LSSU Lakers 2016-17

[LakerBaker]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Join veteran broadcaster Randy Russon, from www.hockeynewsnorth.com and www.saultthisweek.com for the Hockey North Show, heard every Tuesday night at 5:00 p.m. on radio station ESPN 1400 where he covers the good ship Laker, along with hockey across the region.

Every week the legendary voice of the Lakers, Bill Crawford along with head coach Damon Whitten, the assistant coaches and players take a look at the Laker Hockey program. A review of past games, a look ahead to future action and more information and insight on the team and players. The show is live from the Antlers restaraunt on East Portage Ave. every Tuesday night starting at 6 p.m. and can be heard on WKNW ESPN Radio 1400 or you can catch up on any shows you have missed through podcasts that will be made available on http://lakers.sovcomm.net/.

Laker Hockey Talk, also on ESPN 1400, returns this year on Thursday mornings at 8:30 a.m. with the legendary Voice of the Lakers, Bill Crawford,and Damon Whitten preview the upcoming weekend's match up. Podcasts for the Laker Hockey Talk show will also be available at http://lakers.sovcomm.net/.

[sm2pk]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

It is going to be interesting to see what an extra week of practice has done for the Lakers .

[LakerBaker]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Lake Superior State hockey opens the 2016-17 regular season by hosting former Central Collegiate Hockey Association rival Michigan State this weekend (Oct. 14-15), in a two-game nonconference series.

The weekend series is the marquee event of the annual Great Lake State Weekend homecoming festivities for LSSU. The weekend includes inductions to the Laker Athletics Hall of Fame, alumni awards, and a special gathering for hockey alumni and fans following Saturday evening's contest.
The Series vs. Michigan State

Overall: MSU leads 71-35-14... In the Soo: MSU leads: 25-17-7
Last meeting: Oct. 22-23, 2015, LSSU won 4-2 / MSU won 2-0
Streak: MSU 1-0-0

The last time the teams met in Sault Ste. Marie marked their final meeting as CCHA opponents, during the 2012-13 season. The weekend ended in a split after the Lakers took the first game 3-2 and MSU won 4-2 in the finale. The Lakers and Spartans did not play in either the 2013-14 or 2014-15 seasons.

Last season the teams met for three games, first in the Ice Breaker Tournament held in Portland, Maine, followed by a two-game series in East Lansing. MSU claimed a 4-1 victory at the Ice Breaker Tournament, before hosting the Lakers two weeks later. LSSU took the first game at Munn Ice Arena 4-2, and the Spartans salvaged a weekend split by winning 2-0 in the second game. In their last 10 games, the Lakers and Spartans are deadlocked 4-4-2.

Great Lake State Weekend

GLSW 2016 kicks off with the Alumni Awards Reception and Banquet beginning at 4:30 p.m. on friday in the Cisler Center. Recipients of the LSSU Alumni Awards will be recognized during the first period of Friday evening's hockey game.

After the game on Friday LSSU men's and women's basketball teams are holding alumni gatherings at 10 p.m. The men's team will gather at the Christopher Columbus Hall and the women's basketball alumni will meet at the Captain's Pub inside the Ojibway Ramada Hotel.

Saturday's GLSW events include a women's basketball scrimmage at 11 a.m., tours of the South Hall renovation project and free planetarium shows at 1 p.m., and the LSSU Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony at 2:30 p.m. A tailgate outside of the Norris Center will run from 4-6 p.m. prior to Saturday's game against MSU, slated for an early 6:07 p.m. start.

Immediately following the hockey game, fans and alumni of Laker Hockey will be encouraged to gather in the Cooper Gymnasium for a reunion with former players and coaches. The gathering will feature special guest speakers, admission is free, and a cash bar will be available.

For a complete list of GLSW activities, go to lssu.edu/glsw.

A Look Back at Last Season

The Lakers marked a six-win improvement in 2015-16, going 14-22-5 overall and picked up three more victories in conference play (10-13-5 WCHA) compared to 2014-15.

