The Edina Lakers faced off with the Minnesota Owls at the start of a big three game weekend last Friday night.  The First period was a tight affair, with Sheldon Kihle getting the only goal of the period for the Owls.  The second period saw the Owls start to separate from the Lakers.  Robert Erickson scored at 3:16 and then later Kihle got his second goal of the game, this one short handed.  It wasn’t until the 16:40 mark when Adam Wiertzema scored on a penalty shot that the Lakers got on the board.  They trailed 3-1 after two.  The third period saw the Lakers continue that late second period momentum, getting a Matt Kroening goal at 7:29 and then Ryan Heid tied it at 8:55.  After Anton Martirosian took a high sticking penalty, shorthanded specialist Tadayoshi Shibata scored and the Lakers took the lead.  It was short lived, however, as Taylor Bargar scored on the power play to tie it right back up at four.  Kihle untied it in favor of the Owls with his third and then fourth goals of the hockey game and the Owls won the game six to four. 

Saturday night saw Ryan Pinoniemi make his JR Hockey goaltending debut as the Twin Cities Northern Lights came to MN Made.  Pinoniemi is a before and after from the Delano program. He was pounded with shots on goal, and the Laker skaters were still feeling the affects of the tough Friday night loss.  This one was one to forget, on the scoreboard at least.  Pinoniemi saved 47 shots, which in itself is a big nights work.  Offensively, Martirosian, Decker and Korening scored for the Lakers as they fall 11-3 to the Twin Cities Northern Lights.

On Sunday night, the Lakers welcomed in the Hudson Crusaders.  The Lakers were still feeling the effects of their first two games of the weekend, and the Crusaders were able to rebound to take advantage.  Jake Bruhn scored twice before the Lakers Michael Gullen scored in the final minute of the first period to cut the deficit to two to one.  In the second period, Cody Rich scored twice for a three goal Crusader lead.  Finally, in the final period of the weekend, the Lakers gave up two more goals.  Adam Wiertzema scored shorthanded late to make it six to two Hudson.

The weekend left the Lakers searching for answers.  Coach Long shook up the lines a bit before Sunday’s game and it remains to be seen if those new pairings will remain intact into this weekend.  On Friday night, the Lakers head back up to Isanti, looking for some revenge.  Then, on Saturday night, the Owls travel from Isanti to Mn Made for the second half of the home and home series.  On Sunday, the Lakers travel to Hudson to complete another three game weekend. 

Here’s to hoping the Lakers have their sea legs with them, and pull out a couple(or three) victories to regain their confidence.

Lets Go Lakers!