LSSU Lakers

[Sugarisland]

Originally posted by Bill

Lakerblue, Yes it would be nice if we could be watching the Lakers in Columbus next year, but I suspect we may have to wait somewhat longer yet. They need one or two nudges in the form a blue chipper or two, even if they are diamonds in the rough type of guys. It would be nice to get a Clayton Beddoes or Sean Tallaire or Wayne Strachan type forward like we had back in the last championship year of 94. And a Mark Astley or Keith Aldridge type of defenseman.

Blue chippers are pretty hard to come by. However, with a few more new guys, another summer in the weight room, maintaining our strength in goal, and a little more offensive production from our current freshman and sophomores, I think we'll see solid improvement next year. I won't predict an upper half finish but we'll have a team that will be competitive most nights. I could see us in a 7th or 8th spot which would then give us a very interesting matchup in the first round. We would be playing a team with just a few more points than us and Anzalone coached teams usually are ready to play in March. We saw the improvement this year and it will be greater next year.

[Lakerblue]

Reasons for my unflagging optimism:

Goaltending. Its only going to get better.

Defense: Losing Branham will hurt, but the rest of the corps was playing very solid the the last 1/4 of the season. I agree that a puck-moving defenseman would do WONDERS for the whole team. PP, PK, and the transition game would all improve with a player like Astley . . .

Forwards: Not losing a whole lot here, either. And for the first time since Borek's first year, we'll have a large number of upper-classmen (juniors mostly). You'll notice a big difference between a team dominated by Juniors rather than freshmen. And the talent up front is all in the upcoming sophmore class. Breakout years are all possible.

Coaching. Frank has his team, top to bottom. I think a puck-moving defensman (even in the form of a guy like Teddy Laviolette would make a difference in Anzalone's system) will allow the team to attack with more vigor.

Fans: I always predict a Laker Championship. Insane some years, yes . . . but I would prefer to spend the summer dreaming of Laker wins and being dissapointed in the Fall than spending the summer dreaming of a Laker 7th place and being satisfied with that lowly ranking in the Fall.

[Proud2baLaker]

The team is already working hard for next season and is in the weight room about 5 days a week. Ive heard most of the guys talking about lifting and how much they are doing to get into even better shape.

I keep hearing about one of the new recruits and how he apparently was scouted heavily by both MSU and UM but couldnt play because of grades or something so he worked on them but then signed with us. Apparently he is the closest thing we've had to a blue chipper. I dont really know much but if anyone else has heard anything the information would be welcome.

[Sugarisland]

Originally posted by Lakerblue

Fans: I always predict a Laker Championship. Insane some years, yes . . . but I would prefer to spend the summer dreaming of Laker wins and being dissapointed in the Fall than spending the summer dreaming of a Laker 7th place and being satisfied with that lowly ranking in the Fall.

I know I said 7th or 8th but these are my sentiments, also.

[sm3pk]

It sounds from this thread at least that the boys have a great attitude about next season already.Am I reading too much into this here?

[Lakerblue]

Hopefully we'll have no more defections and the team can hit the ice a dedicated lot next fall.

[Proud2baLaker]

sm3pk...I dont think you are reading to much into it. I have talked to the players...they dont talk about the season much...at least i dont hear them talk about it much...but when they do talk about next season they sound opptimistic. I think when next season rolls around they will be ready to face it head on.

[Sugarisland]

From what I hear, this is a pretty good group of young men. I think the coaches have done a good job of finding kids that will fit in to LSSU and what they're trying to accomplish. The mindset has to be there, with the ability, and an appreciation of LSSU and the tradition that we're trying to resurrect. This program grew to greatness with kids that might not have been the best (talentwise) but they had heart and were very hard workers. That appears to be the direction Frank is headed. You don't have to have the best players....you need the best team.

[Bill]

Barring finding a Clayton Beddoes or Wayne Strachan type player or two, I think the road back will still be slow. Maybe a move up of a couple of places in the standings next season if all goes well. It really will depend upon how much and how fast the current crop of players mature and get better. That's always a big unknown. I think they are hoping Derek Smith (incoming) will be able to contribute as more of an offensive minded defenseman, which is also a hole that needs to be filled.

[Sugarisland]

Bill, we can always hope. The coaching staff has shown they can recruit the "diamond in the rough." Getting Jakaitis in August at the last minute proves that. I hope you're right and we see more.

[Lakerblue]

Food for thought:

http://members.aol.com/cheisenber/Recruit04.htm

[Anchor]

If you haven't done so yet, keep an eye on this UMD team when they play. Just think, it was just two years ago when this team finished with just 6 wins in their conference. And the year before that, they were even worse, and people in this town were wondering if this program had any hope of contending in its own conference, let alone for a national title.

And if my facts are correct, UMD is the smallest public university to appear in the frozen four since the Lakers did in 94, so it's apparent small state programs can still thrive in the NCAA tourney, and that obviously bodes well for LSSU.