Last season the Lakers made several large strides throughout the year and appear capable of using that momentum for more improvements in 2016-17. The Lakers earned their first victory at Ewigleben Ice Arena against Ferris State since Oct. 31, 2008; won 2-0 over Minnesota State in Game 2 of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Quarterfinals for their first-ever victory over the Mavericks, and also reclaimed the Cappo Cup from Upper Peninsula rivals Northern Michigan.

The Lakers were led offensively by sophomore transfer J.T. Henke (10-12--22) and freshmen Mitch Hults (9-11--20) and Gage Torrel (8-11--19).

Goaltender Gordon Defiel earned All-WCHA Third Team honors last season following an impressive season in which he ranked 15th nationally and third among WCHA goaltenders with a .926 save percentage. During the second half of the season Defiel ranked tied for fourth nationally with a .934 save percentage and had a 2.19 goals-against average along with all three of his shutouts from last season.

Last weekend Defiel was named to the watch list for the Mike Richter Award, which honors the nation's top goaltender each season.

Returning Firepower

The Lakers return 85-percent of both the goals, and the team's total points scored last season with each of their top eight scorers returning and nine of their top-10. Of the 10 lettermen set not to return due to graduation or orther circumstances, the Lakers lose just 11 total goals and 29 combined points.

Hults, Torrel and classmate Anthony Nellis (4-13--14) all reached the top five in WCHA rookie scoring last season. Diego Cuglietta (6-5--11) led WCHA rookies with four game-winning goals and tied for the league-lead among freshmen with two shorthanded tallies.

The defensive corps will be anchored by four juniors that have combined for nearly 300 collegiate games in their careers, including assistant captain Aidan Wrightwho has not missed a game since first donning the anchor. The group also returns sophomore Owen Headrick who ranked tied for 10th among league rookies in scoring last season with five goals and seven assists. Headrick led WCHA freshmen defenders with five goals and ranked second in points.
Scouting the Spartans

MSU returns 14 letterwinners (10 forwards, three defensemen and a goaltender) from last season including third-leading scorer Joe Cox, who posted 11 goals and 12 assists last season. Also returning to the Spartan lineup in 2016-17 are Mason Appleton who led MSU with 17 assists last year and tied for fourth in points (22) with fellow returner J.T. Stenglein (8-14--22). Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection Zach Osburn also returns to the MSU blue line after posting 6-13--19 during his rookie campaign.

The Spartans will look to replace the scoring void left with the departure of top scorers Mackenzie MacEachern (14-16--30) and Michael Ferrantino. Another question mark will be in net, where the Spartans return one career start from junior Ed Minney and have a pair of freshmen backing him up.

The Spartans finished 10-23-4 last season and 6-12-2 in Big Ten play to finish fifth in the six-team conference.

A Look Ahead

Following the weekend series with the Spartans, the Lakers travel south to face Alabama-Huntsville in their first Western Collegiate Hockey Association action of the season. Following the series with the Chargers, LSSU returns home for Pink in the Rink weekend on Oct. 28-29 to close out the opening month against the Alaska Nanooks.
Single Game Tickets

Single game tickets to all of the Lakers home games cost $12 for adults and $6 for children (17-under) unless a special promotion is running. Tickets for all LSSU Athletics events can be purchased online at http://lssutickets.universitytickets.com or by calling the Norris Center ticket office at (906) 635-2602.

Fans planning to attend this weekend's series are encouraged to pick up their tickets at the Norris Center Information and Guest Services Desk or online throughout the week to avoid long lines prior to the games.

Season Tickets

Adult season packages are $199 and include 17 home games plus three Western Collegiate Hockey Association first-round playoff games. Child season tickets are $95 and also include three playoff games. The Snowbird package includes the Lakers' first nine home games for $90. Single-game tickets will again be $12 for adults and $6 for children 17 and under. LSSU is introducing a new senior citizen single-game ticket rate of $10 for seniors 60 and over.

