HANCOCK — After nearly a full calendar year with no games, the Finlandia Lions men’s hockey team took the ice last weekend to face the Marian Sabres. At times, the Lions controlled play. At times, they got pucks to the net. At times, they scored.

However, when the dust settled, they also made a number of mistakes in areas all over the ice, leading to a weekend sweep at the hands of the Sabres where they were outscored 12-3 over the course of the two games.

Head coach Joe Burcar will be the first to admit that things did not go well.

“No, no, not even not even close,” he said. “No, it didn’t go the way we wanted it to. No.”

Burcar is trying not to allow the fact that his team is very young account for the mistakes they made throughout the weekend.

“We just can’t make excuses,” he said. “At the same time, it’s a team that hasn’t played in almost a year. Of course, we wanted better results. We talked about the learning curve, and that’s where it’s at. It’s a learning curve.

“We learn but also, at the same time, we were disappointed, because even being young, we knew we could play. We could have played better in a lot of different areas. That’s something that has been talked about all week.”

The good news in front of the Lions is that they have had little time to feel sorry for themselves. With Concordia Wisconsin coming to the Houghton County Arena Thursday, the Lions have to dust themselves off and get back to game form.

“I think, even talking to the team, we’re happy that we’re playing sooner because I think when you have a moment like this, and you feel so bad, and you’re upset, you want to fix it sooner than later,” Burcar said.

The Falcons come into the weekend winners of their last three games to improve to 4-7 on the season. They swept St. Scholastica last weekend after splitting with the Sabres the week before.

Where the Falcons shine is on the man advantage, where they are clicking at 19.7%. They also have four seniors who have all racked up double-digit points through their first 11 games this season.

The Lions and the Falcons will faceoff at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Houghton County Arena. Saturday, the teams will play the second game of the series in Mequon, Wisconsin, at 6 p.m.

Last weekend, the Lions had a couple of young players step up in ways that Burcar and his staff were hoping they might. Freshman winger Tyler Perkins was a great example. In Saturday’s 6-2 loss, Perkins assisted on both Lions’ tallies.

“He’s scored at every level he’s been to and not just scored, he’s always been a top scorer where he’s played,” said Burcar. “It was nice for a young guy to come in, that’s accustomed to scoring every different level. I know he puts pressure on himself to score, so it was nice to see him on the scoresheet.”

Two other players whom the Lions will lean on this season, assistant captain Tyler Vanuden and captain Tyler Watungwa, both found ways to lead by example throughout the weekend as well.

Vanuden found the scoresheet on Friday, getting the only Lions’ goal in a 6-1 loss. On Saturday, he showed confidence carrying the puck up the ice with speed and determination, traits that Burcar hopes will continue to be part of his game moving forward.

While there were pieces of the offense that looked good, goaltending was not as sharp as the Lions will need it to be moving forward. Marcus Gloss and Santeri Seppinen both struggled at various points throughout the weekend, thanks, in part, to situations where the Lions’ defensive systems broke down.

Burcar feels that while his two senior goaltenders struggled some, the blame should not be laid at their feet.

“We’ve got to be better,” he said, “We’ve got to be better from the goaltender out.

“That’s one of our strengths is our goaltending. They both had okay nights, You can’t have okay knights and have success.”

Cole Pickup leads the way with five goals and a team-high 14 points. Nick Guiney leads the team with six goals. Braydon Barker has a team-high 12 assists.

In goal, junior Bo Didur has started four games this season, going 2-5 overall with a 3.86 goals against average and a .904 save percentage.