ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's hockey team will play a two-game series against the University of Michigan Wolverines this weekend Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday, Oct. 19. Both games are set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor. Laker fans can watch the games on the BTN+ (channel listings here) or at Buffalo Wild Wings in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Buffalo Wild Wings will hold a viewing party for Friday's game.
FOR STARTERS
•The Lakers will hit the road for the first time this season as the team travels to Ann Arbor, Mich. for a series against the Michigan Wolverines on Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday, Oct. 19. Both games are set for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop at the Yost Ice Arena.
• Through the first two weekends of the 2019-20 season, the Lakers are 2-2-0 after sweeping Merrimack during opening weekend and losing a pair of games to No. 2 ranked Denver at home during Great Lake State Weekend.
• Lake Superior is coming off of the program's best season in 23 years, posting a 23-12-2 record and finishing fourth in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
• Lakers Head Coach Damon Whitten enters his sixth season behind the bench in Sault Ste. Marie. Whitten has led the team to a 68-105-20 record, including 23 wins in 2018-19.
LAST WEEKEND RECAP
•Against Denver, the Lakers lost on Friday, Oct. 11 by a final score of 3-1 and on Saturday, Oct. 12, the Lakers fell 4-3 as the Pioneers notched the game winner with 20.6 seconds left to play.
•The Lakers were led offensively by sophomore Ashton Calder who tallied the opening goal in both games, including his first career shorthanded goal in Friday's game. Calder is tied for the team lead in points with five, and has at least a point in all four games this season (2G, 3A).
•Senior captain Max Humitz also had a multi-point weekend for the Lakers as he notched a goal and an assist against the Pioneers. Humitz leads the Lakers in goals (3) and is tied for the team lead in points (5). Humitz entered the 2019-20 season tied for third among all NCAA players in career goals with 42.
•The Lakers are one of three NCAA teams and the only WCHA team that has three players with at least five points - Calder, Hampus Eriksson, Humitz.
•Will Riedell and Collin Saccoman are tied for the team lead in points among defensemen. Both players have three points through four games played and each recorded an assist against Denver.
• Junior Alex Ambrosio, who registered the lone assist on Calder's shorthanded goal, has doubled his career point total and set a new season-high in points with two (1G, 1A) through four games played.
• Two Lakers recorded their first collegiate point against Denver - Dustin Manz and Louis Boudon. Manz scored his first goal as a Laker to tie up Saturday's game at three late in the third period while Boudon assisted on Max Humitz's goal in Saturday's game.
• Freshman defenseman Arvid Henrikson made his collegiate debut as he suited up for the Lakers in Saturday night's game. Henrikson joins three other Lakers (Boudon, Manz and Mitchell Oliver) who have also made their collegiate debuts this season.
• Netminder Mareks Mitens started both games in goal for LSSU and made 51 saves on 58 shots against the Pioneers.
• Through four games, 15 Lakers have recorded at least one point with 11 of them notching two or more points. 11 different players have scored a goal for Lake Superior this season.
• The Lakers penalty kill has been solid - sitting at a 94.4% success rate. Lake State has killed off 17 of 18 penalties called against them.
LAKERS VS. MICHIGAN
• The Michigan Wolverines hold the advantage in the all-time series against the Lakers, compiling a 49-63-7 record. The last series between the two teams was a home series for the Lakers on Nov. 2-3, 2018 at Taffy Abel Arena. The teams split the pair of games with the Lakers winning the opening game by a score of 5-2 and closing the series with a 5-3 loss to the Wolverines.
•Among players on the Lakers roster, Humitz and Jacob Nordqvist are tied for the team lead in points against Michigan with three points. In four career games, Humitz has a goal and two assists while Nordqvist also has recorded a goal and two assists in two games played. Lukas Kaelble and Eriksson each have two assists in two games. Seniors Brayden Gelsinger, Brendan McKay, and Collin Saccoman each have one point against the Wolverines.
• Mareks Mitens has appeared in one career game against Michigan making 24 saves in a 5-3 loss on Nov. 3, 2018 at Taffy Abel Arena.
• Sixteen Lakers have played in at least one career game against the Wolverines.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
• Michigan is led by Mel Pearson, who is in his third season as the head coach of the Wolverines. Last season, Pearson and the Wolverines finished 13-16-7 (9-10-5-2 Big Ten), which included 11 overtime games -- four which came over the final
five games of the campaign.
• Michigan is led by its seven-man senior class which includes forwards Will Lockwood (captain), Jake Slaker (alternate captain), Adam Winborg, and Nick Pastujov; defensemen Luke Martin (alternate captain) and Griffin Luce (alternate captain) and goalie Hayden Lavigne. Lockwood, Slaker, and Pastujov are the top three returners as the trio combined for 38 goals and 42 assists in 2018-19.
• Last season, goaltenders Lavigne and Strauss Mann split time protecting the net. Lavigne started all 19 games he appeared in and finished with a 7-8-3 record. Mann started 17 of the 21 games he played and compiled a 6-8-4 record with a 2.91 goals-against average.
• Lockwood returns for the 2019-20 season as the Wolverine captain after he tallied 31 points (16goals, 15 assists) in 36 games, good for second best on the team behind Quinn Hughes' 33 points.
• The Wolverines also welcome a five-man freshman class to its roster, which includes forwards Eric Ciccolini, Johnny Beecher and Nick Granowicz as well as defensemen Cam York and Keaton Pehrson.
