DEARBORN, Mich. -- The University of Michigan-Dearborn (13-1-0, 10-1-0) men's ice hockey team lost their first game of the season at the hands of the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils (7-6-0, 7-4-0) on Friday (Nov. 17). The Blue Devils won the contest 5-3. 

In a postgame interview, head coach Chris Haltinner credited the Blue Devils for bringing their A game and keeping the Wolverines' top line in check all game. Haltinner went on to say that he's glad his team could play in a game like this, and they needed a gut check like this from an opponent that the Wolverines saw in the first round of the ACHA National Tournament last season. 

The Wolverines came out of the gate sloppy and were lackadaisical with the puck. The Blue Devils took advantage of that to the tune of two goals 30 seconds apart. On their heels, the Wolverines responded as Brendan West fired a puck on net from the point; after bouncing off the Blue Devil netminder, Bailey Byrd kicked the puck to Joey Cullinan, waiting for in front of the crease for a tap-in powerplay goal. 

The Wolverines were outmuscled by the Blue Devils, who made a point of clogging up the neutral zone and finishing their checks against the Wolverines. Despite the frustration, Wolverine rookie Ian Kimble recorded his first career goal as he deflected a shot off the stick of Declan Flanagan and redirected it past the Blue Devil netminder to tie the contest at two. 

LTU would bury two unanswered goals to make it 4-2 late in the third period and seemingly put the Wolverines away. However, the Wolverines would again go on the man advantage, and right off the faceoff, Chance Matthews won it back to Ryan Stanley, who fired the puck through traffic, and the Blue Devil netminder never saw it until it was in his net. 

With a minute remaining, the Wolverines pulled Tanner Beals (7-1-0), leaving their net empty, and LTU shot the puck the length of the ice and right into the unattended goal to seal a 5-3 win.