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Lakers season ends with victory

Lakers, eliminated from playoff contention on the weekend, played out the string Tuesday
20200204 Lakers Vees
Photo courtesy Brian Doherty.
The Northern rivalry was a great way to cap off the season, as the Nipissing Lakers men's hockey team entertained the Laurentian Voyageurs Tuesday morning.

The Lakers ended their season with an exciting 5-4 victory over the Vees.

In the opening period, the Lakers struck first as Drake Lindsay found the back of the net less than five minutes into the period.

Gael Lubwele picks up the lone assist on the game's opening goal.

It looked like the Lakers made it 2-0 as Danny Desrochers found the back of the net, but the goal was waved off due to goaltender interference.

Shortly after the disallowed goal, the #Lakers did in fact make it 2-0 thanks to a slick shot by Jacob Collins.

He took a long breakaway pass and went low block side to put Nipissing up a pair.

Cameron Moore and Mathieu Franche set up the power play marker for Nipissing.

The Lakers continued their hot start, extending their lead with 4:26 left in the period.

Lucas Brown found the back of the net to put Nipissing up 3-0 with veterans Deverick Ottereyes and Harrison Harper drawing assists on the goal.

The Vees would get on the board late in the first, scoring a shorthanded goal with 1:54 remaining in the period.

The first came to an end with Nipissing leading 3-1 and the shots favouring the Lakers 18-8.

In the middle frame, Nipissing ballooned their lead to three goals when Jacob Hickey continued his strong play and made the score 4-1 Lakers.

Hickey banged home a loose puck from the top of the crease after a good cycle and net-drive by Erik Campbell and Dan Desrochers, who both earned assists on the goal.

Laurentian once again scored a late goal to cut into the Lakers lead and made it 4-2.

After 40 minutes, Nipissing held a 4-2 advantage, with the shots reading 30-23 Nipissing.

In the final period, Laurentian was able to get within one, scoring less than four minutes into the period.

With the score 4-3 Lakers, Deverick Ottereyes picked up a loose puck and made a great shot to put Nipissing back up by two.

The goal came with exactly seven minutes left in the game and was unassisted.

Laurentian refused to go away without a fight, as they once again closed the gap thanks to a goal with just over three minutes remaining in the period.

The Lakers held on for the victory, picking up the one-goal win.

Francis Asselin finished the game with 35 saves, while Nipissing fired 39 shots at the Laurentian net.

Nipissing wraps up their season with an 8-17-3 record.  The Lakers fell out of a playoff position this weekend after a pair of losses combined with a pair of weekend wins by RMC which pushed the Paladins into the eighth and final playoff spot above Lakers. 
 
The Lakers finished in ninth in the OUA East during an injury-plagued season while the Laurentian Voyageurs finished in last in the OUA East.