The Grand Valley State University Division II hockey club hit a rocky stretch over the weekend with a 4-2 loss to Division III school Hope College, but the team is more determined than ever to pull together and finish its season on a high note.

“Compared to the other two losses we’ve had recently, this loss was ugly,” said junior defender Craig Marrett. “Hope is a very well disciplined team. We went into the game thinking we would roll over them because they are a Division III team and we came out flat. They had everything to gain and put everything on the line. That lack of respect for our opponents cost us the game.”

After Friday’s game against Division III Saginaw Valley State University was canceled due to inclement weather, the Lakers (26-5-1) hosted the Flying Dutchmen (23-3-1) and the result was a wake-up call for the Lakers.

The Lakers were untested against Hope this season and a combination of a late start, a lack of respect and a strong opponent led to a GVSU loss.

“We knew that they were a good team going in,” said senior forward Brad Keough. “Saginaw Valley beat us earlier this year and Hope beat them. Nobody really started playing hard until we were down big. Everyone didn’t come prepared. It helps to realize that we’re not as good as we think, we can lose games.”

Hope gained an early lead in the game, as much as three goals at one point, and despite an attempted comeback from the Lakers, the visitors added another point and maintained their lead to defeat the Lakers 4-2.

“A whole bunch of things went wrong,” said junior forward Chad Wilhelm, who recently returned to the Lakers after missing five games due to shoulder injury. “We weren’t ready for the start of the game. The team got a little frustrated after the first and started taking some penalties. The big problem is that we took them too lightly and we need to respect all of our opponents from here on out.”

Saturday night also marked the closing of the ranking period, and while this loss was a tough one for the Lakers, they have essentially secured for themselves a top-tier ranking at Nationals. The results have not yet been announced, but the Lakers have a strong chance to be ranked at No. 1.

“I think we’re going to have to come out and play hard, we can’t just show up and expect to win games, especially going in to post-season,” Keough said. “There aren’t going to be any bad teams at Nationals, so we’re going to have to play a good game every day.”

The Lakers will return on Friday for the final game of their regular season against Ferris State University, a team the Lakers beat 5-2 earlier this month.

“We need to go out there and play as a team,” Marrett said. “When strong teams who are used to winning collide, the team that works harder will always win. Any team can beat us if we don’t respect our opponent. We’re not going to win on our own; we’re going to have to work for it.”

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