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Broom needed: Lions score three to beat Lumberjacks, 4-2

HANCOCK — The Finlandia Lions men’s hockey team came into the weekend needing one point to earn their way into the NCHA playoff hunt officially. On Friday, the Lions earned a come-from-behind victory over St. Scholastica, moving themselves a point ahead of the Saints.

Saturday, as if reading from the same script, the Lions trailed 2-0 in the first period against Northland College, and had a multiple-goal third period to come away with a 4-2 victory over the Lumberjacks at the Houghton County Arena.

With the win, the Lions moved into a tie with Northland for third in the NCHA North Division standings.

“(This is) a fun team to coach,” said Lions coach Joe Burcar. “They just respond to constructive criticism (and) positive feedback. (Northland’s) a good team that we just continued to fight throughout the game. Every shift meant something. We never showed quit.”

Trailing 2-0 nearing the midpoint of the second period, the Lions were looking for any kind of a spark. They got in the form of senior center Kendall Bolen-Porter.

Jumping on a loose puck, Bolen-Porter turned, and skated in alone from the blue line in. Making a quick move to his forehand, the four-year Lion found the back of the net at 9:21.

The senior has proven to score timely goals.

“He’s always been a spark plug,” said Burcar. “He’s a guy that we have managed to move into a lot of different positions. We have bounced him around in key situations. He accepts his role and he excels at his role. He has scored timely, big goals for us.”

The game stayed 2-1 in favor of the Lumberjacks (7-10-2 overall, 5-5-2 NCHA) until deep into the third period when the Lions broke through again in a big way. Junior center Blake Peavey drove hard to the and fired a shot from the faceoff circle at Lumberjacks goaltender David Krejcik. Krejcik made the save, but freshman defenseman Colin Gamrat crashed the net and knocked the puck through Krejcik and over the goal line at 15:25.

The Lions (7-10-2 overall, 5-5-2 NCHA) then struck again 1:37 later when captain Alex Rezansoff fired a shot from the slot along the ice that eluded Krejcik, giving the Lions their first lead of the night.

“Blake Peavey did an awesome job on the faceoff and got it back to me,” said Rezansoff. “I just put it on net. (Bryce) Mitzel had a good screen and I was lucky enough to have it hit the back of the net.”

Rezansoff had picked up an assist on Gamrat’s goal, and with the later tally of his own, the four-year skater had four points on the weekend.

“We couldn’t be prouder as coaches (of Rezansoff),” said Burcar. “He’s been a captain since we got here. His character on and off the ice is just beyond… (I’m) just happy to see him having the success.”

The Lions were not done scoring. During a 4-on-4 situation where the Lumberjacks had pulled their goaltender to get a manpower advantage on the ice, Lions freshman defenseman Cory Richardson flipped the puck out of the zone. Assistant captain Connor Hannon reached for the puck and bumped it forward to sophomore center Hunter Kero, who skated in and deposited the puck into the empty net with 12.9 seconds remaining, sealing the win.

The Lumberjacks scored twice in the opening frame with goals from Max Glaushauser and Kurt Sonne. Glaushauser’ shot snuck through Lions starter Santeri Seppinen at 14:05. Sonne’s tally came on the power play at 15:44.

Seppinen made 24 saves to earn the win.

Scoring

Northland 2 0 0 – 2

Finlandia 0 1 3 – 4

First period

1, NC, Max Glaushauser (Kyle Pouncy, Kurt Sonne), 14:05

2, NC, Sonne (Pouncy, Ty Krause), PP, 15:44

Second period

3, FU, Kendall Bolen-Porter, 9:21

Third period

4, FU, Colin Gamrat (Blake Peavey, Alex Rezansoff), 15:25

5, FU, Rezansoff (Bryce Mitzel, Peavey), 16:42

6, FU, Hunter Kero (Connor Hannon, Cory Richardson), 19:48

Saves

NC, Krejcik 5 13 6 – 24

FU, Seppinen 5 12 7 – 24

Power plays

NC: 1/2; FU: 0/4

Penalties

NC: 10/20; FU: 7/14

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