Detroit Lakes High School Hockey: Welcome

The Lakers traveled to Bagley Tuesday night to take on the Flyers and came out with a 7-2 victory.  Tanner Lane scored the hat trick in the game and added an assist to give him 84 points on the season and keep pace with Joey Benik for the state scoring lead.  Brett Provo had a goal and an assist in the game.  Alex Phelps, Nate Ginnaty and Ethan Brekke also added goals for the Lakers.  Andrew Friesen stopped 21 shots for his 11th win on the season.  The Lakers ended the game with 66 shots on net. 

The Lakers JV got back in the win column tonight with a 7-2 win also.  Derek Brehm and Ryan Lindquist each scored two goals in the game.  Kirby Inderrieden, Ryan Beilke and Jacob Johnson also scored goals for the Lakers.  Blake Murhpy stopped 19 shots in the game for the win.

The Lakers will take on Park Rapids Thursday night for the Mid-State Conference Championship at the Kent Freeman Arena.

The number one team in Section 6 came to town to face the Lakers Saturday and the Lakers stood tough despite losing the game 4-3.  The Lakers got off to a bit of a slow start giving up two in the first but came out firing in the second.  Sartell scored early but the Lakers power play was on fire.  Andy Schupp scored the first goal off a feed from Brett Provo.  Shortly after Tanner Lane put home a nice goal top shelf to pull the Lakers back within one.  In the third an unfortunate bounce off a Laker skate helped Sartell to a 4-2 lead.  But the Lakers kept buzzing and pulled back within one as Tanner Lane put home a pass from Ethan Brekke.  A strong flurry at the end didn't yield a goal but the Lakers played well and controlled most of the game.  "I am not happy we lost but we played a solid game today.  A bounce here or there could have won us the game but it just didn't happen,"  commented Coach Denardo.  Andrew Friesen played a solid game in net making 31 saves on the night. 

The Lakers JV dropped a tough 4-0 decision to Sartell.  Blake Murphy played solid in net making 27 saves in the loss.  The Lakers couldn't muster up enough offense in the game to make a run but played strong in their Defensive zone. 

The Lakers defeated another section opponent tonight as they scored 9 goals and gave up 2 against the Prairie Center Stars.  Big Night for Tanner Lane as he set the single season goals scored record tallying his 39th and 40th of the year.  That also gives him the career goals scored record of 90.  These pass Joe Schillers old record of 38 goals in a season and 87 goals in a career.  Alex Mason played on a line with Tanner and Nate Baker tonight and had a huge game scoring the hat trick and adding two assists.  Linemate Nate Baker added two assists as well giving that line 13 points on the night.  Each line scored tonight which is good news for the Lakers.  Brett Provo got the first goal of the game on a nice short handed breakaway.  Chad Maristuen scored for the second game in a row putting away an Andy Schupp pass.  Joe Hanson scored his first goal of the season ,and his career ,on the power play.  Ethan Brekke added a power play goal from the point as well.  Andrew Friesen collected his 10th win of the season stopping 21 shots.

The Lakers JV had a tough tilt losing 4-2 to Prairie Center.  A slow start came back to haunt them later as they couldn't muster up enough offense early to get back into the game.  Ryan Bielke pulled the Laker within one in the second but Prairie Center answered early in the third to pull back to a two goal lead.  Landon Hochstetler pulled the lakers back within one until an open net goal cost the Lakers the game.  Michael Brunner stopped 29 shots in the loss. 

For the first time in 9 games the Lakers returned home to a nice crowd but the turnout wasn't what they hoped for.  The Lakers dropped a 4-3 ot decision to the Crookstron Pirates.  After a lackluster effort in the first period the Lakers tried to get it together in the second but couldn't must up much until the end of the period when Alex Phelps put the puck away at the twelve minute mark.  The Lakers and Pirates had a 20-20 shot deadlock at the end of two.  In the third the goals started to come.  Crookston tied the game up in the first 30 seconds.  Tanner Lane put one away three minutes later to regain the lead but it lasted less than a minute as Crookstron tied the game.  30 seconds later Andy Schupp tipped an Alex Mason shot to regain the lead, which the Lakers held until the last minute.  A scrum in front of the Laker net led to a Pirate goal with 19 seconds left.  The Lakers got a power play in the OT after Tanner Lane was dragged down on a breakaway but couldn't muster up a shot on net.  A Laker mistake at the three minute mark led to a Pirate breakaway and a goal. Andrew Friesen played solid in the nets for the Lakers making 32 saves for the game.

