Game Notes

For Starters                                                                                                                                                                                 

• No. 18 Lake Superior State (12-4-3, 6-3-0 WCHA) will look to extend its five game winning streak this week with a game against the Michigan Tech Huskies on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 2:07 p.m. at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, Mich.  and a road game against the Ferris State Bulldogs on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7:07 p.m. at the Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.
• The Lakers are coming off a 3-1 road win against No. 18 Michigan Tech on Tuesday, Feb. 16 and followed with a home sweep of Alabama Huntsville over the weekend. Lake Superior State would win the opening game by a final score of 2-1, scoring the game winning goal with under ten seconds left in the game, and closed the weekend with a 4-1 win over the Chargers. 
• For the first time since the 2018-19 season, the Lakers have recorded a five game win streak. Dating back to Feb. 12, the Lakers have won five consecutive games, with three victories coming against nationally ranked opponents (No. 12 Bowling Green, No. 18 Michigan Tech). 
• For the fifth time this season, the Lakers are nationally ranked as LSSU holds the No. 18 spot in the USCHO poll. For the 13th straight week, the Lakers have received votes in at least one of the two national polls (USCHO and the USA Today). Previously this season, the Lakers have been ranked four times in the USCHO National Poll (No. 20, No. 19), marking the first national ranking for the program since the 2018-19 season.
• 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 begins his seventh season behind the bench in Sault Ste. Marie in 2020-21. Whitten has led the team to a 92-130-27 record, and playoff appearances in all but one season. 
• The Lake Superior State hockey program is approaching 1,000 all-time wins as the team earned its 993th and 994th all-time wins in the series against the Chargers last weekend. 

Last Weekend Recap                                                                                                             

• In the opening game of the series against Alabama Huntsville, junior defenseman Jacob Nordqvist would tie the game for the Lakers in the third period. Seniors Hampus Eriksson and Lukas Kaelble would record the assists on the goal. 
• With 9.2 seconds left in regulation, senior defenseman Will Riedell netted his first career game winning goal to give the Lakers the victory in regulation. Brandon Puricelli and Nordqvist notched the assists on the power play goal. 
• Senior goaltender Mareks Mitens made nine saves for the Lakers in his 30th career collegiate win. With the win, Mitens is tied for 10th all-time in wins in program history. 
• In Saturday's 4-1 win, the Lakers would trail by a goal before defenseman Mitchell Oliver scored his third goal of the season to tie the game at one. Pete Veillette and Louis Boudon recorded the assists on the goal. 
• Eriksson, who recorded his 60th career point in the win, would score his first game winning goal of the season for the Lakers early in the second period. Eriksson's goal, which was assisted by Miroslav Mucha and Yuki Miura, extended his point streak to four games (2G, 3A). 
• Later in the second period, Boudon scored his sixth goal of the season, which tied his previous season-high to give the Lakers a 3-1 lead. Boudon's goal was assisted by Eriksson and Veillette, giving both forwards two points in the contest. 
• Brandon Puricelli scored an unassisted goal in the third period to clinch the Lakers 12th win of the season. 
• Freshman goaltender Ethan Langenegger got the start in net for the Lakers, and totaled 19 saves in his second career win. 
• For their play in the past week, Eriksson and Nordqvist received WCHA Player of the Week honors with Eriksson being named Forward of the Week and Nordqvist being named Defenseman of the Week. Eriksson was tied for first in points and assists among WCHA skaters as the forward posted four points (1G, 3A) in three games. The senior posted his first multi-point game of the season in the Lakers 4-1 win over UAH on Feb. 20, including the game winning goal. Eriksson's fourth point of the week marked the 60th of his collegiate career. The junior defenseman recorded three points (1G, 2A) including a two point effort in the team's 2-1 win on Feb. 19. Nordqvist scored the game tying goal in the game while adding an assist on the game winner. Nordqvist led all WCHA defensemen in points during the week. 
• This season, the Lakers power play has gone 7-for-69, totaling a 10.1% success rate while the team's penalty kill has killed 69 of 80 power play opportunities (86.2%). 

