Game Notes

For Starters

• Lake Superior State will close out the non-conference portion of the season with a home series against the University of Alabama Huntsville Chargers on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
• Last weekend, the Lakers played a home-and-home, non-conference series against the Adrian College Bulldogs, a NCAA Division III program based in Adrian, Mich. LSSU opened the series with a 5-3 win over the Bulldogs at home and closed out the weekend with a 2-1 win over Adrian on the road.
• The Lakers were previously scheduled to play Ferris State last weekend but due to positive COVID-19 tests within the FSU hockey program, the series was cancelled.
• It marked the second straight matchup for the Lakers that was impacted by COVID-19. 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.
• The Lakers returned for the program's 55th season in 2020-21 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 is in his seventh season behind the bench in Sault Ste. Marie in 2020-21. Whitten has led the team to a 83-126-25 record, and playoff appearances in all but one season.

Last Weekend Recap                                                                                                                     

• In Friday's game against Adrian, the Lakers scored a season-high five goals in the game with senior defenseman Will Riedell opening the scoring for the Lakers with his first goal of the season. The defenseman would add an assist on the final Laker goal to earn his first multi-point game of the season.
• Senior forward Yuki Miura doubled the Lakers lead to 2-0 with his first goal of the season. Miura assisted on the game's opening goal to record his first multi-point game of the 2020-21 season.
• Junior transfer Jack Jeffers notched his second goal in as many games for the Lakers to put the Lakers ahead 3-1 in the game while junior forward Ashton Calder followed with his second goal of the season later in the second period. Calder's goal would prove to be the game winner.
• Sophomore transfer Brandon Puricelli capped off the game's scoring with his first goal as a Laker at 1:04 of the third period to make it a 5-3 game. With an assist earlier in the game, Puricelli recorded his first career multi-point game.
• Freshman defensemen Jacob Bengtsson (1A) and Jeremy Gervais (2A) each registered their first collegiate point in Friday's game. With a pair of assists, Gervais recorded his first career multi-point game as well.
• 11 Lakers notched at least a point in the game on Friday (Riedell, Jacob Bengtsson, Dustin Manz, Puricelli, Miura, Jacob Nordqvist, Calder, Jeffers, Hampus Eriksson, Jeremy Gervais, and Louis Boudon). Four Lakers had two points in the game (Riedell, Puricelli, Miura, Gervais).
• Senior goaltender Mareks Mitens made 21 saves on 24 shots against the Adrian Bulldogs on Friday to secure his second win of the season.
• On Sunday, the Lakers traveled to Adrian, Mich. to take on the Bulldogs, marking Lake Superior State's first time on the road this season. Sophomore forward Louis Boudon got the Lakers on the board at 1:21 of the first period with a redirection of a shot by senior captain Lukas Kaelble. Boudon is currently in the midst of a three game point streak.
• For four consecutive periods (all three periods on Friday and the first period on Sunday), the Lakers scored in the opening two minutes of the frame.
• At 13:41 of the second period, Calder would net the game winning goal for the second straight game and bring his goal streak up to three games. Calder also assisted on the game's opening goal, giving him back-to-back games with multiple points.
• Mitens started in goal for the Lakers on Sunday, stopping 15 of the 16 shots he faced in the game to earn his second win of the season.
• Freshman goaltender Ethan Langenegger entered the game at the start of the third period, marking his first collegiate appearance. Langenegger stopped all five shots he faced to lead the Lakers to the victory.

Players of the Week/Month                                                                                                                                                                                 

• On Thursday, Dec. 3, Ashton Calder was named WCHA Forward of the Month for his play in the month of November. Calder led all WCHA players in points with five (3G, 2A). Calder scored back-to-back game winning goals for the Lakers and was tied for first among all NCAA skaters in game winning goals (2) in November.
• On Thursday, Dec. 3, Will Riedell was named WCHA Defenseman of the Month for his play in the month of November. Riedell led all WCHA defenseman in points (3) and was tied for second in points among all NCAA defensemen. Among WCHA defensemen, Riedell was tied for first in goals (1) and assists (2) while also ranking second in plus/minus (+4).
• On Thursday, Dec. 3, Mareks Mitens was named WCHA Goaltender of the Month for his play in the month of November. Mitens allowed five goals over the course of four games for the Lakers, posting a 2-0-1 record which included his sixth career shutout on Nov. 21 in a 0-0 tie against Michigan Tech. Among WCHA goaltenders in the month of November, the senior netminder ranked first in minutes played (204:33), first in saves made (77), first in shots faced (82), first in wins (2), and tied for first in shutouts (1). 
• On Monday, Nov. 23, Mareks Mitens was named WCHA Goaltender of the Week for his play in the Lakers series against Michigan Tech on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22. Mitens stopped 41 of the 42 shots he faced from the Huskies and recorded his sixth career shutout in the team's 0-0 tie on Nov. 21. The senior goalie finished the weekend with a 0.57 goals against average and a .976 save percentage.

Lakers vs. Alabama Huntsville                                                                                           

• The Lakers and the UAH Chargers will meet for the first time this season and the first time since Feb. 2020. The two teams are scheduled to meet in conference play on Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
• Junior transfer forward Jack Jeffers played for the Chargers for two seasons (2018-20) and recorded 26 points (13G, 13A) in 71 games.
• In the all-time series between the two teams, the Lakers hold the advantage in the series against the Chargers with a 15-7-4 record

Scouting the Chargers                                                                                                                                                      

• Alabama Huntsville has a new head coach for the first time in seven seasons as alum Lance West – who is the sixth head coach in program history – takes over after serving as an assistant coach for two seasons. West has been assistant coach for UAH for a combined total of 12 seasons in his career, after playing 106 career games as a Charger with 108 points on 43 goals and 65 assists from 1991-95.
• The Chargers have played two games this season both against Robert Morris. UAH was defeated by scores of 5-2 and 4-3 in the series.
• UAH junior forward Tyr Thompson leads the team in goals (2), assists (1) and points (3) through the team's first two games of the season. Freshman forward Tyrone Bronte, who was named WCHA Rookie of the Month for November, leads the Chargers with three assists.
• Each of the Chargers three goalies saw action during the series at Robert Morris, with freshman Derek Krall playing the most time with 58:57 between the pipes on Sunday with 25 saves. 

Other Information                                                                                      

• Every week Bill Crawford and Matt Pocket 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 live every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. on ESPN 1400. 
• All Laker home and away games 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