The Lakers JV had a tight one as well with the Pirates but suffered the same fate as the varsity, a one goal loss 2-1.  Crookston jumped out in the second with an early goal but Cody Olsen answered late to tie the game after two.  The third was back and forth but a late goal by the Pirates put the Lakers back against the wall.  The Lakers put on the pressure, hit a pipe and thought they had the tying goal when it was waved off and a penalty was called.  The Lakers ended with a 2-1 loss.  Blake Murphy kept up his strong performance in the JV games stopping 18 shots. 

Home ice is proving to not be an advantage for the Lakers as they dropped their second straight decision losing to Northern Lakes 5-4.  DL got on the board first as Tanner Lane and Alex Phelps teamed up for a short handed goal.  But, the Lightning put up three straight on the Lakers before Phelps and Lane teamed up again to pull back within one.  Mid-way through the second Tanner Lane tied the game.  The Lightning put in two more though to take a two goal lead into the third.  The Lakers worked the puck hard but couldn't find the net until 1:07 was left and Phelps put in his second from Lane.  A mad rush at the end  and several shots made it look as if the Lakers would tie the game but the Lightning goalie was tough to beat and the Lakers lost 5-4.  Andrew Friesen made 23 saves in the loss.

The Lakers JV bounced back tonight putting up an impressive 5-2 decision over the Lightning.  Landon Hochstetler got the scoring started in the first, followed by goals by Cody Olsen and Austin Starkey to gain the 3-1 lead.  In the second it was all Lakers as they put in two more, one by Jacob Johnson and one by Kirby Inderrieden.  That would be all they needed as the Lakers shut down the Lightning the rest of the game.  The Lakers had strong goaltending by Blake Murphy stopping 20 pucks in the win.  The win pulls the Lakers back to .500 on the season at 8-8.

The Lakers ended their North Shore trip in strong fashion Saturday night beating the host Silver Bay Mariners 12-0.  "It was pretty close to a complete game as we played well all night, better than the previous night," commented Coach Denardo.  "Even though the competition isn't what we hoped, we played solid hockey in each of the wins with the exception of one period against Two Harbors."  Tanner Lane and Alex Phelps each had hat tricks on the night for the Lakers.  Alex Mason had a nice two goal game and Nate Baker, Nate Ginnaty, Andy Schupp and Kirby Inderrieden each had goals.  Andrew Friesen got his first shutout of his high school career.  The Lakers now sit at 11-2-2 on the season. 

The Lakers JV completed a weekend sweep of the Silver Bay/Two Harbors combined JV team.  The Lakers won 6-0 on Friday and 9-1 on Saturday.  Friday the Lakers got goals from Kirby Inderrieden, Zach Saunders, Ryan Lindquist, Cody Olsen, Landon Hochstetler and getting his first goal at forward, Grant Sands.  Blake Murphy got his second JV shutout of the season in the win.  Saturday the Lakers got goals from Ryan Lindquist, Derek Brehm, Brennan Benscoter, Ryan Bielke, Zach Saunders, two from Landon Hochstetler and a hat trick from Cody Olsen.  Michael Brunner stopped 10 shots in the win.  The victory brought the JV back to .500 for the season.

The Lakers traveled to Walker on Tuesday and came away with a lopsided victory by the score of 15-1.  The Lakers proved to be dominant as they moved the puck extremely well throughout the game and putting up 47 shots on net.  The Line of Lane, Phelps and Baker scored 9 of the Laker goals.  Nate Baker Had 5 goals, Lane and Phelps each had two.  The Lakers second line saw Brett Provo notch his sixth of the season and Nate Ginnaty his second.  The third line saw two goals by Andy Schupp and one by Alex Mason.  To cap off the night the fourth line contributed a goal as Cody Olsen got his first varsity goal ever.  Blake Murphy wasn't very busy stopping 5 shots to take the win.

The Laker JV notched their second win in a row taking the Wolves down 8-0.  After a slow start the Lakers turned on the jets scoring 2 times late in the first, 5 times in the second period and adding one more in the third.  Landon Hochstetler got the hat trick and Garret Hill added his first two of the season.  Singles goals by Cody Olsen, Austin Starkey and Zach Saunders gave the Lakers the 8-0 win.  Michael Brunner stopped all 19 Wolves shots to get the shutout. 

