Junior forward Aaron O'Neill extended his season-opening point streak to five games with a shorthanded goal but the Foresters were edged out 4-3 Wednesday night by visiting Milwaukee School of Engineering.
O'Neill's third score of the season tied the game at one at the 3:35 mark of the opening period. The Raiders had taken the early lead just 10 seconds into the contest.
MSOE's second power play opportunity of the evening resulted in a goal for the visitors at 9:50 and they made it a 3-1 game with another score at 13:19.
Forester sophomore forward Zach Leonard scored the first goal of his collegiate career with junior defenseman Mark DerManulian and senior defenseman Zach Feldman assisting. The score came with 1:45 remaining in the first and Lake Forest went into the locker room after 20 minutes of play trailing 3-2.
After being outshot 19-9 in the opening frame, the Foresters had a 14-9 advantage in that category in the second but neither team was able to score in the period. Both teams put eight shots on goal and lit the lamp once in the third.
Lake Forest finally evened the score at the 5:13 mark of the third on sophomore forward Will Lebel's second tally of the season. He was assisted by senior defenseman Connor Duncan and junior forward Tyler Nelson. The Raiders, however, regained the lead nine minutes later and did not relinquish it again.
The loss dropped the Foresters' overall record on the season to 3-1-1 and Northern Collegiate Hockey Association mark to 2-1-0. It was the league opener for MSOE, which remains perfect after five games overall.
Lake Forest will play a home-and-home series with Marian University this weekend. The teams will face off in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, at 8:00 Friday night and in Lake Forest Saturday at 7:00 p.m.