An 18-hour bus ride, and a 5000-foot elevation change proved to have little impact on the Grand Valley State University Division II men’s club hockey team as they took on a trio of opponents in the Rocky Mountains this weekend.

The Lakers continued to dominate on away ice, getting almost 50 shots on net against the University of Denver Saturday and securing a 4-2 victory. The back-and-forth game saw GVSU down 1-0 going into the second period, continuing their trend of getting off to slow starts this semester.

“We outplayed them the whole game, but we let them hang around,” senior captain Craig Marrett said. “We could have put them away early, but we went into the third period up 3-2, giving them a chance to come back in the game.”

Sophomore goaltender Doug Chidester played solid in net making key saves when called upon in his first appearance of the semester, improving to 6-1 for the season.

“Dougie played great for us last night,” Marrett said. “Everyone was a little surprised at how close it was. Denver’s goalie definitely kept them in the game and gave them a chance.”

The Lakers gave themselves some breathing room in the third period, scoring another goal to seal the 4-2 victory.

On Friday, GVSU had a strong start in the first period to set the tone offensively for the rest of the game. The Lakers outshot the University of Colorado 32-7 in the second period, keeping Colorado in their own zone most of the game, as the Lakers won 7-2.

“It was lopsided in the second and that really helped us get going offensively for the rest of the game,” head coach Mike Forbes said. “I’m really happy with the way we played overall.”

Colorado became frustrated late in the game, as they ran around chasing the puck, rather then playing their system, which led to two more goals in the third period for the Lakers.

“That happens when you get down five, six, 7-1 on the scoreboard,” Forbes said. “We took away the neutral zone on them and didn’t allow them to establish much in the offensive zone. We outshot them 62-26 for the game. Anytime you get that much at the net, you’re doing something right offensively.”

The GVSU defense was consistent in transitioning the puck in a short neutral zone. Sloppy play in the first period around the blue line was cleaned up in the second and third, which led to a faster transition from defense to offense. This allowed the Lakers to create their offensive dominance.

“We kept shifts very short,” Forbes said. “Changed lines every 30 to 45 seconds, not exposing the guys to oxygen deprivation. “Out in Colorado, it’s tough to recover during the game, leading to exhaustion. The guys were very responsible when it came to changing on the bench. Day two in the altitude affects you more severely in my experience, and day three you start to get acclimated to it.”

GVSU was positioned well to deal with the added fatigue while playing seven defenseman and four lines. This allowed the players adequate time to rest on the bench.

“We didn’t know what to expect with the altitude,” Marrett said. “After the first couple shifts, you come off pretty quickly a little more out of breath than normal. “It’s a different experience and takes me longer to get my breath back. It’s harder to go longer.”

With low activity on his end, senior goaltender Scott Tiefenthal made big saves when he needed to, keeping the Lakers in control the whole game.

The Lakers, now 4-0 for the semester, concluded their mountain road trip Sunday night at Colorado State University.

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