FOR STARTERS
• Lake Superior State is set to play the Adrian College Bulldogs, a Division III program, in a non-conference, home-and-home series on Friday, Nov. 27 at 7:07p.m. at the Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. and Sunday, Nov. 29 at the Arrington Ice Arena at 2:07 p.m. in Adrian, Mich.
• The Lakers were previously scheduled to play Ferris State but due to positive COVID-19 test results within the FSU hockey program, the series had to be cancelled.
• On Monday, Nov. 23, it was announced that the Lakers games against Northern Michigan on Wednesday, Nov. 25 was cancelled due to positive COVID-19 tests within the NMU hockey program. The conference game between the two teams originally scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 2 has been postponed.
• Last weekend, the Lakers opened the program's 55th season with a non-conference series against Michigan Tech. LSSU and the Huskies played to a 0-0 tie in the opening game on Saturday and the Lakers followed with a 4-1 win on Sunday to wrap up the series.
• The Lakers return to the ice following a seventh place finish in the WCHA standings during the 2019-20 season as the team posted a 14-23-4 overall record and an 11-14-4 record in conference play. LSSU qualified for the WCHA postseason for the second consecutive season and would fall to the second seeded Bemidji State in the first round of the playoffs.
• Lakers Head Coach Damon Whitten begins his seventh season behind the bench in Sault Ste. Marie in 2020-21. Whitten has led the team to a 81-126-25 record, and playoff appearances in all but one season.
LAST WEEKEND RECAP
• Senior netminder Mareks Mitens stopped all 28 shots he faced in Saturday's game to earn his sixth career shutout in the 0-0 tie. The Lakers won the overtime shootout round with senior forward Yuki Miura and junior forward Ashton Calder scoring.
• In Sunday's game, senior forward Hampus Eriksson scored the Lakers first goal of the season as he gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead in the first period.
• The Lakers and the Huskies entered the third period tied at one but LSSU's offense pulled through late in the final twenty minutes of play to secure the victory. Junior forward Jack Jeffers, a transfer from Alabama Huntsville, scored the game winning goal in his first game as a Laker, against his former teammate at UAH, Huskies goaltender Mark Sinclair.
• At 17:46 of the third period, Calder doubled the Lakers lead when he scored a between-the-legs highlight reel goal on a breakaway to put his team ahead by a score of 3-1.
• Junior forward Pete Veillette sealed the Lakers first win of the season when he netted an empty net goal with nine seconds left to play.
• Mitens started in goal for the Lakers on Sunday, stopping 13 of the 14 shots he faced in the game. Sophomore goaltender Seth Eisele entered the game for the Lakers at the start of the third period and saved all seven shots he faced from the Huskies. Eisele, who recorded an assist on Calder's goal, earned his first collegiate win in his first appearance in net as a Laker.
• Mitens was awarded the WCHA's Goaltender of the Week award for his play against the Huskies, as he stopped 41 of the 42 shots he faced in 105:00 minutes in net. The senior goalie finished the weekend with a .976 save percentage and a 0.57 goals against average.
• 10 different players recorded at least one point in Sunday's win with Calder and Veillette registering two points each as they both notched a goal and an assist in the game.
• For the first time since, Oct. 14, 2019 Lake Superior State has received votes in a national poll. The Lakers received votes in both the USCHO and the USA Today polls.
WELCOME BACK
• The Lakers return 10 forwards (Alex Ambrosio, Louis Boudon, Ashton Calder, Hampus Eriksson, Niko Esposito-Selivanov, Chase Gamelin, Dustin Manz, Yuki Miura, Miroslav Mucha, Pete Veillette), six defensemen (Arvid Henrikson, Lukas Kaelble, Michael Mannara, Jacob Nordqvist, Mitchell Oliver, Will Riedell), and two goaltenders (Seth Eisele, Mareks Mitens) from last season's roster.
• Lake Superior's skaters will return 60% of last season's goal scoring (58 of 96 total goals), 81% of last season's assist totals (142 of 176 total assists) and 74% of the total points recorded (200 of 272 total points).
