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Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season
Can't wait for this weekend and the good ship Laker taking on Michigan Tech. Randy Russon has a preview of this weekend's series at www.saultthisweek.com. You can also see more of Randy's articles at www.hockeynewsnorth.com. You won't find better coverage anywhere. You can hear both games on the official home of Laker hockey www.yesfm.net with legendary broadcaster Bill Crawford.
They have won their last three outings — including a two-game, weekend road sweep of the Alaska Nanooks — and the Lake Superior State Lakers show serious signs of a very-solid squad under the steady hand of second-year head coach Damon Whitten.
The surging Lakers have moved into a tie for sixth place with the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves in the 10-team Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 10 points from a record of 4-3-3. Over the past three weekends the Lakers are 4-1-1, including a 3-0-1 mark on the road.
The Lakers have an overall record of 6-9-3 through 18 games this season.
To be sure, Lake Superior State has an opportunity to move further up in the WCHA standings this weekend when they play host to Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech Huskies on Friday (7:37) and Saturday (7:07) at Taffy Abel Arena.
The sixth-place Lakers are just one point behind fifth-place Northern Michigan with two games in hand on the Wildcats and are three points back of fourth-place Ferris State with four games in hand on the Bulldogs. In fact, the Lakers trail third-place Michigan Tech — this weekend’s visitors — by only five points and have two games in hand on the Huskies.
What is impressive about the Lakers performance under the coaching of Whitten is that it’s the younger Lake Superior State players who are the statistical leaders.
For example, of the Lakers top eight scorers, five are freshmen, one is a sophomore and the other two are juniors.
Sophomore forward J.T. Henke leads the Lakers in scoring with 6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points followed by freshman forward Mitch Hults at 4-5-9, freshman forward Gage Torrel at 3-5-8, junior forward Gus Correale at 3-5-8, freshman forward Anthony Nellis at 2-6-8, freshman defenceman Owen Headrick at 3-4-7, junior forward Alex Globke at 4-2-6 and freshman forward Diego Cuglietta at 2-4-6.
Headrick, who played the past two seasons with the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, leads all WCHA freshmen in scoring. With a 1997 birth date, Headrick, who hails from Garden River First Nation, is the youngest player on the Lakers.
The Lakers have also been getting good goaltending from sophomore Gordon Defiel and freshman Nick Kossoff.
Defiel has a 4-6-3 record to go with a 2.57 goals against average and .922 save percentage. Kossoff has a 2-3-0 record with a 1.97 goals against average, .926 save percentage and two shutouts.
Can't wait for this weekend and the good ship Laker taking on Michigan Tech. Randy Russon has a preview of this weekend's series at www.saultthisweek.com. You can also see more of Randy's articles at www.hockeynewsnorth.com. You won't find better coverage anywhere. You can hear both games on the official home of Laker hockey www.yesfm.net with legendary broadcaster Bill Crawford.
They have won their last three outings — including a two-game, weekend road sweep of the Alaska Nanooks — and the Lake Superior State Lakers show serious signs of a very-solid squad under the steady hand of second-year head coach Damon Whitten.
The surging Lakers have moved into a tie for sixth place with the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves in the 10-team Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 10 points from a record of 4-3-3. Over the past three weekends the Lakers are 4-1-1, including a 3-0-1 mark on the road.
The Lakers have an overall record of 6-9-3 through 18 games this season.
To be sure, Lake Superior State has an opportunity to move further up in the WCHA standings this weekend when they play host to Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech Huskies on Friday (7:37) and Saturday (7:07) at Taffy Abel Arena.
The sixth-place Lakers are just one point behind fifth-place Northern Michigan with two games in hand on the Wildcats and are three points back of fourth-place Ferris State with four games in hand on the Bulldogs. In fact, the Lakers trail third-place Michigan Tech — this weekend’s visitors — by only five points and have two games in hand on the Huskies.
What is impressive about the Lakers performance under the coaching of Whitten is that it’s the younger Lake Superior State players who are the statistical leaders.
For example, of the Lakers top eight scorers, five are freshmen, one is a sophomore and the other two are juniors.
Sophomore forward J.T. Henke leads the Lakers in scoring with 6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points followed by freshman forward Mitch Hults at 4-5-9, freshman forward Gage Torrel at 3-5-8, junior forward Gus Correale at 3-5-8, freshman forward Anthony Nellis at 2-6-8, freshman defenceman Owen Headrick at 3-4-7, junior forward Alex Globke at 4-2-6 and freshman forward Diego Cuglietta at 2-4-6.
Headrick, who played the past two seasons with the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, leads all WCHA freshmen in scoring. With a 1997 birth date, Headrick, who hails from Garden River First Nation, is the youngest player on the Lakers.
The Lakers have also been getting good goaltending from sophomore Gordon Defiel and freshman Nick Kossoff.
Defiel has a 4-6-3 record to go with a 2.57 goals against average and .922 save percentage. Kossoff has a 2-3-0 record with a 1.97 goals against average, .926 save percentage and two shutouts.
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