Starting this season, WCHA Playoff second-round series will be played at campus sites, but second-round tickets will be sold separately from the season package. If the Lakers don't host a first-round playoff series, the deadline for playoff ticket refunds is May 15, 2017. Refund requests are processed after playoff tickets are returned to the Norris Center at the conclusion of the season.

The LSSU Department of Athletics will feature fun promotions throughout the season. Look for details on LSSULakers.com and in weekly media releases. The LSSU student cheering section has moved from Sections S & T to Sections A, B, C & D. Sections S&T will be general admission in 2016-17.

Season tickets can be purchased online through lssutickets.universitytickets.com or at the Norris Center Guest Services Desk during summer hours. LSSU faculty/staff and retirees must pick up tickets at the Norris Center. Returning season ticket holders have until Sept. 9 to reclaim their seats.

Ringy Dingy!

[Bill]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

It is going to be interesting to see what an extra week of practice has done for the Lakers .

Michigan State is in the same boat. They didn't play last weekend either. Judging from the games that were played last weekend, we may see a lot of penalties called this weekend with special teams playing a big role. There may not be a lot of flow to the games. No doubt the players on both teams have been made aware of this by the coaches, and hopefully they will adjust their play for the way the refs are expected to call the games (and the penalty totals won't be that high). We'll see.

[LSSULaker889294]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

2006-16 All-Decade Team announced: http://lssulakers.com/sports/50anniv...ll-decade_team

[AnchorsAway]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

I have no issue with Jakaitis, Czuczman, or Schwab...who scored a bunch of points even though many of them came in "garbage time" when the outcome of the game was already well decided but hey all points count, and he had more than most so I can't fault him too much. Zach Trotman should have made it over Smith....both played 3 years and made the NHL but Trotman was far more consistently good throughout his career while Smith's cache is basically based off of one really good year. Perkovich and Monardo were basically the same player although they varied greatly in size, guys who could be relied upon to put the puck in the net but were not great two-way players. Monardo played 4 years for LSSU and Perk only 3 so since I see them as a toss up I would give Monardo the nod since only 1 of them should have made the team because....Rick Schofield got snubbed in a big way. Schofield scored 20 points as a freshmen and increased his total all 4 years peaking at 35 points in a senior year in which he was heavily keyed upon by opponents best players since he was far and away the Lakers top offensive threat. As a senior captain he led LSSU to hosting a home playoff series for the first time in several years which they subsequently won, something not done in the previous 4 years and finished his LSSU career off losing a tightly contested 2nd round matchup to a very talented Notre Dame team. But maybe most importantly of all, he was the most clutch athlete I think i may have ever seen at the college or pro level. In all 4 years he had multiple games in which he scored game tieing or game winning goals in the last 5 minutes of the 3rd period or overtime....think about that. This also doesn't include shootouts, and he was the Lakers most bankable shooter in the years in which the format was used during his career. Without question he should have made it over both Perkovich and Monardo, and I could make a hell of an argument that he should have made it over Schwab too, but at the very least he deserved one of the 3 forward spots. I think it should have been Schwab, Schofield, Monardo, Trotman, Czuczman and Jakaitis. Would be interested to hear others reactions to the picks.

[LSSULaker889294]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

I was also a bit surprised Schofield got excluded from the 2006-16 team. I knew he was very clutch. I also had Trotman over Smith as well. I think people might have picked Smith over Trotman because he was on the 06-07 team that went to the Joe and was also on the 2nd team All-CCHA team that year as well.

[PerkyforPrez]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

I had Schofield and Trotman for the reasons that Anchorsaway mentioned. Trotman played steady all 3 years he played and Schofield was very clutch. I liked Perkovich but I had no problem excluding him and Smith did only have the one big season.

[LakerBaker]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Another great article about the good ship Laker from veteran sportswriter Randy Russon of www.hockeynewsnorth.com and www.saultthisweek.com

http://www.saultthisweek.com/2016/10...-season-begins

Lake Superior State University Lakers will take to the ice of Taffy Abel Arena this Friday and Saturday nights for a pair of season-opening, non-conference matches with the visiting Michigan State Spartans.

