This story was written by NMU Sports Information
 

SAULT STE. MARIE---The Northern Michigan University hockey team captured the 2016-17 Cappo Cup by tying Lake Superior State, 1-1, Saturday night.

The Wildcats also picked up the extra WCHA point in the shootout. After Atte Tolvanen stopped J.T. Henke, Dominik Shine fired a blistering shot over Gordon Defiel's shoulder to seal the win.

Just 39 seconds into the game, Shane Sooth put Northern Michigan up by one, chipping a booming Rylan Yaremko rebound past Defiel from the right circle.

Tolvanen, who finished the opening stanza with 11 of his 21 stops, made his most impressive with just under 13 minutes on the clock. After a give-and-go set Gage Torrel up for a look in transition, Tolvanen slid across the crease fast enough to make the pad save. 

Northern Michigan carried the play in the second period, taking 13 shots and only giving up four. Despite that, Lake Superior State netted that frame's only goal.

In the first two minutes, Tolvanen came up big, turning aside Max Humitz on a 2-on-1 rush. From that point on, the Wildcats began to pepper Defiel with shots. Three of their best chances came on their lone man advantage of the frame; Defiel fought through a Demico Hannoun screen to stop a Brock Maschmeyer bid and then snared a sharp-angle Shine try.

At 17:21, the Lakers evened the score during their third power play when Humitz backhanded a Henke shot that was blocked in front of the net past Tolvanen.

Troy Loggins nearly re-gained Northern Michigan's advantage in the dying seconds of the period. After taking a long pass from Maschmeyer, he sliced through the defense to get a clear look at the net, but Defiel sent his shot to the corner.

The third period was marked by extended time spent on special teams and by stoppages of play. The Wildcats again outshot the Lakers, this time by a healthy 12-7 margin.

With just under 15 minutes remaining, Robbie Payne got a pass off from his knees to set up Yaremko for a point shot. Yaremko's shot kicked out to Payne, who forced Defiel to make a lunging save to keep the game locked at 1-1.

In the first overtime period, Northern Michigan was awarded a man advantage when Collin Saccoman was whistled for interference. During that power play, Defiel made a glove save on a low Shine bullet to maintain the tie.

The 3-on-3 overtime period featured plenty of quality chances for both sides. With 3:48 left to play, Shine fed Maschmeyer, who fired a shot off of the crossbar and out. Then, with just 47.2 seconds left on the clock, Tolvanen managed to deny Henke with the left pad to send the game into the decisive shootout.

The following is a recap of Friday night's NMU-LSSU game

MARQUETTE---The Northern Michigan hockey team battled Lake Superior State to a 1-1 draw Friday night at the Berry Events Center.

The Lakers earned the extra WCHA point in 3-on-3 overtime when Gage Torrel threaded a blistering wrist shot into the right corner of the net with just 9.1 seconds remaining.

Earlier in the second bonus frame, Gordon Defiel stopped a Zach Diamantoni penalty-shot attempt to set up Torrel's heroics.

All of the game's official scoring came in a first period marked by momentum swings and whistles. At 5:02, Max Humitz drew first blood on Lake Superior State's first power-play opportunity, tipping a Collin Saccoman point shot past Atte Tolvanen.

In the final 11 minutes of that frame, the Wildcats outshot the Lakers by a 10-1 margin. Sami Salminen nearly evened the score at just past the halfway mark on a 2-on-1 rush with Troy Loggins, but Defiel managed to make the blocker save.

But Defiel wouldn't stop Salminen's next shot. After Rylan Yaremko picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and carried it in on net, he sent a drop pass back to Salminen.

Salminen's shot grazed Defiel's shoulder on its way into the back of the net, evening the score at one apiece.

During a scoreless second period, Tolvanen made 13 of his 22 saves. At one point in the stanza, Northern Michigan successfully killed off a penalty that gave Lake Superior State an extended 4-on-3 advantage; thanks to solid play by Yaremko, Jordan Klimek and Brock Maschmeyer, and three stops by Tolvanen, the Wildcats escaped unscathed.

Tolvanen was even more impressive during the Lakers' final power play of the frame, denying back-to-back bids by Brayden Gelsinger and Diego Cuglietta.

In the third period, at around the halfway mark on a Northern Michigan power play, Loggins nearly netted the go-ahead goal. After Dominik Shine fired a one timer on net, the puck skittered out to Loggins in the slot. Loggins sent the puck back on net, and Defiel lunged to get a stick on it and send it out of harm's way.