The Lakers were riding a hot streak going into their section 6 showdown with Willmar Friday night and that streak continues.  The Lakers downed the Cardinals 4-2 with solid play throughout most of the game.  After a scoreless first period which saw some back and forth play the Lakers came out in the second period and ramped up the energy outshooting Willmar 12-7 and scoring the first goal as Nate Baker took a Tanner Lane pass and put it top shelf.  Willmar scored late in the period to tie the game but the Lakers felt good about their efforts.  "For the second straight night we had a solid second and third period and took control of the play, I am pretty happy with that," commented Coach Denardo.  In the third the Lakers really took over as Alex Phelps put a nice shot far side on the Willmar goalie to give the Lakers the lead.  A few minutes later Tanner Lane had a nice move and put the puck top shelf to extend the Laker lead to 3-1.  After a late Willmar goal the Lakers contolled the play and Tanner Lane added an insurance goal to give the Lakers a 4-2 win.  The Lakers outshot Willmar 10-3 in the third and 30-19 for the game.  Andrew Friesen put in another nice performance stopping 17 shots for his sixth win.

The Lakers JV made it a sweep for the night putting up a nice 4-0 win over the Cardinals.  Austin Starkey got the scoring started in the first off a nice feed from Landon Hochstetler and Ryan Bielke.  In the second the Lakers took control on the board as Kirby Inderrieden and Ryan Bielke each scored to give the Lakers a 3-0 lead after two.  In the third Ryan Bielke scored his second of the game to give the Lakers a 4-0 win.  Blake Murphy played strong in nets stopping 30 Willmar shots getting the shutout victory. 

It wasn't the way they wanted it to end but the Lakers did pull off the tournament win over the Otters in a shootout Wednesday night.  Regulation ended in a 3-3 tie, and due to no overtimes being played in the Fergus Tourney, the Lakers had to settle for a win in the shootout.  The Lakers scored three times as Nate Baker, Alex Phelps and Brett Provo all scored while Andrew Friesen stopped all 3 Otter shooters.  "That will have to be our overtime against them," commented Coach Denardo.  "I was hoping we would get a chance for OT but their tourney wasn't set up that way so we had to settle for the shootout."  The Lakers looked as if they had the game in hand in the last minute but a non-call on the Otters after Tanner Lane was dragged down to the ice, led to a break up ice and a nice shot top shelf to tie the game with 30 seconds left.  "We let them off the hook all night long and didn't put them away like we should have and it comes back to bite you in the end so that is what we will have to deal with," exclaimed Coach Denardo.  Andrew Friesen had another solid game in nets for the Lakers stopping 28 shots.  The tie brings the Lakers season record to 6-2-2 heading into a busy month of January. 

The Lakers JV dropped a tough one to the Otters by a score of 7-1.  Michael Brunner saw 31 shots on the net and the lone Laker high light came off the stick of Landon Hochstetler early in the first period.  The Lakers JV is sitting at 3-7 after 10 games.    

The Lakers put together a good performance Tuesday night against Mankato West winning by the score of 4-1.  The Lakers played great the first two periods dominating play and the score.  Nate Baker put two away in the first and Tanner Lane put one away to give the Lakers a 3-0 lead after one.  In the second the Lakers controlled play and increased their lead to 4 on a power play goal by Tanner Lane.  In the third the Lakers got a little sloppy in their own end and Andrew Friesen lost his bid for the shutout with three minutes left in the game.  Friesen stopped 27 Mankato shots in the win.  "I wish we could have held it together better in the third, we just strayed from the game plan and it got sloppy," commented Coach Denardo.  The Lakers will take on Fergus tomorrow night in a rematch from a few weeks ago which saw the Lakers lose 5-4 in OT. 

The Lakers JV played a good game today but came up just short in a 1-0 loss.  The Lakers put on the pressure and had many power play opportunities they couldn't capitalize on.  Blake Murphy stopped 27 shots in the loss but played a solid game all around. 

The Lakers played another tight game and came out on top 4-3 at Kent Freeman Arena on Tuesday night.  The story of the night wasn't the Lakers top line but the Lakers other two lines who accounted for all four Laker goals.  The Spartans did a good job bottling up the Lakers top line of Lane, Phelps and Baker but didn't find the same success against the other Lakers lines of Provo, Ginnaty, Berg and Schupp, Mason, Maristuen.  After a scoreless first which saw the Lakers dominate most of the play, the Spartans struck first in the second period shorthanded.  The Lakers answered shortly after as Alex Mason put home a breakaway chance for his first of two goals on the night.  In the third period the Lakers scored early on a nice shot from Alex Deconcini off a Brett Provo pass.  Fargo North scored quickly to tie it but on the power play Alex Mason scored off a nice feed from Brett Provo.  Andy Schupp put the fourth Lakers goal on the board to give the Lakers a two goal lead.  Fargo scored late in the period but the Lakers held off the Spartan attack to gain the win and move their record to 5-2 on the season.  Andrew Friesen stopped 27 shots to take his third win of the season.

