After softening up the visiting Wadena-Deer Creek boys' hockey team in the first period, the Laker squad was able to strike for six more goals in the second and third periods to take a 7-3 Mid-State Conference victory.
The Lakers (8-3-0) stayed undefeated in the Mid-State at 4-0, with the victory over the feisty Wolverines (3-10-0).
The two teams exchanged hat tricks, with DL senior forward Andy Schupp marking up three goals and W-DC swift sophomore forward Mitchell Swanson recording a trey of tallies as well.
"(W-DC) played hard and made it tough on us, they didn't give up anything easy," said DL head coach Chris Denardo.
Despite outshooting the Wolverines by a 15-6 margin in the first period, the only score came off of DL forward Frantisek Jung's stick, with a point-blank shot on the point of the crease past W-DC senior goalie Dylan Isola.
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But the Lakers led only 1-0 after the first intermission, with several good scoring opportunities going by the wayside.
"The guys' intensity level was not where it should have been in the first period," Denardo said. "We just did enough to control play."
The spark which ignited DL's intensity came 2:28 into the second period, when Schupp notched the first of three goals on a power play, with senior forwards Nate Baker and Kirby Inderriden on the assist.
That led to a big short-handed goal by defenseman Ethan Brekke, who blasted a shot from the point, with Inderriden getting a nice screen on Isola, who didn't see the blur of black zip past him for the 3-0 lead.
"The intensity level made the difference in the game," Denardo said of his team.
Schupp notched goal No. 2 on a rebound on the upper-right corner of the net with 7:02 left in the second, to extend the lead to 4-0.
The Wolverines cracked the board on Swanson's goal 11:36 into the second period, with assists by David Najjar and Jake Krause on a rebound opportunity.
Swanson cut the lead in half to 4-2 1:27 into the third, but Schupp answered just over nine minutes later, with Brekke on the assist.
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As the game was winding down, junior forward Alex Mason put in a rebound goal, followed by a Swanson wrap-around tally to put the score at 6-3.
But Swanson made a mistake late in the game, after he made an erroneous pass right in front of W-DC's crease, as a waiting Baker intercepted it and promptly put it past Isola for the 7-3 score.
DL senior goalie Michael Brunner had 18 saves, while Isola had 37 stops.
Despite the line of seniors Ryan Lindquist and Ryan Berg being held scoreless, Denardo credited them for having a stellar game.
"They were our best line out there," the DL coach said. "Lindquist has been our hardest worker this year, he is literally giving it 110 percent in every single game during every shift. Both Ryan Berg and Lindquist played well."
The Lakers will travel north to face Virginia (9-4-0) Friday for a 7:30 p.m. start, and Eveleth-Gilbert (7-4-0) Saturday for a 1 p.m. start.
Laker results
Wadena-Deer Creek at Detroit Lakes, Thursday, Jan. 6.
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Wolverines 0 1 2 - 3
Lakers 1 3 3 - 7
1st Period -- Scoring: DL - Jung (Baker, Mason) 10:10. Penalties: Krause, WDC (Interference, Minor, 2 min) 1:16. Schmitz, WDC (Interference, Minor, 2 min) 5:54.
2nd Period -- Scoring: DL - Schupp (Power Play) (Baker, Inderrieden) 2:28. DL - Brekke (Short Handed) (Schupp) 7:11. DL - Schupp 9:58. WDC - Swanson (Najjar, Krause) 11:36. Penalties: Berg, WDC (Hooking, Minor, 2 min) 1:15. Brehm, DL (Interference, Minor, 2 min) 6:39. Berg, WDC (Holding, Minor, 2 min) 7:11. Inderrieden, DL (Slashing, Minor, 2 min) 17:00. Pettit, WDC (Slashing, Minor, 2 min) 17:00.
3rd Period -- Scoring: WDC - Swanson (Najjar, Krause) 1:27. DL - Schupp (Brekke) 10:41. DL - Mason (Jung) 12:16. WDC - Swanson 13:13. DL - Baker (Short Handed) 14:26. Penalties: Brekke, DL (Hooking, Minor, 2 min) 6:54. Schupp, DL (Hooking, Minor, 2 min) 13:54.
Shots on goal -- DL: 15 15 14 - 44...WDC: 6 3 12 - 21.
Saves -- DL (Michael Brunner) 18...WDC (Dylan Isola) 37.