[Bill]

Anchor,

I saw them last weekend at Grand Rapids, and was very impressed. Although not as big, they matched up well with Minnesota. They were very tenacious in front of their net and didn't give UM many grade A chances from right out front. I'll be cheering for them next weekend in Boston. We're leaving for Beantown on Wednesday.

[jnacc]

Originally posted by Anchor
If you haven't done so yet, keep an eye on this UMD team when they play. Just think, it was just two years ago when this team finished with just 6 wins in their conference. And the year before that, they were even worse, and people in this town were wondering if this program had any hope of contending in its own conference, let alone for a national title.

And if my facts are correct, UMD is the smallest public university to appear in the frozen four since the Lakers did in 94, so it's apparent small state programs can still thrive in the NCAA tourney, and that obviously bodes well for LSSU.

For sure teams like UMD are an inspiration to all the non-contenders and smaller programs. The real question though is is UMD for real or a one year wonder, much like Ferris State was last year? Has there been any small school or program that has remained at or near the top for as long as LSSU did back in the 80's or 90's?

The lakers now have to go out and recruit speed, which proved to be their biggest defeciency last season. Once this problem is addressed, LSSU will be in the top half of the CCHA. The real trick then would be to stay there year after year.

[sm3pk]

I heard that Chris Gordon got fired as coach of Sault High hockey team. Anyone have any idea of why or if this is true?

[jnacc]

I also heard that they fired the men's basketball coach as well. I do not know the full story behind Gordon's dismisal but I'm sure alot of it has to do with the hockey team's dismal performance on the ice and the massive player defections that occured throughout the year. I think they were down to 10 players by the end of the year!

[Bill]

Any Laker fans going to Boston for the Frozen Four???

[Anchor]

Originally posted by jnacc
For sure teams like UMD are an inspiration to all the non-contenders and smaller programs. The real question though is is UMD for real or a one year wonder, much like Ferris State was last year? Has there been any small school or program that has remained at or near the top for as long as LSSU did back in the 80's or 90's?

The lakers now have to go out and recruit speed, which proved to be their biggest defeciency last season. Once this problem is addressed, LSSU will be in the top half of the CCHA. The real trick then would be to stay there year after year.

I agree speed is needed. When I watched their game on tv this year, I just waited for them to start bringing the puck up ice whenever they would break up an MSU rush. And before you knew it, the puck was back on the stick of a Spartan forward.
As for UMD, with the program improving its win total every year since Sandelin came on board, I doubt this would be a one-year wonder, but you never know in college hockey. I think the program's goal is to at least challenge for the WCHA's upper half on a consistent basis --and in that respect, it's not a one-year wonder, being that they finished in 5th last year and 2nd this year. And if the WCHA continues to be as strong as it was this year, that should be enough to get them in the NCAA's at least every other year.

[Mogerfan]

Originally posted by Lakerblue
Reasons for my unflagging optimism:

Forwards: Not losing a whole lot here, either. And for the first time since Borek's first year, we'll have a large number of upper-classmen (juniors mostly). You'll notice a big difference between a team dominated by Juniors rather than freshmen. And the talent up front is all in the upcoming sophmore class. Breakout years are all possible.



Well, perhaps you have all poured over the CCHA final statistics, but in case you haven't, here is a look at what all the teams are losing, compared to the Lakers.

1. Michigan - No top ten scorer /3 seniors total.
2. Miami - #1,#2,#3 scorers /7 seniors
3. Michigan State - No top ten scorer /2 seniors
4. Ohio State - #1,#2,#3,#4 scorers, Starting goalie/9 seniors
5. Notre Dame- #1,#2,#5,#6,#7 scorers /6 seniors
6. Alaska-FB - #1,#3,#5,#7,#9,#10 scorers, Starting goalie /10 seniors
7. Northern Michigan - #6 scorer, Starting goalie /5 seniors
8. Western Mi - #2,#4,#6,#10 scorer /6 seniors
9. Bowling Green - #1,#2,#3 scorer /5 seniors
10.Ferris State- #1,#5,#6 scorer /4 seniors
11.Lake Superior- #4 scorer /4 seniors
12.Neb-Omaha- #2,#3 scorer /3 seniors

So, it looks like the only teams losing less then the Lakers are Michigan and Michigan State. They may lose a blue chipper underclassman or two to the NHL, but probably not with the CBA looming next year.

The teams getting significantly younger look to be OSU, Notre Dame, and AF. Overall, it looks like a good year for the Lakers to move up to the middle of the pack in the CCHA.

GO LAKERS!!!

[Bill]

Speaking of CCHA Stats, once again there are no Lakers listed among the top 20 leading scorers at season's end, although we're getting closer. If we don't break out of that trend next season, I'll be very disappointed. I can't remember the last time the Lakers had anyone listed in the top 20-25 CCHA scorers at the end of a season. It was probably Borek's first or second year at Lake State when he still had some carryover recruits from Jeff Jackson.