ATHENS, Ohio --  Zach Heathman (Sr., Grandville, Mich.) scored twice to lead seven Grand Valley State University scorers as the No. 6 nationally ranked Lakers stopped the No. 18 University of Minnesota Gophers 8-2 in the opening round of the 2008 National Collegiate Club Championship at Ohio University.

The game appeared set to be a low scoring affair from the outset as neither team found the back of the cage until the 2:08 mark of the first period when Jeremy Duston (So., Grand Haven, Mich.) broke the ice with a marker.  Heathman added to the advantage before the end of the period as he registered his first tally with 32 ticks left on the clock for a 2-0 Grand Valley State lead after seven minutes of play.

Minnesota countered in the second period to knot the game at two-all before halftime as Chris Boyle (Sr., Middleton, Wisc.) and David Hamming (Gr., Lake Forest, Ill.) pumped in goals at the 4:17 and 1:00 marks, respectively, to account for all of the Gophers' scoring in the game.

Led by Player of the Game Peter Huyser (Jr., Zeeland, Mich.) in cage, the Lakers' defense did the rest shutting down the Gophers' offense for the final 15 minutes of play, while GVSU's offense exploded for six second-half tallies.

Huyser, who finished with eight saves, watched as his teammates rattled off four goals in the third period and two in the fourth to clinch a second round date with No. 3 ranked Arizona State University on November 15 at 10:10 a.m.

Marc Wagner (Sr., Holland, Mich.) broke the tie 109 seconds into the second half as he beat Minnesota's Matt Dahlberg (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) at the 5:11 mark.  The margin quickly grew as Derek Zokoe (Jr., Jenison, Mich.) scored on an exclusion chance at 4:12 before Josh Ensing (Jr., Zeeland, Mich.) and Heathman netted natural goals at 3:23 and 3:00 to jump out to a 6-2 lead by the end of the third period.

Grand Valley iced the win with a pair of markers in the fourth period as Josh Geneva (So., Grand Haven, Mich.) and Steve Weaver (Sr., Marshall, Wisc.) tacked on insurance goals for the 8-2 final.

For Minnesota, Dahlberg finished with five saves as the Gophers will next face No. 16 Texas A&M University at 6:20 p.m. on November 14 in the first of four consolation games on the first day of the National Collegiate Club Championship tournament.

GVSU Goals:  Zach Heathman (2); Josh Ensing; Jeremy Duston; Josh Geneva; Marc Wagner; Steve Weaver; Derek Zokoe

Minnesota Goals:  Chris Boyle; David Hamming

Saves:  GVSU - Peter Huyser (8) ; Minnesota - Matt Dahlberg (5)

Ejections:  GVSU - 2 ; Minnesota - 4 

Sprints: GVSU - 1 (1st) ; Minnesota - 3 (2nd, 3rd & 4th)