SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - For the third time in the last five games CSUN had to go to overtime this time beating Loyola Marymount 4-3 in a shootout.

     The game is officially recorded as a tie but the Matadors did earn the extra West Coast Hockey Conference point when Nik Giers scored the only goal of the skills competition in the second round.

     After a 1-1 tie through 20 minutes Giers gave CSUN its first lead poking in a loose puck in front of Jason Footlick with only six seconds left in the middle period.

     Brian Clem evened things back up scoring at 5:48 of the third on a 2-on-1 shorthanded breakaway. The Matadors got the lead back a little over four minutes later when Grayson Szumilas deflected in an Alex Marbach point shot. But the Lions made sure the game went long when Clem backhanded a rebound along the ice through Vincent Sepe with only 53 seconds left on the clock.

     Clem and Szumilas were each stopped in the first round of the shootout. Then after Ryan Hirai failed to score Giers put the puck through the five hole of Footlick. Sepe finished the game with a save on Eric Anderson.

     The Matadors improved to 2-0 in WCHC conference play while the Lions dropped to 1-1-1. CSUN extended its unbeaten streak against LMU to 12 games (11-0-0-1).

     After failing to score a single goal against the Matadors last season the Lions got on the board first when Justin Hertz scored at 12:13. Eli Berengut tied the game at 4:03 with an outside wrist shot.

     An unusual note about the game CSUN did not take a single penalty. But LMU won the special teams battle with its shorthanded goal and four penalty kills.

     The Matadors play another WCHC conference game Saturday when they travel to the brand new Great Park Ice and Fivepoint Arena in Irvine to face-off against Cal State Fullerton at 8:40.