The Lakers JV lost a tough one tonight by the score of 7-0.  After getting behind early the Lakers couldn't muster much to get back into the game.  The Lakers were outshot 40-13 on the game and Michael Brunner made 33 saves in the loss.

The Lakers beat Walker/Hackensack-Akeley Friday night by a score of 15-2 to stay perfect at 3-0 in the Mid-State Conference.   Walker, a newer program in Minnesota High School Hockey, had trouble keeping up with the Lakers most of the night.  Solid puck movement throughout the night was the plan by the Lakers.  "We moved the puck better than we have all year, every line had some great plays and every goal had one or two assists with it, so I couldn't be happier,"  said Coach Denardo.  "You always worry about games like these because you don't want your players to get to focused on just trying to get points or goals and tonight we stayed focused, controlled play and moved the puck very well."  Tanner Lane and Andy Schupp each had a hat trick in the game.  It was Lane's fourth hat trick of the season in six games.  Alex Phelps, Nate Baker and Ryan Berg each had two goals while Brett Provo, Kirby Inderrieden and Chad Maristuen each added one.  Lane added three assists as well to take back the state scoring lead with 27 points.  Phelps' five points on the night pushed him into fourth place in state scoring with 23 points.  Blake Murphy started his first game of the year stopping 6 shots for the win.  The Lakers fired 62 shots on net.

The Lakers JV won their second in a row as well beating W-H-A by a score of 9-0.  Cody Olsen scored four times in the game and added an assist while Kirby Inderrieden scored two and added five assists.  Ryan Lindquist added four assists giving that line 16 points for the game.  Derek Brehm scored two from the point as well as getting two assists and Zach Saunders added a goal and an assist.  Austin Starkey also got an assist in the game.  Grant Sands stopped all 10 Walker shots for the shutout win. 

Hearts were racing again as the Lakers had to go into OT for the second game in a row, this time with a better result.  The Lakers finished off the Panthers of Park Rapids 5-4 in OT.  The Lakers started on fire again taking a 3-0 lead in the first period.  Tanner Lane started the scoring quickly followed by a goal from Alex Mason.  Alex Phelps closed out the scoring late in the period to give the Lakers a 3-0 lead.  The second period saw the Panthers come out strong but the Lakers matched the itensity and a goal by Tanner Lane kept the Lakers up by three after the second period.  In the third the Lakers game plan was working until halfway through the third when the refs took out their whistles and the Lakers found themselves down three times.  Park Rapids capitalized all three times to tie the game.  The Lakers controlled the OT and a goal by Tanner Lane, his third of the game, finished the game.  Andrew Friesen had another great game making 34 saves in getting his second win. The win moved the Lakers to 3-2 on the season and 2-0 in the Mid-State conference.

The Lakers JV had their best output of the season putting up 8 goals in an 8-1 win over the Panthers.  Jacob Johnson had a goal and 3 assists on the game to take point honors.  Kirby Inderrieden and Austin Starkey each had two goals.  Cody Olsen, Derek Brehm and Brennan Benscoter each had one goal.  Michael Brunner had 10 saves for the game and the win.  The Lakers JV is now 2-3 on the season. 

There was a lot of excitement at Kent Freeman Arena Saturday night as the Lakers played rival Fergus Falls.  The Otters struck first off a scrum in front of the Lakers net.   But the Lakers dominated the period as Tanner Lane got the Lakers on the board shortly after.  19 seconds later Andy Schupp put a nice move on the Otter defense and put one away.  With only a second remaining Tanner Lane scored his second of the game to give the Lakers a 3-1 lead after the first.  The Lakers got into penalty trouble in the second and the Otter capitalized scoring two power play goals and one even strength to pull ahead 4-3.  In the third the Lakers regained some momentum as Tanner Lane scored his third of the game to tie the score and that is how the score stayed after regulation.  An exciting OT kept the fans on the edge of their seat.  But a bad bounce cost the Lakers the game halfway through the overtime.  The loss drops the Lakers to 2-2 on the season.  "We really wanted this one and thought we deserved it but that is how the game goes sometimes, you just don't get the bounces," commented Coach Denardo.  Andrew Friesen made 39 stops on the game and played real solid in the nets making a lot of great saves to keep the Lakers in it.  The Lakers will return to action on Tuesday, December 15th at Park Rapids.