The two teams are long-time rivals from their many years as opponents within the erstwhile Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

This weekend’s games are part of Great Lake State Weekend at LSSU.

The Lakers are now part of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association while Michigan State plays out of the Big Ten Conference.

Friday’s game is slated to begin at 7:37 p.m. Saturday’s match has an earlier, 6:07 p.m. start time.

Both games will be broadcast live on radio station 99.5 YES-FM with Bill Crawford and the play-by-play.

The 2016-2017 season will mark the third for the Lakers under the watch of head coach Damon Whitten.

The Lakers finished seventh in the WCHA in 2015-2016 before losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks.

Overall last season, the Lakers had a record of 14-22-5 in 41 games.

Nine newcomers, including eight freshmen and a redshirt freshman, will join 17 holdovers from the 2015-2016 Lakers to comprise the 2016-2017 unit.

Here are the Lakers, by position.

FORWARDS

Returnees are the lone senior, captain Gus Correale (5 goals, 8 assists, 13 points in 2015-2016) and four of the other top five scorers from last season in J. T. Henke (10-12-22), Mitch Hults (9-11-20), Gage Torrel (8-11-19) and Anthony Nellis (4-13-17).

Also back are Diego Cuglietta (5-7-12), Jake Hand (3-6-9), C.J. Hayes (3-4-7) and Josh Nenadal (5-1-6).

Incoming forwards are Brendan McKay, Luke Morgan, Brayden Gelsinger, Bryan Basilico, Ian Johnston and Max Humitz.

DEFENCEMEN

The Lakers return four junior defenders and two sophomores.

The juniors are Kyle Chatham, Aidan Wright, James Roll and Ryan Renz.

Wright, who was born in Wawa but moved to Sault Ste. Marie as a youngster, will serve as an assistant captain for the Lakers this season.

Sophomores are Owen Headrick and Matt McArdle.

Headrick, who hails from Garden River First Nation, finished sixth on the Lakers in scoring last season with 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points.

Freshmen on the Lakers blueline will be Kristofers Bindulis, formerly of the Soo Eagles juniors, and Colin Saccoman.

GOALTENDERS

The Lakers return junior standout Gordon Defiel and sophomore Nick Kossoff.

Defiel posted an 11-14-4 record with a 2.47 goals-against average and .926 save percentage in '15-16. Defiel's three shutouts last season boosted him into a tie with John Grahame (a former National Hockey Leaguer) and Duffy Lewis for fourth place on the Lakers all-time whitewash list with seven.

Kossoff earned his three victories as a freshman all by the way of the shutout and finished with a .918 save percentage and 2.39 goals-against average.

Finalizing the Lakers twine trio is freshman Cooper Lukenda, a Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native.

If you didn't hear the Laker Hockey Show with the legendary Voice of the Lakers, Bill Crawford along with head coach Damon Whitten, you can catch up on any shows you have missed through podcasts that will be made available on http://lakers.sovcomm.net/

Ringy Dingy!

[TrueLakerBlue]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Looking forward to what should be a fun weekend of hockey.

[Mogerfan]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Should be a great weekend. Wish I could have made it to the Soo!

As I can't be there, I'll pledge some $$$.

I'll donate $50 per Laker win to the "Fund for LSSU."
Then I'll donate $10 per Laker goal straight to the Hockey team.

I hope the guys make me have an expensive weekend!
GO LAKERS!

[QUAlum2004]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Matt Barnaby @m_barnaby 48m48 minutes ago
Excited to announce my commitment to play Div.1 college hockey at Lake Superior State University. Thanks to everyone who has supported me.

Son of former NHL'er Matthew Barnaby.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=329764

[PerkyforPrez]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Most of these calls are killing the game.

[PerkyforPrez]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

It's getting even worse

[John J. MacInnes]

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Wow, the Lakers are trucking MSU. If this was a boxing match, they'd stop it.