Nipissing Lakers start 2011 on a losing note

Nipissing Lakers Goaltender Matt Hache tries to stop the bleeding in the third period of this 7-3 fall to the NCAA Lake Superior State Lakers.Photo by Devin Size

Today’s game is going to be chalked up to practice. The Nipissing Lakers start the New Year off with an exhibition series against the Lake Superior State Lakers. Today’s was the first game of two at Memorial Gardens where the Nipissing Lakers were defeated 7-3 in front of an audience of 1,470 fans.

The first period was the most exciting of three starting off with a goal for Nipissing four minutes in by Chad McQuaid, with both teams short a player from penalties. The Lakers’ quickly lost their momentum as Lake Superior’s Zach Trotman scored a tying power-play goal two minutes later. The lead kept building from there as Lake Superior State asserted dominance with back to back goals within the last two minutes of the first making it 3-1.

The tension grew with several penalties from both sides including minors for roughing, high sticking, and a double minor for cross checking for Nipissing’s Grant McGee. A few scuffles happened between players but no major fights broke out. Two more goals scored by Lake Superior State increased their lead to 5-1.

Talking to Nipissing Coach Mike McParland after the game, he said even though they knew they were up against a tough team, their fatigue from the layoff kicked in.

“I saw us being a little bit rusty out there from the layoff,” explained Coach McParland. “We have catching up to do condition wise. I saw that adjustment in the third period.”

The beginning of the third was slow until the pace picked up with a goal by Nipissing’s Dan Watt, reducing their trailing to 3. That goal was quickly answered by Lake Superior State’s Domenic Monardo three minutes later. Watt capitalised on a penalty shot opportunity at 17:21 in the third period, blowing a slap shot over the glove side of Lake Superior State Goalie, Niels-Erik Ravn. This energy wasn’t enough to recover from the deficit of the first two periods leading to the final score.

The two are set to face off again tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Memorial Gardens for their second match of the series.