Saturday’s game had lots of support from West Bloomfield students, this being the first home game of the season. With a 11-6 win the previous night against KBH the Lakers were poised to win another game. The game started out with a penalty for the Lakers but they quickly rebounded with a power play goal by #20 Andrew McDonald, Junior. Followed by another goal less than a minute later by #13 Braedon Somers, Sophomore. Ending the first period with a penalty, the Lakers had 14 shots on goal to Frasier’s 7. Starting second period with a two point lead the Lakers were only getting warmed up. Despite having several penalties during the period the Lakers were able to fend off Frasier. Seven minutes into second period  #12 Andre Kilpela, Junior, scored yet another goal for the Lakers.  Third period started 3-0 for the Lakers. Six minutes into the period #21 Drew Warnecke, Junior, scored the fourth and final goal for the Lakers. Things got heated between the teams and punches were thrown.  Despite being down two players the Lakers continued to keep Frasier at bay and with 19 saves Anthony Crews had  his first career shutout for the Lakers.

We asked some of the players how they felt the game on Saturday went and Warnecke who scored the final goal of the night said that he, “felt Saturday went very well. We were happy with a win at home but we’re moving forward. We’re on to Royal Oak. They are our focus now.” Camron Dickinson, Junior, said, “the game against Fraser went really well though we were projected to win, I think we played very well and Anthony stood on his head letting in no goals.”  McDonald who scored the first goal of the game  stated, “We played well defensively and offensively.” Overall this game was a solid win for the whole team.

When asked about how he felt the team preformed and what they could improve on  Dickinson commented, “The team is really coming together, but we still have a lot of room for improvement. I think the biggest thing that jumps out at me is our team discipline. The pressure we received on the penalty kill really could hurt us against a more powerful team.” While Warnecke added, “I think we played well as a team both offensively and defensively. We established control and maintained it and played good d zone coverage. Still some things we need to work on but Saturday was a good start.” Anthony Crews Sophomore,  shared his thoughts stating, “I feel the game went well aside from a few penalties that should have never happened. Even though I got a shutout it wouldn’t have happened with out the help of the boys out front blocking shots when needed and the hard back checking. But as a team we need to be less selfish and more self discipline. We should be proud but not satisfied.” Even though the season has started off good for WB the team is staying extremely level headed and are ready to continue to improve through out the season.

Though the season just began they are already 3-0 compared to last season this is already a great improvement. We asked the players how they felt going into this season as compared to last season. Nick Martin, Senior, said that, “We feel we are very prepared for this season. Our off season training will show off and we hope everyone will see it as well.” Warnecke commented as well saying, “This season is definitely different from last season. There is a whole new attitude in the locker room. We had some great new additions and it feels like were all coming together as a team and were all working incredibly hard on and off the ice.” Hopefully this combination of offseason training and a more unified team will carry the Lakers far this season.

With the support of the Swamp we wanted to know how much the student section really impacted the game and  Martin commented, “Having the support of the students at our games is very helpful. there’s nothing better and more motivating than playing in front of friends.”  Josh Ramsey, Sophomore, said, “The student section is great. They push us to play our best not only for each other but for the fans, they are the best and I’m thankful that they are there. I just hope we can give back to them in some way over the course of the season. Dickinson added that, “the support of the Swamp is very helpful. Not only does it heighten the spirits of our players, it also intimidates and gets in the heads of the other team. This is really a key way we could use it to upset teams and I think student support is a big component to WB success.” Warnecke’s thoughts on the Swamp tie it up pretty nicely, ” Having the swamp there was definitely a boost. It’s always nice when you have a student section at your games cheering you on and giving us a home ice advantage. I think we gave them a good game to come cheer for.”  So come out to the next home game on December 6th.