SAULT STE. MARIE - Fresh off their only bye week this season Lake Superior State travels to Houghton, Mich., for a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series against Michigan Tech, as part of the Huskies' annual Winter Carnival series.
The Huskies, who began holding a Winter Carnival hockey series in 1950, have won the title 44 times in 66 editions. The two-game total goal series decides the winner of the MacInnes Cup. If the series is tied at the end of Saturday's game, a three-player shootout will decide the outcome. Tech holds a record of 73-45-14 in their Winter Carnival series.
The series opens with the 65th meeting between the teams on Friday night at 8:07 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live nationally on the American Sports Network and throughout Canada on TSN 5. For a full channel guide and listing of markets which feature ASN, click here.
Saturday's game starts at 5:07 p.m. ET. Both games will be broadcast live on 99.5 YES FM and will also be available for purchase on WCHA.tv.
The Lakers (9-15-4, 6-8-4 WCHA) enter the matchup fresh off their first bye-week of the season, after suffering a sweep on the road against Minnesota State the weekend prior. While the Lakers sat idle last weekend, Alaska Anchorage was able to move into a tie with LSSU for seventh place in the WCHA standings. Just two points out of fifth place, the Lakers still hold two games in hand on every team in the conference except for Northern Michigan.
Sitting at No. 15 in the USCHO.com poll, the Huskies (14-7-5, 11-6-3 WCHA) have been on a roll, earning three points in each of their last two series against the top teams in the WCHA. After claiming the inaugural Dessert Hockey Classic over UConn and Yale, the Huskies earned a tie and victory in consecutive weekend series against Minnesota State and Bowling Green to finish the month of January undefeated (3-0-3).
The series between the two Upper Peninsula schools dates back to 1969 with the Huskies holding a 38-21-5 all-time series advantage. Since the Lakers joined MTU in the WCHA, the Huskies hold a 5-2-1 advantage in the series and a 6-3-1 mark in the last 10 games.
The last time the teams met was in December at Taffy Abel Arena. During the series opener the teams skated to a 1-1 tie on Friday night before the Huskies earned a 6-2 victory in the series finale.
In their last eight games since falling to the Huskies on Dec. 12, the Lakers are 3-5-0.
Against the Lakers in December, senior forward Alex Petan scored three goals and added an assist for the Huskies, including back-to-back power play tallies during the first period of Saturday's 6-2 victory. For his efforts that weekend, Petan earned WCHA Player of the Week recognition.
The Delta, B.C., native was also named the WCHA Player of the Month for January in recognition of posting four goals and six points in four league contests during the month of January.
Freshman Nick Kossoff was strong in net for the Lakers during the 1-1 draw. Kossoff made 27 saves, allowing just the lone goal to Petan during 65 minutes of action, and helped the Lakers kill off a pair of penalties.
Senior captain Austin McKay (1-2--3) scored a goal and registered an assist in the last meeting. The 6-5 forward was also a +2 on the weekend.
Following this weekend's road trip the Lakers return home for a Feb. 12-13 meeting against Bemidji State. The Beavers are idle this weekend and sit two points ahead of the Lakers in a tie with Northern Michigan for fifth place in the WCHA.
