The Grand Valley State University Division II hockey club (23-2-1) continued their strong level of play this weekend with 8-1 and 7-2 victories against Ohio State and Central Michigan universities, respectively.

“It was a good weekend all around,” said GVSU head coach Mike Forbes. “We stuck to our game and made it work. [Central Michigan] played as tough as they always do; it was a very physical game. There was some disdain coming from them, they thought they could intimidate us, but I think we did a good job of keeping control of the game. There were some cheap shots and some late hits, but the refs did a good job of calling those.”

On Friday, the Lakers hosted the Buckeyes. The Lakers capitalized on their offensive and defensive advantages to shut the competition down and win the game, 8-1. A second game was originally scheduled for the following day, but Ohio State injuries resulted in a forfeit.

“Friday, we went up against a very strong Ohio State goaltender,” said freshman forward Jake Endicott. “It’s always frustrating to keep getting blocked, but our coach managed to calm us down and we went out in the next period and just played a strong game. There were some big injuries, a stretcher had to be called for Ohio State, and they were short-benched in the first place so they forfeited on us for the follow-up game.”

Sunday night, the Lakers hosted the Central Michigan Chippewas (15-12-1), and the game resulted in a 7-2 Laker victory, although it was very physical and riddled with injuries on both sides. GVSU jumped into the lead in the first minute of the game when a shot by Chad Wilhelm found the net, and that set the tone for the rest of the night. While the Chippewas managed to score twice in the subsequent periods, the Lakers pushed back and outclassed them both offensively and defensively to win the game.

“It felt good, anytime we can get the win and keep the winning streak up is good, we’re up to 22 in a row now,” said junior forward Bobby Anderson, who made two of the night’s goals. “We’re a team with the ability to put the pucks in the net and capitalize on mistakes and just do the little things right. I think we’re playing well, we’re thinking smart.”

The Lakers will hit the road Fri. 27 for Michigan State University, where they will face off against the Spartans before returning home to Georgetown Ice Arena the following day for a follow-up game. On Sun. 29, the Lakers will compete against Davenport University for the second time this season, and the game promises to be one of the more challenging ones of the season.

“They’ll be some of the harder teams that we’ll play this season,” Anderson said.” But if we do the little things right, like getting the puck in and out like we should, we will do well.”

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