Finlandia forward Owen Schmidt tracks the puck during a game against Hamline Saturday at the Houghton County Arena in Hancock. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — Coming into this past weekend, the Finlandia Lions men’s hockey team was feeling better about themselves. They had played a strong weekend against the Lake Forest Foresters, earning their first win of the season in the process.

With a 5-3 loss on Friday and a 4-1 defeat on Saturday in non-conference action against the Hamline Pipers at the Houghton County Arena, the Lions failed to take another step before they hit their two-week holiday break.

“(This is an) an all-time high in frustration,” said coach Joe Burcar. “We matched up well, just took a step back, unfortunately. We got some more injuries and just can’t get over this injury hump. But, I don’t want to play it too down either. It’s frustrating. Let’s just say it’s frustrating.”

The Lions (1-10-1 overall) lost assistant captain Max Messier in the late stages of the first period after an altercation with a Pipers (6-6-1 overall) forward in the corner to goaltender Dakota Meyer’s right. With the recent success Messier has had, both in scoring and in the faceoff circle, to lose him for the remainder of the game shook up the rest of the team.

“We had to adjust, and I think some guys made the adjustment well,” Burcar said. “Not everybody did, but some did. That’s a big loss. It’s got to be next-man-up mentality too.

“I don’t think everybody adjusted well, but a lot of guys did, but a big loss.”

The Pipers broke open the scoreless tie with a power play goal by Jordan Halverson 9:45 into the middle frame. They extended that lead to 2-0 when Bailey Sommers buried a one-timer from the slot at 16:25.

The Lions stormed back and were rewarded with a goal of their own just 37 seconds later when assistant captain Kevin Bostwick scored his first career goal on a backdoor play. In one of the bright spots for Finlandia over the past month, Burcar has been very pleased with how Bostwick has grown into a key leader in the locker room and on the ice.

“He’s so good for the locker room,” Burcar said. “He’s so good for the team on the ice. He is really taking a step this year as a junior. His last three weeks, he has been one of our top defensemen. He plays in almost every situation. He is just outstanding.”

Finlandia could not get any closer, however, as the Pipers added another power play goal 9:10 into the third period when Sam Dabrowski scored. They then added an empty netter with just 17 seconds left from Scott Moyer to seal the win.

Burcar admits that with only one senior on the roster, the Lions are struggling to compete for a full 60 minutes against opponents with multiple seniors on their rosters.

“I’m frustrated, and the guys are frustrated,” he said. “Last weekend, I thought we did really well. I thought (Friday) night we did well. It’s that game where we’re having a hard time putting 60 minutes together. We’re a young team. We have to be patient and trust the process.”

Lions lose a tough one to Pipers Friday

HANCOCK – It was a heartbreaker as the Lions lost 5-3 to the Pipers, Friday night at the Houghton County Arena.

After three near-misses, Finlandia cashed in at the 6:11 mark of the first period. Freshman James Eng scored off a pass from junior Cooper Hoheisel.

In the second period, Hamline stepped up the pressure and Meyer came up with several big saves. With 7:42 left in the period, senior Nate Holm scored to put the Lions up 2-0.

The Pipers scored twice in the first 3:58 of the final period to make it 2-2. Eight seconds later, Hoheisel scored with the assist to Eng. Hamline tied it at the 6:05 mark and then scored twice in the final four minutes.

Messier had 11 faceoff wins while sophomore Nick Solema had 10.

Meyer finished with 32 saves.