HOWELL, Mich.—Visiting Lawrence Tech got off to a solid start, but couldn't sustain that momentum in the second and third periods as Cleary rallied from a two-goal deficit to double up the Blue Devils, 4-2, in a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference men's hockey contest at the 140 Ice Den on Saturday night. The Blue Devils see their five-game win streak snapped to fall to 9-7 overall and 9-5 in the WHAC, while the Cougars improve to 7-13 on the season and 5-9 in the conference.
Lawrence Tech Highlights
- Sophomore Drake Barnish led the Blue Devils with two assists.
- Classmate Joey Mattevi also got on the scoresheet with an assist.
Cleary Highlights.
- Goalie Liam Kocur stymied LTU with 38 saves.
- Wes Smith led all skaters with four points on two goals and two assists.
How it Happened
- Devon Campbell broke a 2-2 tie with 6 minutes and 13 seconds left in the third period, and Smith added an insurance tally on an empty-net with 30 seconds remaining.
- Lawrence Tech took a 2-0 lead in the first period on power play markers from freshmen Charlie Ward and Avery Pittman.
- Cleary then scored four unanswered goals beginning with Billy Simms, shorthanded, that cut the deficit in half with 12:26 left in the second period.
- Smith notched his first goal of the game six minutes later at 6:28 on the clock to tie it, 2-2.
- Lawrence Tech had a golden opportunity to add another goal on the scoreboard with a penalty shot, but Kocur saved the attempt by Barnish.
- The Blue Devils outshot the Cougars 40 to 23.
Beyond the Boxscore
- Lawrence Tech holds a commanding 14-3 lead in the all-time series against Cleary; the teams have split this regular season with two wins apiece.
- The Cougars snapped a three-game losing streak.
- The Blue Devils haven't allowed at least four goals in a loss since Oct. 7 when they fell 5-3 to Cleary at home.
- With two points tonight, Barnish took over sole possession of the LTU scoring lead with 19 points.
Next up, LTU entertains first-year ACHAMD1 opponent Oregon next Friday and Saturday in non-WHAC affairs at Farmington Hills Arena with 8 and 5 p.m. starts, respectively.
