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<DOCID>Not_This_Year_Northern.doc.txt</DOCID>
<AUTHOR>Christopher Martlew</AUTHOR>
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Saturday night in Sault Ste Marie, set stage for the end of one of the biggest rival series in the CCHA. The Wildcats of NMU came into Saturdays game with hopes of knocking off the Lakers as they had the night before. On this night however there was a very special guest in the ice arena that LSSU was paying special interest to, the Cappo Cup. 

	With less than three minuets gone in the game, Derek A. Smith scored on a beautiful one timer set up from the sophomore sensation, Troy Schwab, putting the Lakers up 1 to 0. The Lakers soon scored again, but the goal was taken away by the refs because a Laker player had batted the puck in the net with his hand. Though it was a good call, Laker fans were not happy, and seemed to let the refs know their frustration for the remainder of the game. Throughout the first period the Lakers dominated the Wildcats. They were skating faster, harder, and with much more precision than they had in the past few weeks. 

	As the second period began to unfold, NMU showed that they were not going to back down easy by scoring a goal to tie the game at one. Over time the game began to get more and more physical making it obvious at just how much this game meant to each team.

	In the third period Taffy Able Arena began to come alive with Laker spirit as it looked as if the Lakers were going to defeat NMU. With 2:49 into the third period, Laker freshman Nathan Perkovich flipped in the deciding factor to put LSSU up 2 to 1. Time was quickly ticking off the clock for the Wildcats as they frantically searched for a way to tie the game back up. But as the final second disappeared, NMUs hoped were dashed as they listened to the Victory foghorn in Laker favor. This win marked the first time since the 1999 season that the Cappo Cup has been in LSSUs hands. As NMU skated off the ice, the Lakers posed with their pride and joy for pictures and applause. The wind, cold temperature, and snow did not stop the fans from heading outside the Norris center to send the Northern players home to the beautiful sounds of the Victory bell being rung by the hockey team. 

	Senior goaltender Jeff Jakaitis stopped 23 of 24 shots on goal and made several key saves throughout the game. The Lakers improved to (15-12-3) overall and (9-10-3) in the CCHA. LSSU is away at Miami on Febuar7 9th and 10th.

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