Lakers hockey win two

The Nipissing University Lakers hockey team is firmly entrenched in third place in their division as they speed toward the playoffs after picking up two big wins last week against Ryerson and RMC.The Lakers dispatched Ryerson 7-0 on Thursday night in Toronto.  They faced a smoking-hot RMC goaltender on Saturday night in North Bay, but prevailed to notch a 2-1 overtime win off the stick of Andrew Marcoux.  The Nugget was there on Saturday night and filed this report:Lakers edge Paladins
North Bay Nugget
The Nipissing Lakers picked up two important points Saturday night against the RMC Paladins, but they sure had to fight for them.
The Lakers defeated the Paladins in overtime 2-1, but it was RMC’s goaltender, Andrew Flemming, who put a scare into the home team, holding the Lakers off the scoreboard until almost six minutes into the third period.
In all, Flemming faced 45 shots , including four in overtime, compared to 20 shots on the Lakers’ Kyle Cantlon.
“It’s a credit to them,” Lakers coach Mike McParland said of the Paladins’ effort. “They never quit fighting.”
He said Flemming’s performance was “outstanding. He really kept them in” the game.
The Lakers (14-6-4) are firmly in third place in the tough OUA East Division, gaining a bit of ground on the top two teams after both McGill (18-3-2) and UQTR (17-5-2) posted losses Saturday night.
“We definitely needed those two points tonight,” McParland said, admitting the Paladins were exceptionally tough. With only eight points on the season, the Paladins (3-20-2) are taking their role of spoiler seriously.
The Paladins notched the first goal at 3:06 of the second period, with Scott McDonald pulling through a scramble in front of the Lakers’ net to give the visitors the lead, which they held for more than 20 minutes.
But it was the Lakers who controlled most of the game, keeping the puck in the RMC end, including a full three minutes inside their blue line before Doug Clarkson finally popped it past Flemming on a powerplay at the 5:57 mark of the third period.
It almost looked like desperation hockey by the Lakers, who were stymied time and again by Flemming, whose pads, gloves and stick seemed to be everywhere, with the shots on net statistics showing the real effort – 13 to 7 in favour of Nipissing at the end of the first period, 28 to 15 by the end of the second period and 41-20 at the end of regulation.
Andrew Marcoux of the Lakers finally put the game away at the 2:33 mark of overtime, weaving through the defenders to slip it into the net.
The Lakers have four games left in the season, all against lower-ranked teams. They play the Ryerson Rams two more times this season, Friday and Feb. 10. In their last meeting, the Lakers defeated the Rams 7-0.ICE CHIPS
A crowd of 1,715 was on hand to take in the Support the Troops game, with a large contingent from CFB North Bay 22 Wing enjoying the show.
A total of 15 penalties were assessed in the game, with the Paladins picking up nine. Both regulation-time goals were scored on the power play.
Brodie Beard’s assist on the winning goal gives him 29 points on the season, 16th in the division.