LAKER FIRSTS
• Four Lakers made their collegiate debuts in this season. • Sophomore defenseman Mitchell Oliver and freshmen forwards Louis Boudon and Dustin Manz would all put on the Laker jersey for the first time in the season opener against Merrimack on Oct. 5, 2019.
• Freshman defenseman Arvid Henrikson made his collegiate debut on Oct. 12 against Denver.
• Oliver and Mucha each notched their first career point in the Oct. 5 game vs. Merrimack. Both had multi-point nights.
• Boudon registered his first career point, an assist, against Denver on Oct. 12.
• Manz netted his first career goal, which was his first collegiate point, to tie the Lakers game at three against Denver on Oct. 12.
NON-CONFERENCE OCTOBER
• The Lakers is in the midst of four non-conference series to open the season, beginning with the home set of games against Merrimack, followed by the home series against No. 2 Denver on Great Lake State Weekend on Friday, Oct. 11 and Saturday, Oct. 12.
• The Lakers swept the series against Merrimack at Taffy Abel Arena but dropped a pair of very hard fought games against No. 2 Denver on Great Lake State Weekend (Oct. 11- 12). LSSU will play back-to-back weekends on the road to close the first month of the season with this weekend's series against Michigan (Oct. 18 & 19) and next week's pair of games at No. 7 Notre Dame (Oct. 25 & 26).
IN THE POLLS
• In the first two USCHO Polls of the 2019-20 season, Lake Superior State was not ranked but did receive votes.
•The Lakers were ranked in the USCHO Poll's Top 20 for ten consecutive weeks during the 2018-19 season.
• In the WCHA Preseason Polls, Lake Superior State was picked to finish in the sixth spot in both polls, receiving 58 total points in the 2019-20 Mankato Free Press WCHA Preseason Coaches Poll and 57 total points in the 2019-20 WCHA Preseason Media Poll.
TOP-10 MATCHUPS:
• Based on the current poll rankings, the Lakers will face-off against another team ranked in the top 10 of the USCHO Division I Men's Hockey Poll next weekend when they head to South Bend to play the No. 7 Fighting Irish. The Lakers played No. 2 ranked Denver earlier this month.
NATIONAL AUDIENCE
• The Lake Superior State men's hockey game against the No. 7 University of Notre Dame on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7:00 p.m. ET will be nationally televised on NBC Sports Network.
• It will be the first time that the Lakers will play in a nationally televised game since Feb. 5, 2016 when LSSU played Michigan Tech in the annual Winter Carnival series that was aired on the American Sports Network.
• The series will be highlighted by the coaching connection between the two teams as Notre Dame Head Coach Jeff Jackson led the Lakers to two NCAA National Championships during his six-year tenure as Lake Superior's head coach from 1990-96.
CROSSING THE BORDER
• On Sept. 23, the Lakers announced that a regular season conference game against the University of Alabama-Huntsville will be played in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The game, which will take place on Feb. 15, 2020, is the first regular season WCHA game that the Lakers will play in Canada and the first NCAA game to be played in Canada since 2012.
BALANCED ATTACK
• The Lakers offense has seen 15 skaters recording at least one point with 11 of them notching two or more points. Seven players have at least three points.
• 11 different players have scored a goal for Lake Superior this season.
•13 Lakers notched at least one point against Merrimack, 10 players had two or more points, four players had three points and one had five points.
•Last season the Lakers had 13 players record 10 or more points with nine of those players returning this season.
•Eight players registered at least 22 points and five of them are returning members of the 2019-20 squad.
• The Lakers also return one of three 30-plus point scorers from 2018-19 in Max Humitz (33 points).
• 13 different players netted the game winning goal for the Lakers in 2018-19 - with 10 of those players returning to the lineup this year.
OTHER INFORMATION
• Tickets for home games are $14 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7 for children (under 17). LSSU students receive free admission and must possess a valid student ID. For tickets, call or visit the Norris Center Ticket Office at 906-635-2601.
• The month of November will see the Lakers with a few special promotional nights recognizing important community members and organizations. The game on Saturday, Nov. 2 will be "Thank You Mayor Tony" Night to celebrate the 18-year tenure of Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Tony Bosbous. On Nov. 15, the United Way of the EUP will hold the annual "Light the Lamp" game. More information on these events can be found on lssulakers.com within the next few weeks.
• Every week 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 restaurant on East Portage Avenue every Tuesday night starting at 6 p.m. and can be heard on WKNW ESPN Radio 1400.
• Every home game and all road games against conference opponents will be available via live stream hosted by FloSports on WCHA.tv or at Buffalo Wild Wings in Sault Ste. Marie. Radio PxP from the voice of the Lakers, Bill Crawford, will be heard every game on 99.5 YES FM.
• Laker Athletics will announce designated games that will include viewing parties at Buffalo Wild Wings. The first of the watch parties will be held on Friday, Oct. 18 when the Lakers are in Ann Arbor playing Michigan at 7:30. There will be special deals for any Lake State students that attend the watch party.
• This season, Laker Hockey introduces Soo Brewing as the official pregame and The Wicked Sister as the official postgame spots.
• Follow Laker Hockey on social media all season long for news, updates and behind-the-scenes action.
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Facebook: @lssuhockeyfans