Coming into Friday night's game, many probably thought the the 'Jackets first round series with Lake Forest would be, for lack of a better word, a cakewalk.  The top seed against the bottom seed, they should have no trouble waltzing through the first round.  However, anyone who has paid attention of late would see that Lake Forest has been playing some good hockey.  Two weeks ago, they picked up their first point in the NCHA with a 0-0 tie against River Falls.  Last week, they lost to St. Norbert on Saturday by just one goal.  Friday night, the Foresters had the lead in the game twice, but it wasn't enough to get it done as the 'Jackets rallied to pick up a 4-1 win and take a 1-0 lead in their NCHA quarterfinal series.

With the victory, the 'Jackets now need only a tie to advance to the second round of the NCHA playoffs.

The Foresters opened the scoring in the game, actually taking a 2-0 lead into the final minute of the first period.  Team scoring leader Mike Kneeland scored from a shallow angle at 4:49 to make it 1-0.  They made it 2-0 at 17:57 when, unguarded, Kneeland tapped a centering feed into the empty net for his second of the game.  The 'Jackets would get on the board before the end of the period when Rob Turville (Sr. Olds, Alberta) converted on a 2-on-1, beating Forester goaltender Brandon Kohuch up high on the short side to make it 2-1.  Jeff Herman (Sr. Cranbrook, British Columbia) assisted.

The 'Jackets tied it up 8:08 of the second period.  Talon Berlando (So. Drumheller, Alberta) won a faceoff and Kent Detlefsen (Fr. Lakeville, Minnesota) let a shot go from the left point that found its way through traffic and into the net to make it 2-2.  It was Detlefsen's sixth goal of the season.  Moments later, the Foresters once again took the lead.  Another defensive lapse left Justin Taylor unprotected in front and he had an easy tap-in to make it 3-2.  The 'Jackets immediately came back and tied it up.  Turville picked up a rebound to the left of the net and let a shot go that beat Kohuch up high to make it 3-3 at 10:48 of the second, 17 seconds after the Foresters regained the lead.

In the third, the 'Jackets wasted little time and took their first, and only, lead of the game.  Andrew MacKenzie (Sr. Terrace Bay, Ontario), the 'Jackets best forward in the game, got hold of a rebound and put it home to make it 4-3.  Turville and Brian Bina (Sr. Grand Forks, North Dakota) assisted on the goal 21 seconds into the third period.

The game was not as close as the score indicated, as the 'Jackets controlled the game and carried the play for long stretches, Superior's defensive mistakes and strong goaltending on the Lake Forest side kept things close.  Kohuch finished the game with 37 saves.  Chad Beiswenger (Sr. Moorhead, Minnesota) finished with just 15 saves.

The 'Jackets went 0-3 on the power play, while Lake Forest went 0-2.  The 'Jackets took three penalties for six minutes while the Foresters took four for eight minutes.

The second game of the series will take place on Saturday night.  A win by the 'Jackets and they will advance to the NCHA semifinals for the first time since 2006.  A Lake Forest victory and they will force a mini-game that will take place immediately after the regular game.  Game time on Saturday night will be 7:05 p.m. and can be heard live locally on KUWS 91.3 FM, beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.  If you are outside the local listening area you can tune in via the Internet at www.kuws.fm.  Jon Garver will have the call.