DEARBORN, Mich.--Top seed and No. 16-ranked Indiana Tech scored three unanswered goals after second-seeded Lawrence Tech took an early lead to defeat the Blue Devils, 4-2, in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference men's hockey championship at the UM-Dearborn Field House Ice Arena on Sunday.

The Blue Devils likely see their postseason end with a 21-12 record overall--their third 20-win season in a row. With the win, the regular-season conference champion Warriors also earn the WHAC's automatic bid to the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 1 Tournament.

Lawrence Tech sophomore goalie Brett Tome (19-10-1) made 26 saves, while Indiana Tech's Ty Barnhill stopped 25 shots.

Things started off well for LTU which took a 1-0 lead just 83 seconds after the opening face-off. Sophomore Liam Bland won an offensive zone face-off at the right dot to freshman David Hoftiezer who one-timed a shot over Barnhill's right shoulder.

But just 2 minutes and 17 seconds later at 3:40 Indiana Tech tied it 1-1 on Pavel Svoboda's deflected goal on a 2-on-1 rush. Connor Funke put the Warriors ahead for good to close the first period scoring when he skated full length of the ice from the defensive zone to sneak a shot over the right shoulder of Tome at the near post.

In the second period, Wil Campbell extended the Warrior lead to 3-1 with a power play goal at 3:07. Just 42 seconds later on that same power play, LTU got a shorthanded goal by Keagan Rundle to pull the Blue Devils within 3-2 at the 3:49 mark.

But with 2:10 left in the period, Michael Dalaly took a feed from Campbell to restore the Warriors' two-goal advantage. 

In the third period, LTU kept the pressure on with some excellent scoring opportunities with a shot off the post and Barnhill making key stops.