The Lake Forest College men's hockey team evened its Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal series by blanking host Milwaukee School of Engineering 2-0 on Sunday. However, the Raiders' 1-0 victory in the ensuing mini-game sent them to the next round and ended the Foresters' season.
Lake Forest senior goaltender Brendan Sullivan made 39 saves in his fourth shutout of 2012-13. Only three goalies in the nation have recorded more shutouts this year. Sullivan finished the season 9-8-5 with a .911 save percentage and his 2.41 goals against average is the second-highest mark in program history.
Junior Andrew Stein put the visitors on the scoreboard at the 14:45 mark of the first period. His sixth goal this season was assisted by sophomore Bobby Barrett and junior Roberto Caparelli. The Foresters had a 13-12 advantage in shots on goal in the game's first 20 minutes.
The Raiders outshot the visitors 20-7 in the second period but Sullivan kept the home team scoreless and junior Pat Charron lit the lamp at 16:32 to double the Foresters lead. Sophomores Jason McAloon and Mcauley Banning recorded assists on Charron's fifth score of the year.
Lake Forest put eight shots on goal to the Raiders' seven in a scoreless final period.
With their 2-game quarterfinal series tied, the teams faced off again in a 20-minute mini-game to decide which squad would advance to next weekend's Harris Cup Four. It was the third time in the last four years that Lake Forest and MSOE needed the mini-game to decide their series winner.
MSOE outshot the Foresters 14-9 and netted the only goal of the contest with 4:26 on the clock. Sullivan exited the ice with 64 seconds remaining and the move appeared to have paid off when the puck ended up in the Raider goal with just 6.8 seconds on the clock. However, the official ruled that the puck had been kicked in and the goal was disallowed.
Lake Forest finished the year with a 10-12-5 overall record, matching the program's victory total from the last two years combined. Milwaukee School of Engineering, the 15th-ranked team in the country, is now 16-9-2.
McAloon led the 2012-13 Foresters with 21 points on seven goals and 14 assists. Caparelli scored a team-high eight times and sophomore Charlie Stein led the squad with 15 assists. Nineteen players on the the team scored at least once and 24 recorded one or more points, including 10 in double figures.
In addition to Sullivan, the Foresters will lose fellow seniors Thomas Bark, Ben Finney, and David Sharpe to graduation in May.