• Four of the Lakers top five goal scorers from last season are back this season (Calder, Veillette, Boudon, Eriksson), nine of the top 10 assist scorers (Boudon, Eriksson, Calder, Veillette, Riedell, Miura, Nordqvist, Kaelble, Oliver), and nine of the top 10 point getters (Calder, Boudon, Veillette, Eriksson, Riedell, Miura, Nordqvist, Kaelble, Manz).
• LSSU had five players among the top 33 scorers in the WCHA last season, with all but one returning to the lineup this season.
• Last season the Lakers had nine players record 10 or more points with eight of those skaters returning this season. Five players registered at least 24 points and four of them are returning members of the 2020-21 squad.
• Senior goaltender Mareks Mitens will backstop the Lakers this season, following a strong 2019-20 season in net (2.57GAA, .911%). Mittens appeared in 39 games, making 38 starts and finished the season with a career-best 13 wins.
• Mitens ranked first among all WCHA goaltenders in games played and games started, and played more minutes (2291:59) than any other NCAA netminder in 2019-20. The Latvia native was one of three NCAA goalies to make 1000 or more saves last season.
• The Laker goalie entered the 2020-21 season ranked seventh in the nation in saves among all active NCAA netminders with 1,690.
LAKER FIRSTS
• Ten student-athletes made their collegiate debut as a Laker this weekend - Seth Eisele, Jeremy Gervais, Joshua Wildauer, Jacob Bengtsson, Spencer DenBeste, Jack Jeffers, Brandon Puricelli, Benito Posa, Michael Mannara, and Tyler Williams.
• Jeffers (G) and Puricelli (A) each notched their first point as a Laker in the team's 4-1 win over Tech on Nov. 22.
• Eisele recorded his first career win in his first appearance in goal on Sunday, Nov. 22 against Michigan Tech. The goaltender also registered his first career point in the game with an assist on the Lakers third goal.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Adrian College is led by Head Coach Adam Krug '12, who is in his seventh season at the helm of his alma mater and is the winningest active coach in NCAA Division III with a 135-34-10 school and overall record for a .782 winning percentage.
• The Bulldogs have racked up an all-time record of 302-57-20 (.825) over 14 seasons since their founding for the 2007-08 campaign; the program has earned nine NCAA tournament appearances and 19 conference regular-season/tournament championships.
• The Bulldogs have previously played three games in program history against an NCAA Division I squad. Adrian defeated Alabama-Huntsville on the road, 4-2 on Jan. 4, 2013, and has recently played a home-and-home series against Bowling Green. Adrian fell by scores of 5-0 and 6-2 against the BG Falcons.
• Freshman Connor May leads Adrian in scoring with four goals and five points. He registered a career-high three points (2G, 1A) in a 6-3 win at home against Trine in the Oct. 30 season opener.
• Junior Andrew Bellant (Linden, Mich./Michigan Tech [NCAA D-I, WCHA]) is the team's top-returning scorer with 38 points on 17 goals and 21 assists--all career highs--which was good for second in points for the Bulldogs. He has two assists so far in 2020-21.
• Goaltenders Nic Tallarico and Cameron Gray have split time in net this season for Adrian.
BALANCED ATTACK
• Lake Superior State's skaters will return 60% of last season's goal scoring (58 of 96 total goals), 81% of last season's assist totals (142 of 176 total assists) and 74% of the total points recorded (200 of 272 total points).
• Four of the Lakers top five goal scorers from last season are back this season (Calder, Veillette, Boudon, Eriksson), nine of the top 10 assist scorers (Boudon, Eriksson, Calder, Veillette, Riedell, Miura, Nordqvist, Kaelble, Oliver), and nine of the top 10 point getters (Calder, Boudon, Veillette, Eriksson, Riedell, Miura, Nordqvist, Kaelble, Manz).
• LSSU had five players among the top 33 scorers in the WCHA last season, with all but one returning to the lineup this season.
• Last season the Lakers had nine players record 10 or more points with eight of those skaters returning this season. Five players registered at least 24 points and four of them are returning members of the 2020-21 squad.
• Nine different players netted the game winning goal for the Lakers in 2019-20 - with six of those players returning to the lineup this year.
