Byron Center, Mich. — The Aquinas College Saints are deep into the grinding portion of their season. Saturday's game against Lake Superior marks their ninth game in just 13 days. Despite their continued effort and resilience, wins have been hard to come by. AQ dropped both games of this two-game series against Lake Superior State, falling 9-1 on Friday and 7-0 on Saturday.

Friday: Lake Superior State 9, Aquinas 1
The Saints opened Friday's game with determination and defensive grit. They held an impressive Lake Superior St. squad to just one goal in the first period, thanks in large part to goalie Izzy Buckett, who made 18 saves on 19 shots in the opening frame.

Aquinas tied the game early in the second period when Reyna Dominczak and Kylie Rancilio assisted Alyssa Exline on the Saints' lone goal of the series. However, the Lakers responded with a relentless offensive push, netting four goals in each of the final two periods to secure a 9-1 victory.

Buckett faced an incredible 74 shots in the game, stopping 65 of them in a standout performance.

Head Coach Matthew Bland praised his goaltender's effort, "She's the rock that we depend on. We need her to be that good against teams like them. She shows up every day with that mentality—she's ready to play. Moving forward, we need to get better as individuals and as a team every game."

Saturday: Lake Superior State 7, Aquinas 0
Less than 14 hours after Friday's game, the Saints and Lakers returned to the ice for game two. The short turnaround, coupled with Lake Superior's deeper bench, was evident early. The Lakers scored six first-period goals on 33 shots, taking full control of the game.

During the first intermission, Coach Bland adjusted the Saints' defensive approach, leading to a much stronger second period. Aquinas held Lake Superior St. scoreless in the second and allowed just one goal in the third, finishing with a 7-0 loss.

Coach Bland reflected on the team's response, "Defensively, we got better as the game went on. We missed some things early that we corrected for the second, making it a much better game against a very good team. I give them a lot of credit for the way they play hockey, but after the first, we matched their intensity."

By the Numbers:

• Alyssa Exline: Scored the Saints' only goal of the series on Friday.
• Special Teams: Aquinas' penalty kill successfully defended 5 of Lake Superior's 6 power-play opportunities.
• Izzy Buckett: Faced a staggering 168 shots over two games, stopping 152 of them for a .905 save percentage.

Up Next:
The Saints wrap up their busy weekend with a Sunday afternoon game against Grand Valley State University. Aquinas will look to snap their losing streak when the puck drops at 5:10 p.m.