The Lakers JV couldn't get much going in their tilt dropping a 3-1 decision to the Otters.  Ryan Lindquist put one away to tie the game in the first but the Otters quickly struck back to take the lead.  Another goal in the second by Fergus was all they needed to win the game.  Grant Sands was in net for the loss stopping 24 Otter shots. 

The Lakers traveled to Pequot Lakes for a conference and section tilt Thursday night and the Lakers struck first blood winning convincingly 6-1.  The Lakers outshot the Lightning 53-28 on the game and it took a while for the Lakers to figure out Lightning goalie finally tallying a goal late in the first as Brett Provo put in his first of the year.  In the second it was all Lakers as Alex Phelps, Andy Schupp and Tanner Lane all tallied goals to give the Lakers a 4-0 lead after two.  The Lightning finally beat Laker goalie Andrew Friesen on a breakaway but the Lakers struck back two more times on goals by Alex Deconcini and Nate Baker.  "It wasn't just winning the game that was special it was the way we played, " commented Laker Coach Chris Denardo.  "We moved the puck better than we ever have and put unreal pressure on them all night.  It was totally dominant on our part and felt good to win this way."  Andrew Friesen looked good in the nets stopping 27 shots for the win.  The Lakers have another huge section tilt Saturday against rival Fergus Falls at home.

The Lakers JV dropped a tough one tonight losing 5-3 to the Lightning.  The Lakers played well most of the night after falling behind early 2-0.  Kirby Inderrieden pulled the Lakers within one at the end of the first.  After falling back 3-1, Derek Brehm pulled the Lakers back to within one.  Cody Olsen tied the game late in the second giving the Lakers some momentum.  Unfortunately, penalties caught up with the Lakers and two goals by the Lightning sealed the win.  Michael Brunner stopped 15 shots in the loss.  The Lakers outshot the Lightning 23-20 for the game. 

The result on Saturday night wasn't what the Lakers were hoping for, a 5-3 loss to Fort Frances in the innagural DL Thanksgiving tourney.  The Lakers looked flat most of the night with the exception of the last 10 minutes of the first period when the Lakers took a 2-1 lead into the locker room.  After a bad break that cost them a goal, Davis Johnson got them on the board on a shot from the point.  Shortly after Nate Baker put away the go ahead goal.  The Lakers came out lackluster in the second and Fort Frances capitalized scoring twice to take a 3-2 lead after two.  In the third the Lakers couldn't get it together and the Muskies put away two more.  A late goal by Nate Baker pulled the Lakers within two but it was too little too late.  Andrew Friesen stopped 22 shots in the loss.  The Lakers fired 29 shots on net.  The Lakers are 1-1 so far this season. 

The Lakers JV won a thriller 4-3 in OT over Bagley after a tough start on Friday night.  A much better effort by all the players helped the Lakers outshot the Flyers 48-23 on the night.  After falling behind 2-0 in the first the Lakers got on the board in the second on a goal by Austin Starkey.  In the third the Lakers came out flying with a goal by Kirby Inderrieden to tie the game.  Cody Olsen gave the Lakers the lead shortly after.  Bagley tied the game late to send the game into OT.  It didn't take the Lakers long though to put the puck away as Landon Hochstetler scored his first goal of the year to give the Lakers the win.  Grant Sands got the win making a lot of nice saves, especially in the third.

The Lakers looked good this weekend in their 3 scrimmage games as they go 2-0-1 in their games.   The Lakers younger players looked good against Wadena taking the game 4-0.  Senior leadership by Chad Maristuen and  Nate Ginnaty proved important as he netted two goals.  Michael Brunner stopped all pucks getting the shutout.

Against Shanley the Lakers had the whole team rolling.  Two goals early by Tanner Lane put the Lakers up quickly.  Alex Phelps netted a nice one as did Nate Ginnaty giving the Lakers a 4-2 win.  Blake Murphy gave up only two goals, one on a penalty shot, in the game.

A high powered St. Francis team couldn't muster much against the Lakers in a 3-3 tie.   Tanner Lane put the Lakers up quickly.  The Lakers trade goals with the Saints holding top scorer Joey Benik to one goal.  The Lakers dominated most of the play during the scrimmage with a lot of great scoring opportunities.  Andy Schupp closed out the Laker scoring.  Andrew Friesen looked strong stopping a lot of quality Saints shots. 

The Lakers will host their own Thanksgiving tourney this weekend at Kent Freeman Arena to open the regular season.