ANCHORED DOWN
• The Lakers return a strong back end presence with five defensemen who played 30 or more games last season as well as the team's starting goaltender, Mareks Mitens.
• The returning Laker defensemen combine for 357 career collegiate games played while adding 22 goals, and 94 assists for a total of 116 points.
• Senior defenseman Lukas Kaelble played in all 41 games for the Lakers last season and totaled 12 points (2G, 10A). Kaelble led the Lakers in blocked shots with 39.
• Kaelble, the Laker captain, was awarded the team's Most Valuable Defenseman at the close of the 2019-20 season.
• Senior defenseman Will Riedell is coming off a career year as he appeared in all 41 games for the Lakers during the 2019-20 season and set personal highs in all offensive categories. The alternate captain recorded five goals, 13 assists and 18 points and ranked first among Laker defensemen in assists and points.
• Riedell led the team with a +13 rating and registered five multi-point games, including a career-best three point game (3A) on Feb. 7 at Michigan Tech. His best month of the season came in February as he recorded nine points (3G, 6A) in eight games and was named WCHA Defenseman of the Week on Feb. 10 and was the WCHA Defenseman of the Month for February.
• Junior Jacob Nordqvist and junior Mitchell Oliver round out the remaining upperclassmen returning on the blue line for the Lakers. Nordqvist played in 35 games for the Lakers in 2019-20 and finished the season with 13 points (2G, 11A). He was tied for second on the team in game winning goals with two. Oliver competed in 38 games for the Lakers last season and recorded eight assists.
• Three of last year's regulars recorded at least 12 points - Will Riedell (18), Nordqvist (13), and Kaelble (12).
BETWEEN THE PIPES
• Senior goaltender Mareks Mitens stopped all 28 shots he faced in Saturday's game against Michigan Tech to earn his sixth career shutout in the 0-0 tie and started in goal for the Lakers on Sunday, stopping 13 of the 14 shots he faced in the first two periods of the game.
• Sophomore goaltender Seth Eisele entered the game for the Lakers at the start of the third period and saved all seven shots he faced from the Huskies. Eisele, who recorded an assist on Calder's goal, earned his first collegiate win in his first appearance in net as a Laker.
• Mitens was awarded the WCHA's Goaltender of the Week award for his play against the Huskies, as he stopped 41 of the 42 shots he faced in 105:00 minutes in net. The senior goalie finished the weekend with a .976 save percentage and a 0.57 goals against average.
•Mitens will backstop the Lakers this season, following a strong 2019-20 season in net (2.57 GAA, .911%). Mittens appeared in 39 games, making 38 starts and finished the season with a career-best 13 wins.
• Mitens ranked first among all WCHA goaltenders in games played and games started, and played more minutes (2291:59) than any other NCAA netminder in 2019-20. The Ventspils, Latvia native, who finished the season with 1,002 saves, was one of three NCAA goalies to make 1000 or more saves last season.
• The netminder finished the season in fifth place among WCHA goalies in save percentage and seventh place among that same group in goals against average
• Mitens was named WCHA Goaltender of the Week on Dec. 16. 2019 after stopping 64 of 67 shots against No. 10 Bowling Green in a weekend split.
• In the final month of the regular season, Mitens recorded a pair of shutouts (2/14/20 vs. UAH, 2/28/20 at Ferris State) to bring his career shutout total to five. The Laker goalie would go on to stop a season-high 45 shots in the Lakers 5-3 win over Bemidji State in game two of the WCHA Quarterfinals last season.
• Mitens appeared in 11 games for the Lakers in 2018-19 and 19 games in his freshman season in 2017-18.
OTHER INFORMATION
• 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 airs every Thursday morning on ESPN 1400.
• All Laker home games and away games against WCHA opponets during the 2020-21 season will be available to watch live on FloHockey, the WCHA's streaming partner. For more information or to sign up for a subscription, visit https:/www.flohockey.tv.
• Bill Crawford and Matt Pocket will be calling the Laker games this season. The radio call will be available to listen to on 99.5 Yes FM, the official radio station of Laker hockey. The broadcast stream can also be accessed at www.yesfm.net