Junior forward Drew Cleereman scored his first career shorthanded goal but the Forester men's hockey team fell 4-2 at Curry College on Sunday.
It was the second straight night Lake Forest outshot its opponent but the visitors once again came out on the losing end. The Foresters had a 12-9 advantage in shots on goal in the opening period but there was no score to show for either team after 20 minutes of play.
Curry broke the ice in the opening minutes of the second period on a rush through the right side of the neutral zone and score far side low blocker. The Colonels grabbed another one just a few minutes later on a similar play to take a two-goal lead.
The Foresters were on the penalty kill later in the period when Cleereman sped past a Curry defender in the neutral zone and, on a breakaway, snapped off a shot that went upstairs over the goaltender's blocker at 9:06. The unassisted goal was Cleereman's fourth score of the season.
Curry answered just 49 seconds later and tacked on another goal late in the period to make the score 4-1.
After out-shooting the home team 18-7 in the second, Lake Forest continued to apply pressure in the offensive zone, putting 10 shots on goal to the Colonel's seven in the final frame. Sophomore forward Austin Aksoy finally put home a rebound at the 9:15 mark to get the score to 4-2. Freshman forward Joe Sardina and senior forward George Gerasimou set up Aksoy's third goal of the year.
Despite pulling their goalie with four minutes remaining in the game, the Foresters were unable to get anything in the back of the net.
After dropping both games on the East Coast, Lake Forest fell to 7-6-0 overall and will head home with a bitter taste in their mouths. Curry improved to 7-5-1 on the year.
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association play will resume for the Foresters next Friday when they welcome St. Norbert College, the nation's top-ranked team, to Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop.
by Cam McGuire