In the Polls                                                                                       

• For the fifth time this season, the Lakers are nationally ranked as LSSU holds the No. 18 spot in the USCHO poll. For the 13th straight week, the Lakers have received votes in at least one of the two national polls (USCHO and the USA Today). Previously this season, the Lakers have been ranked four times in the USCHO National Poll (No. 20, No. 19), marking the first national ranking for the program since the 2018-19 season.
• In the WCHA Preseason Polls,  Lake Superior State was picked to finish in the sixth spot in both polls, receiving 49  total points in the 2020-21 WCHA Preseason Coaches Poll and 44 total points in the 2019-20 WCHA Preseason Media Poll.

Keys to Success                                                                                        

• With a 6-0-0 record on the road this season, the Lakers are the only remaining Division I program with an undefeated road record this season. Most recently, the Lakers have three consecutive road wins, all against ranked teams (No. 12 Bowling Green, No. 18 Michigan Tech). 
• When the Lakers have scored the game's first goal, the team holds a 7-0-1 record this season. LSSU has posted a 6-0-1 record when leading after one period and a perfect 6-0-0 record when leading after two periods of play. 
• The team's current five game win streak began with a road sweep of the then-ranked No. 12 Bowling Green Falcons. With a 2-1 win in overtime in Friday's game and a 5-2 victory on Saturday night, the Lakers earned a sweep over a ranked team for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Lakers, the road team in that series, swept then-ranked No. 16 Union by final scores of 6-5 (OT) on Friday, Oct. 18 and 3-2 on Saturday, Oct. 19.
• For the first time since the 2018-19 season, the Lakers have recorded a five game win streak (12/17/2018 - 1/11/2019, 8 wins). 
• With a .711 win percentage this season, the Lakers rank second among WCHA teams in the category, trailing only Minnesota State.

