Sophomore goaltender George Argiropoulos stopped 32 of 33 shots on goal as the Forester men's hockey team hosted and defeated Nazareth College 4-1 Friday night.
Argiropoulos kept the Golden Flyers off the scoreboard until the 16:01 mark of the third. He made nine saves in each of the first two periods and 14 in the final 20 minutes. Argiropoulos improved to 4-2-0 with a .902 save percentage on the season.
Lake Forest took the early lead on a goal by senior forward Jimmy Cusan eight minutes and 25 seconds into the contest. His second score this season was set up by sophomore forward Drew Cleerman. Despite being out-shot 9-8, the Foresters led 1-0 at the first intermission.
The home team's final three scores came on the power play. Senior forward Jack Lewis became the first player in the country with nine goals when he lit the lamp just 53 seconds into the second period. His fifth power play goal of the year, which is tied for the national lead, was assisted by senior defenseman Mark Esshaki and freshman defenseman Connor Duncan. Lewis, along with sophomore forward Bron Loiselle, then earned assists on a 5-on-3 goal scored by junior forward Charlie Izaguirre at 10:21. It was Izaguirre's fifth score of the year. The Foresters had a 15-9 advantage in shots on goal in the second period and led 3-0 when it ended.
Junior forward Shawn Nelson converted another power play opportunity at 3:34 in the third with assists credited to senior defenseman Travis Hill and sophomore forward Cody Guidorzi. It was the first goal of the year for Nelson. Nazareth, who put 15 shots on goal to the Foresters' 13 in the final period, scored with 3:59 remaining to avoid the shutout.
The victory improved Lake Forest's record on the year to 6-4-0 while Nazareth fell to 4-4-1. The same two teams will face off again Saturday afternoon at 3:00.
