FOR STARTERS
• Lake Superior State will open conference play this weekend as the Lakers are set to host a series against the Ferris State Bulldogs on Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Taffy Abel Arena. Both games are set for a 7:07 p.m. start.
• The Lakers wrapped out the first month of play with a 2-6-0 record against some of the NCAA's stiffest competition including two games against No. 2 Denver, a pair of road games against the Michigan Wolverines as well as a road series against the No. 4/5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
• Lakers Head Coach Damon Whitten enters his sixth season behind the bench in Sault Ste. Marie. Whitten has led the team to a 68-109-20 record, including 23 wins in 2018-19.
• Lake Superior is coming off of the program's best season in 23 years, posting a 23-12-2 overall record and finishing fourth in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA).
LAST WEEKEND RECAP
• Last weekend, the Lakers wrapped up the first month of the season and a streak of four straight non-conference series with a pair of road games at No. 4/5 Notre Dame.
• In Friday's game against Notre Dame, the Lakers were defeated by a final score of 5-2. Max Humitz netted his team-leading fourth goal in the game while Hampus Eriksson continued his strong start with an assist to bring his season point total up to eight.
• Freshman Louis Boudon netted his second goal in as many games for the Lakers.
• Laker netminder Mareks Mitens made 27 saves in his seventh consecutive start to bring his season total up to 176. Mitens ranks seventh among all NCAA goaltenders in saves.
• The second game of the series ended with the Fighting Irish winning by a score of 6-4, withRoman Bengert making his first career start for the Lakers in the game. Bengert would stop a career-high 24 shots in the contest.
• Collin Saccoman would tally two goals for the Lakers in the game, marking his first career multi-goal game. Saccoman would record a team-high six shots in the game.
• The Lakers offense also saw goals from Yuki Miura and Will Riedell in the game.
• Boudon extended his point streak to three games as he notched a power play assist in the second game and is one of four Lakers to record their first career point this season.
• Miroslav Mucha recorded his second multi-point game of the season with a pair of assists in Saturday's contest against the Irish.
LAKERS VS. FERRIS STATE
• In one of the longest running all-time series in college hockey, the Lakers and the Bulldogs will meet for the 148th and 149th times in program history this weekend.
• The series will include the first two of four meetings this season between the two teams. The Lakers will travel to Big Rapids, Mich. for a pair of games to wrap up the final weekend of the regular season on Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020.
• The Lakers hold the all-time advantage against Ferris State with a record of 71-61-15.
• Last season, the Lakers won three out of the four meetings with the Bulldogs, falling in the final game of the regular season.
• In the last ten games, against Ferris State the Lakers are 4-5-1.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Ferris State is led by Bob Daniels, who entered his 28th season as the head coach of the Bulldogs this year.
• The Bulldogs have played five games so far, including three non-conference games and a WCHA series against Northern Michigan last weekend. Ferris State lost both games against Northern Michigan, by scores of 4-3 and 6-4, and recorded wins in two of the three non-conference games.
• Senior defenseman Nate Kallen, the team's captain, was named WCHA Defenseman of the Week on Oct. 28 following a three goal weekend against NMU. Kallen is the team's active leader in games played with 116 and was third in scoring on last year's team with seven goals and 17 assists in 35 games.
• Junior Marshall Moise (3G, 2A) and senior Jason Tackett (1G, 4A) are tied for the team-lead with five points each.
• Goaltender Roni Salmenkangas who has started the past three games for the Bulldogs has posted a 3.89 goals against average and a .866 save percentage this season. Salmenkangas stopped 34 shots by the Lakers in the last meeting between the teams last season to secure the win for Ferris.
• The Bulldogs have had early success with their power play running at a 21.7 percentage, which is 16th best nationally, and have scored five power play goals in five games.
• Ferris State is coming off a season with an overall record of 10-23-3 and a 7-18-3 record in WCHA play. The Bulldogs will look to improve upon their win total from last season and will do so with a young roster as the team has ten freshmen.
LAKER FIRSTS
• The Lakers have had six players make their collegiate debuts this season (Boudon, Mitchell Oliver, Arvid Henrikson, Dustin Manz, Robert Blueger, Niko Esposito-Selivanov).
• 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 and his first career goal on Oct. 19 against the Wolverines.
• Manz netted his first career goal, which was his first collegiate point, to tie the Lakers game at three against Denver on Oct. 12.
• Blueger and Esposito-Selivanov each made their Laker debut at Notre Dame on Saturday, Oct. 26.
BALANCED ATTACK
• The Laker offense has been evenly distributed with 16 players recording a point, 15 players registering two or more points, and ten players with four or more points. Two players have notched six points (Ashton Calder, Yuki Miura) and two players are tied for the team-lead in points with eight (Hampus Eriksson, Max Humitz).
• 13 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.
CONFERENCE PLAY AHEAD
• Following this weekend's series, the Lakers will continue with Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) games through the next stretch of play.
• The remainder of November will see the Lakers alternate between home and away series with the team traveling to Bemidji State, hosting Michigan Tech, traveling to Bowling Green and closing out the month with a home series against Bemidji State.
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.
Twitter: @HockeyLSSU
Instagram: @LSSUHockey
Facebook: @lssuhockeyfans