SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - Following a weekend split with Alaska Anchorage last weekend, Lake Superior State remains in seventh place in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association prior to this weekend's meeting with Minnesota State- Mankato.
Both Friday and Saturday's games are set to begin at 8:07 p.m. ET at the Verizon Wireless Center. The voice of the Lakers, Bill Crawford, will provide play-by-play coverage of the action live on 99.5 YES FM and a high-definition video stream of the games will be available for purchase at WCHA.tv.
Last weekend the Lakers (9-13-4, 6-6-4 WCHA) came from behind to earn victory over the Seawolves 4-2 on Saturday before falling 3-1 in Sunday's series finale.
With the split the Lakers remain in seventh place of the WCHA standings and only trail Bemidji State by a single point in sixth place. Ahead of the Beavers are Ferris State in 4th place and Northern Michigan in fifth place. The Lakers trail the Bulldogs by three points and the Wildcats by two points with two games in-hand on each of the three teams ahead of them.
Freshman forward Mitch Hults (6-6--12) scored a pair of goals in Friday's game, and freshman Diego Cuglietta (4-4--8) registered his second consecutive game-winning goal to cap the victory, putting the Lakers up 3-2. Josh Nenadal (4-1--5), also a rookie, scored the game-tying goal with 15:20 remaining in the third period to knot the score at 2-2.
Culminating with the single goal by first-year defenseman Owen Headrick (4-4--8) in Sunday's 3-1 loss, each goal scored by the Lakers last weekend came from the stick of a freshman.
The LSSU freshman class has steered the ship this season, combining for 28 goals and 40 assists as a class. The 68 points combined by the freshmen ties the Ferris State junior class (22-46--68) for the most points by a class in the WCHA. Only the Northern Michigan junior class has combined for more goals (29). Laker freshmen have also combined for the most power-play points with a combined nine goals and 25 assists for 34 points on the power play. Only the NMU juniors have scored more power-play goals (11).
J.T. Henke, another newcomer to the Lakers lineup this season, albeit as a sophomore, leads the Lakers in scoring this season with six goals and eight assists for 14 points. Trailing Henke in scoring is Hults with 12 points and Gus Correale (5-6--11), Gage Torrel (4-7--11) and Anthony Nellis (3-8--11) each with 11 points.
The Lakers have never beaten the Mavericks (11-8-5, 10-3-5 WCHA) in eight attempts since joining MSU in the WCHA during the 2013-14 season. In all four games played in Mankato, all of which were played in 2014-15 including the WCHA quarterfinals, the Lakers are 0-4-0 against the Mavericks.
The Mavericks opened the season on the wrong foot, losing their first four games, all against non-conference opponents. Since then, the Mavericks have cruised through conference opponents, however not as gracefully as last year's squad that went 15-2-1 through their first 18 conference games.
The Mavericks are 2-2-1 in their last five games and 5-2-3 in their last 10 games.
Usually known for their high-powered offense, the Mavericks are only scoring 2.21 goals per game which ties them with Alabama Huntsville for eighth in the WCHA. LSSU ranks last in scoring at 1.92 goals per game, but has improved from a 1.69 goals per game average at this point of the 2014-15 season.
Defensively the Mavericks have been up to the task and rank one spot ahead of the Lakers in goals against per game with 2.25 goals allowed on average. The Lakers rank fifth in the WCHA with a team goals-against average of 2.35, down from 3.58 at this time last season.
Senior forward Teddy Blueger has been one of the most consistent threats for the Maverick offense this season, scoring five goals and 13 assists for 18 points in 24 games. Four of Blueger's five goals have registered as game-winning tallies.
In net, freshman goaltender Jason Pawloski has backstopped the Mavericks with a 8-2-5 record, 1.72 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.
Among freshmen goaltenders, Pawloski leads the league in goals against average with LSSU freshman Nick Kossoff hot on his heels with a 1.90 GAA.
Kossoff ranks third overall in the WCHA with a .929 save percentage and second among freshmen. Nationally Kossoff ranks 16th overall and fourth among freshmen in save percentage. Kossoff also leads all freshmen goaltenders and is tied for second in the WCHA with three shutouts.
The Lakers will likely counter Pawloski with some combination of Kossoff and sophomore goaltender Gordon Defiel who picked up his sixth victory of the season in the 402 victory over the Seawolves on Saturday night.
Defiel ranks sixth among WCHA goaltenders in saves percentage with a .924 clip and sports a respectable 2.45 goals-against mark. The Stillwater, Minn. native has gone 6-8-3 this season and ranks seventh all-time on the Lakers' shutout list with five career shutouts.
The Lakers have five players on their roster that hail from Minnesota, including Defiel and Torrel (Monticello).
Following this weekend's series with the Mavericks, the Lakers enter their first official bye-week of the season after not taking a weekend off during the fall. LSSU resumes play with another road series against Michigan Tech Feb. 5-6 before returning to Taffy Abel Arena on Feb. 12-13 for a home series against Bemidji State.
Laker Alumni gathering in Mankato
Join the LSSU Alumni Association on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 5:30 p.m. CT at Rounders Sports Bar for a hockey social before the Lakers play Minnesota State-Mankato at 7:07p.m. CT.
All Laker Alumni and fans are invited! The LSSU Alumni Association provides free appetizers and a drawing for Laker door prizes. Anna (Kerr) Hotz '03 is hosting this Laker gathering and the cost is just $5 per person or FREE for dues-paying members of the LSSU Alumni Association and children 10-and-under.
Game tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com. LSSU fans and families are sitting in section 200. For questions or more details, call the Alumni Office at (906) 635-6219, or email alumnirelations@lssu.edu.