering.