FOR STARTERS
• The Lakers will resume play after the team's first break of the season on Saturday, Dec. 28 and Sunday, Dec. 29 at the TD Bank Catamount Cup in Burlington, Vt. The Lakers will play No. 13/15 Providence on the first day at 4:00 p.m. and tournament host, Vermont, on the second day of play at 7:00 p.m
• At the TD Bank Catamount Cup, the Lakers will match up against two Hockey East schools in the non-conference tournament play. The only time Lake State has faced a Hockey East school this season was the season opening series against Merrimack, that the Lakers swept at home.
• LSSU's record sits at 6-15-1 overall and 4-9-1-1 in WCHA play after opening the season 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. The Lakers opened conference play with two wins against Ferris State on Nov. 1 and 2, and have rotated between home and road WCHA series since, including an away series against No. 1 Minnesota State.
• The series will mark the sixth time this season that the Lakers will face a top-20 ranked team as Providence is No. 13/15.
• Lakers Head Coach Damon Whitten is in his sixth season behind the bench in Sault Ste. Marie. Whitten has led the team to a 72-119-20 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
• Lake Superior State wrapped up the first half of its season against No. 10 Bowling Green in a home series on Friday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 14. The Lakers would split the pair of games against the Falcons dropping the opening game and winning Saturday's game by a final score of 3-2 in overtime.
• In the first game against Bowling Green, the Lakers fell by a final score of 2-0
with the Falcons scoring a late empty net goal to seal the win. Junior goaltender Mareks Mitens allowed one goal in the loss as he made a season-high 35 saves in the game.
• The Lakers closed out the series with a 3-2 overtime win and were once again led by Mitens, who stopped 29 shots on goal by the Falcons in the game. Mitens finished the weekend stopping 64 of the 67 shots he faced to post a weekend save percentage of .950 and a 1.50 goals against average. Mitens was named WCHA Goaltender of the Week for his play in the series.
• Mitens has faced 592 shots this season and made 529 saves this season, which both rank first among all WCHA goaltenders and second in the NCAA. The Laker goalie has played more minutes (1197:15) than any other NCAA goaltender in 2019-20.
• In the overtime victory, the Lakers saw a pair of goals from senior forward Max Humitz in regulation and the game winning goal from junior forward Hampus Eriksson.
• The two goal game from Humitz was his first multi-goal game since Jan. 25, 2019, and his sixth multi-point game of the 2019-20 season. The Laker captain leads the team in goals with 11 and points with 17 this season. Humitz is one of four players in the WCHA with 10 or more goals this season.
• Freshman forward Louis Boudon assisted on both of Humitz's goals to bring his season total to eight assists and 11 points for the Lakers. The game marked Boudon's second career multi-point game.
• Freshman defenseman Arvid Henrikson notched his first collegiate point in Saturday's game as he tallied the primary assist on the game tying goal.
• The game winning goal was scored by Hampus Eriksson at the 1:38 mark of overtime to give the Lakers the win over the top-ten ranked team. Eriksson's fourth goal of the season ties his previous career high and his 15 points this season sets a new career high for the junior forward. Eriksson has either scored or assisted on five of the six Laker game winning goals this season.
• The overtime goal was assisted by Brayden Gelsinger, who recorded his first point of the season after missing the first 18 games of the season due to injury, and Jacob Nordqvist, who registered his third assist of the season.
LAKERS VS. PROVIDENCE
• In the all-time series between the two teams, the Friars hold the advantage against the Lakers with a 1-5-0 record. The Lakers won the most recent meeting on Dec. 29, 2006 in Madison, Wisc. at the Badger Showdown Tournament by a final score of 2-1.
• No players on the current Laker roster have played against the Friars.
SCOUTING THE FRIARS
• Providence is led by Head Coach Nate Leaman, who is in his ninth season in the role and led the Friars to their first NCAA National Champiosnhip in 2015.
• The Friars have compiled a 9-5-3 overall record and a 6-4-2 mark in Hockey East play this season. Providence enters the Catamount Cup after a three week break in play as the Friars have not competed since an early December split against the UMass Lowell RiverHawks.
• Providence is led by the duo Jack Dugan and Tyce Thompson, who rank first and second in scoring nationally. Dugan leads the NCAA in points with 33, including a league-high 27 assists in 17 games this season. Thompson's 27 points are second in the NCAA and his 13 goals are tied for first among all players.
•The Friars offense, which is averaging 3.8 goals per game, has eight players with 11 or more points this seaon.
• Graduate student Michael Lackey has started all 17 games in goal for Providence this year. Lackey has posted a .915 save percentage and a 2.45 goals against average for the Friars.
• The Friars power play is tied for fourth in the NCAA as it is running at a 27.5 percentage and the team's penalty kill percentage sits at 82.4%.
LAKERS VS. VERMONT
• In the all-time series between the two teams, the Catamounts hold the advantage against the Lakers witha 4-5-0 record. Vermont won the most recent meeting between the two teams on Dec. 29, 2015 at the Catamount Cup by a final score of 1-0.
• No players on the current Laker roster have played against the Catamounts.
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
• The Vermont Catamounts are led by Head Coach Kevin Sneddon, who is in his 17th season in the role.
• The Catamounts hold a 1-11-2 overall record and a 0-8-1 mark in Hockey East play this season. Vermont has not competed since the first weekend in December (6-7) in a road series against conference opponent UConn.
• The trio of Ace Cowans, Andrew Lucas, and Jacques Bouquot are tied for the team lead in points this season with each player tallying six points. Cowans, Christian Evers, Joey Cipollone, and Alex Esposito have each netted three goals this season to share the team lead in goals.
• The Catamounts have 17 players who have notched at least one point this season and 12 different goal scorers.
• Vermont goaltender Stefanos Lekkas has started in all 14 games this season for the Catamounts and has posted a 2.86 goals against average. The senior goaltender has recorded a .908 save percentage this season.
• Vermont has a 12.1% succes rate while on the power play this season and the team's penalty kill percentage is at 78.2%.
VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• The tournament will mark the sixth time this season that the Lakers faced a ranked team. The Lakers played a road series against the No. 1 Minnesota State Mavericks earlier in December, two series against ranked Bowling Green (No. 17 & No. 10), as well as games against No. 2 Denver and No. 4/5 Notre Dame earlier in the season.
• Providence is currently ranked No. 13 in the USCHO poll and No. 15 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Poll.
BALANCED ATTACK
• The Lakers have two players among the top 16 scorers in the WCHA. The Laker offense has been evenly distributed this season as 22 players have recorded at least a point, 10 players with six or more points, six players with ten or more points and two players recording 15 or more points.
• 15 different players have registered a goal for the Lakers this season and all six game winning goals have been scored by different players.
• In the Lakers first weekend of conference play, 10 different players notched at least a point in the series with eight players recording two or more points during the pair of games.
•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. Nine different players recorded at least one point in the Lakers game against Notre Dame on Oct. 26.
•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.
• 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. 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.
WHAT'S NEXT
• The Lakers will travel to Alaska for two consecutive weekends of play to open the second half of the season. The Lakers will face off against Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 9:00 p.m. EST and on Sunday, Jan. 5 on 7:00 EST. The following weekend the Lakers will travel to Fairbanks for another WCHA series.