Northern Michigan University’s Jesse Tucker, right, shoots at Lake Superior State goalie Rorke Applebee during their CCHA hockey game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Friday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University hockey team fell 5-1 to Lake Superior State University on Saturday night, dropping their second game in as many days at the Berry Events Center in the Cappo Cup series between the schools.

The loss deepens NMU’s early-season troubles, leaving the Wildcats at 1-9 as the Lakers improved to 3-6.

In Friday’s opener, NMU suffered a tough 5-0 shutout loss as LSSU capitalized on special teams, scoring four power-play goals in just six attempts while NMU went 0 for 4 with the man advantage.

Lakers goaltender Rorke Applebee secured his second shutout of the season, stopping all 35 of NMU’s shots.

The Wildcats hit the road for a pair of league series before returning home the first weekend of December.

Here are details on this past weekend:

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Lake Superior State 5, NMU 0

On Friday, plenty of penalties — a dozen minors were called altogether, including seven on Northern — meant special teams were important on this night.

And the Lakers made it pay off with four power-play goals starting late in the opening period. Regular NMU starting goalie Ryan Ouellette was pulled in favor or Ethan Barwick to start the second period, but it didn’t bail out the Wildcats.

Lake State started the scoring with the night’s only even-strength goal scored not quite 12 minutes in off the stick of Timo Bakos that was unassisted.

Then the power-play barrage began. Luke Levandowski potted one with 1:16 remaining before the first intermission, prompting NMU head coach Dave Shyiak to change goalies at the break.

Barwick made it more than 16 minutes before he let the puck in, but things almost caved in on him when he did. A goaltender interference call on Northern’s Billy Renfrew and high sticking on teammate Joe Schiller 1:09 apart left the Wildcats down 5-on-3 for nearly a minute.

That was plenty of time for the Lakers to mount a charge as Nate Schweitzer scored just 10 seconds into their two-man advantage.

That brought Renfrew out of the box, but still left LSSU with a 5-on-4, which they cashed in on just 21 seconds after their third goal to make it 4-0.

Finally, the visitors potted one more power-play tally in the game’s final six minutes from Johnny Druskinis.

For what is believed to be the first time this season, NMU held the shots on goal advantage, 34-20.

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Lake Superior State

5, NMU 1

On Saturday, the Wildcats looked to rebound from the shutout loss, opening Game 2 game with energy.

Just two minutes in, Northern forward Zach Michaelis scored his first goal of the season off assists from Jakub Lewandowski and Nicolas Ardanaz, both of whom also picked up their first points as Wildcats.

The early goal briefly ignited NMU’s offense, which led in shots 4-1 in the opening minutes. However, Lake Superior responded quickly, pushing back to level the momentum and shot count by the midpoint of the period.

With just over three minutes remaining in the first, Lake State’s Dawson Tritt slipped a cross-crease pass into the net to tie the game. Then in a momentum-shifting moment, the Lakers’ Timo Bakos scored from the point with just 2.6 seconds left before the first period buzzer, giving Lake Superior a 2-1 lead.

LSSU carried its late first-period energy into the second, controlling the game’s pace as the Wildcats struggled to regain momentum.

A tripping penalty on NMU’s Wolfgang Govedaris allowed the Lakers another power play opportunity, though the Wildcats managed to kill it off with key stops from Ouellette. However, the Lakers broke through again just past the halfway mark of the period when Grant Hindman’s shot sailed in.

Despite flashes of offense, NMU couldn’t convert its chances.

The Wildcats made a rally in the third, creating several early chances as they fought to chip away at Lake Superior’s lead. Northern’s Matthew Romer nearly closed the gap, but Applebee, who made 28 saves, denied the attempt. With exactly six minutes left, Tritt extended the Lakers’ lead to 4-1 on a breakaway.

Then less than a minute later, Jacob Conrad fired a wrist shot past Ouellette.

LSSU managed to pad its lead in the final period despite the Wildcats holding a decisive 11-4 shots advantage over the final 20 minutes.

Caden Sierra can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 551. His email address is csierra@nmu.edu. Contributions made to this story by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee.