The Lakers represented Lake Superior State University, played their home games at the Taffy Abel Arena and were coached by Damon Whitten in his 10th season.

Lake Superior's failure at the Ledyard Bank Classic didn't really affect the team as, by then, it was already apparent that only the CCHA champion would make the NCAA tournament.

The rough patch dropped the Lakers to 7th in the standings and Lake Superior was facing the prospect of starting their postseason run on the road.

Both teams showed up for the deciding game but Lake Superior seemed to be in trouble when Westcott took a match penalty for boarding early in the second period.

However, despite being down a man, Connor Milburn scored a short-handed goal at the beginning of the penalty kill and the Lakers managed to stop all attempts from the Tommies during the disadvantage.

With Langenegger holding down the fort, Reagan Milburn picked the perfect time to score his second goal of the season and tie the game in the middle of the period.

After the initial shot was saved, the rebound bounced straight up in the air and landed in the crease right at the feet of Tritt the Laker winger batted the puck into the cage before anyone could stop him, scoring the winning maker with just 6.6 seconds to play.