SAULT STE. MARIE – Lake Superior State's Sept. 30 exhibition hockey game against Laurentian its earliest home opener on record and the first of 19 regular-season home games.
Season tickets for the 2017-18 Laker Hockey season, which includes an action-packed Fall, are available online or at Norris Center Guest Services.
This year's season-ticket packages are $197.00 for adults and $92.00 for children 17-and-under. The Snowbird Package, which includes the first 13 games, is available for $112.00. Single-game tickets will increase 50 cents to help cover mounting ticket vendor service charges. Season tickets can be purchased or renewed at the Student Activity Center Help Desk during the Norris Center's normal operational hours, or by calling 906-635-2602. Visit www.lssulakers.com/tickets to order online. Seats will be held until Oct. 1.
The LSSU hockey schedule is front-end loaded with home series against Laurentian (Oct. 1), Michigan Tech (Oct. 13-14), Alaska Anchorage (Nov. 3-4), the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-18 Team (Nov. 24-25), Alaska (Dec. 1-2) and Minnesota State-Mankato (Dec. 8-9), plus an Oct. 6-7 home-and-home non-conference series against Northern Michigan.
The Lakers will celebrate Great Lake State Weekend during the MTU series, and sponsor the 10th annual Pink in the Rink on Nov. 4.
A busy January includes home series against Bemidji State, Ferris State and Bowling Green. Oddly, the schedule includes no February home games, so the Lakers are more focused than ever on a top-four finish and bringing a Western Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal series to Taffy Abel Arena in early March.
The season ticket package includes three playoff games. Should the Lakers not host a first-round playoff series, playoff ticket refunds will be offered through May 15, 2018.
The Lakers' senior class is led by top-returning scorer, J.T. Henke, along with defensemen Kyle Chatham, Aidan Wright and Ryan Renz. They also return top goal scorers, sophomore Max Humitz and juniors Diego Cuglietta and Gage Torrel. Last season, LSSU's average attendance jumped 12 percent to over 2,100 fans per game (its highest attendance average since joining the WCHA).
Notes: LSSU basketball and volleyball single-game ticket prices will also increase 50 cents during the 2017-18 season. Division II sports passes will remain $55. Adult single-game ticket prices are $13 (hockey), $6.60 (basketball) and $5.50 (volleyball). Youth ticket prices for children 17-and-under are $10 (hockey), $4.50 (basketball) and $3.50 (volleyball). Hockey single-game tickets for seniors (age 60 and over) are $10.