The Grand Valley State women’s club hockey team finished three periods and overtime tied with the University of Michigan, 3-3. After Saturday’s draw, the Lakers took down the Wolverines 6-4 at Yost Ice Arena on Sunday.

In Saturday’s game, Michigan jumped out to an early lead, scoring 1:53 into the game. Then, 6:07 into the first period the Lakers were able to respond when junior Karyn Schmaltz scored on an assist from Allison Lowe.

Stacey Mathieu struck next for GVSU after she put the puck past Michigan’s netminder with 10:11 left in the period on an assist from Alexa Tenwalde. The Lakers took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission, but were not necessarily thrilled with their performance.

“The girls were saying that they felt like they should be playing better,” said co-head coach Sean McKernan. “We were playing hit or miss the entire game and we had a chance to beat Michigan, who is ranked higher than us (in the rankings).”

It was all Michigan in the second period, as Caroline Hurd and Kalli Bates found the twine. Michigan led 3-2 heading into the third period.

“Michigan does a good job of shooting from anywhere on the ice. They also crash the net and that creates a lot of opportunities for them,” McKernan said.

The final period wore on and the back-and-forth hockey continued. Laker captain Tenwalde capitalized on a shot with 3:32 remaining in the game to even the score.

“We were all working hard, and I caught a lucky break and won a scrum for the puck in the corner,” Tenwalde said. “I got a rebound off a shot and was able to score.”

The match between the Lakers and Wolverines was pushed into overtime. The Lakers couldn’t capitalize on a late opportunity, ending the game in a 3-3 tie.

When Sunday rolled around, it was a whole different dynamic on the ice.

After giving up an early goal, Michigan responded to tie the game 1-1 heading into the second period. The Wolverines scored two breakaway goals in the middle of the second period, taking a 3-1 lead.

“We didn’t get down. We stayed positive, trusted each other, and tied it up,” Tenwalde said.

Tenwalde then notched her second goal of the series for the Lakers with 5:23 left in the second period.

With 30 seconds to play in the second, GVSU’s Hannah Aittama found Alisha Day to tie the game 3-3 heading into the second intermission. The teams combined to take 29 shots in the second stanza.

GVSU freshman Frankie Wojtylo scored in the third for the Lakers, along with Day on a coast-to-coast for a score. With the Lakers up 5-3, the Wolverines were able to respond with a goal, but an empty netter with 28.1 seconds to play finished the scoring for the Lakers in the 6-4 victory.

“We stepped up our game in the third and executed very well. We were able to make big passes and catch people with speed and shoot with high efficiency,” McKernan said.

GVSU hits the ice again in Flint on Thursday when they square off against Michigan State in the first round of the Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association (CCWHA) playoffs.