Balanced Attack                                                                                        

• 21 Lakers have notched at least a point this season and nine players have recorded at least 10  points through the first 19 games of the season. 14 skaters have scored a goal for the Lakers this season with seven of them scoring four or more goals. 
• The Lakers 12 game winning goals this season have been scored by eight different players (Calder, Boudon, Eriksson, Jeffers, Mucha, Oliver, Riedell, Veillette). 
• 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.
• Heading into the 2020-21 season, the returning Laker defensemen combine for 357 career collegiate games played while adding 22 goals, and 94 assists for a total of 116 points.
• Heading into the game against the Huskies, three Laker defensemen rank among the top ten point scorers among their conference peers (Riedell, Kaelble, Nordqvist). 
• Senior defenseman Lukas Kaelble, the Laker captain, has recorded 12 multi-point games in his career, including three this season. Most recently, the defenseman posted a two assist game at Northern Michigan on Jan. 8 in the Lakers 4-1 win. Kaelble's most recent point came in the Lakers 2-1 win against Alabama Huntsville as he assisted on the Lakers first goal. 
• Kaelble leads the team in assists this season with 11 and is fifth on the team in points (11). The Laker captain is tied for seventh among all WCHA defensemen in points (11) and ranks first among WCHA defenders in assists per game (0.65). 
• The senior strung together a three game point streak (0-5-5) earlier this season, spanning from Nov. 29 at Adrian to Dec. 6 against UAH, and heads into the series against the Falcons with four assists in his last four games. 
• Kaelble was awarded the team's Most Valuable Defenseman at the close of the 2019-20 season. The defenseman 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. 
• Senior defenseman Will Riedell scored his first goal of the season on Nov. 27 in the Lakers 5-3 win over Adrian College and would add an assist later in the game to record his first multi-point game of the season. Riedell's third and fourth multi-point games of the season career came in the Feb. 6-7 series against Northern Michigan as he posted one goal and three assists in the pair of games. Heading into the game against Michigan Tech, Riedell has totaled 12 career multi-point games. 
• Most recently, Riedell scored a power play goal with 9.2 seconds left in regulation in a 1-1 game against UAH on Feb. 19. Riedell's fourth goal of the season would mark the first game winner for the senior defenseman. 
• With 13 points (4G, 9A) this season, Riedell is tied for second among WCHA defensemen in points and also ranks second among WCHA defensemen in points per game (0.68).
• On Monday, Feb. 8, Will Riedell was named WCHA Defenseman of the Week for his play in the Lakers home series against Northern Michigan on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7. Ridell led all WCHA defensemen in points (4) with a goal and three assists in the pair of games. Riedell assisted on Saturday's game tying and game winning goal and followed on Sunday with a goal scored with 1:01 left in the game to bring the Lakers within a goal of the Wildcats. The senior defenseman recorded the primary assist on the game tying goal with 12 seconds left in the game. 
• 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).
• 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. 
• This season, the Swedish defenseman has ten points (2G, 8A) in 19 games played and is the reigning WCHA Defenseman of the Week with three points (1G, 2A) in the last week. Nordqvist is currently tied for eighth place among WCHA defensemen in points. 
• Oliver competed in 38 games for the Lakers last season and recorded eight assists.  In his first game back into the lineup this season following an off-season injury, Oliver scored the shootout winning goal in the fifth round of the Lakers 2-2 tie against UAH on Dec. 5. The junior defender scored his first career goal, which proved to be the game winning goal, in the Lakers 4-1 win over the NMU Wildcats on Jan. 8. Oliver added an assist in the game to record his first multi-point game of the season and the second of his career. 
• Oliver scored his second career goal in the Lakers 5-4 overtime win and two of his three career goals have been scored on the power play. Most recently, Oliver added a goal in the team's 4-1 win on Feb. 20. Through 15 games this season, Oliver has notched three goals and three assists for six points. 
• 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 has started 16 games this season for the Lakers, posting an 8-3-3 record with a 1.74 goals against average and a .938 save percentage. In all but two of his 16 appearances this season, Mitens has allowed two or fewer goals. 
• Among WCHA goaltenders this season, Mitens ranks second in save percentage (.938), third in goals against average (1.74), fifth in minutes played (864:14), and fourth in saves (380).
• The senior netminder earned his 30th career win on Feb. 19 in a 2-1 win over the Alabama Huntsville Chargers which ties him for 10th all-time in program history with Gordon Defiel. 
• For his play in the series against the Falcons on Feb. 12-13, Mitens was named the WCHA's Goaltender of the Week. Mitens totaled 120:17 minutes in goal for the Lakers as he stopped 61 of the 64 shots he faced from Bowling Green. The 61 saves ranked second among all WCHA netminders during the week and Mitens recorded a 1.50 goals against average and a .953 save percentage in the series. 
• Freshman goaltender Ethan Langenegger has played five games for the Lakers this season, including his first career appearance on Nov. 29 against Adrian and his first career start on Feb. 7 against Northern Michigan. Langenegger earned his first colleigiate win on Dec. 6 against Alabama Huntsville as the freshman goalie played the final twenty minutes of the 3-2 game.
• Most recently, Langenegger led the Lakers to a 4-1 win over the Alabama Huntsville Chargers on Feb. 20 as the freshman goalie made 19 saves for his second career win. 
• Sophomore goaltender Seth Eisele entered the game for the Lakers at the start of the third period on Nov. 22 against Michigan Tech anad 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. 
• Eisele made his first career start on Feb. 6 against Northern Michigan and stopped 29 shots he faced in the game for his second career win. 
• For his play in the Lakers series against Northern Michigan on Jan. 2 and 3,  Mitens was named the WCHA  Goaltender of the Week, his third league award of the season. The senior goalie stopped 59 of the 62 shots he faced from the NMU Wildcats to record a 1.50 goals against average and a .952 save percentage in the series. Mitens led all WCHA netminders in both goals against average and save percentage over the weekend, and was one of two goaltenders in the league this week to record two wins. 
• 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). 
• Mitens was awarded the WCHA's Goaltender of the Week award for his play against Michigan Tech on Nov. 21-22, 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. 

Lakers vs. Michigan Tech                                                                                      

• The Lakers and Michigan Tech Huskies will play each other for their final meeting of the regular season, after the two teams played each other in a non-conference series to open the 2020-21 season on Nov. 21 and 22 in Sault Ste. Marie and a single WCHA game last Tuesday, Feb. 16 in Houghton, Mich. 
• Last Tuesday, the Lakers recorded a 3-1 win as Benito Posa, Ashton Calder, and Yuki Miura each netted a goal for the Lakers. Mitens stopped 35 shots in the game to seal the Lakers 10th win of the season. 
• In the non-conference series, the Lakers and the Huskies played to a 0-0 tie in the opening gam and the Lakers earned a 4-1 win in the second game of the series.
• Last season, the teams played each other four times, with the Huskies winning three of the games. The Huskies swept the opening series of the 2019-20 season by scores of 4-2 and 2-1. The Lakers responded with a 7-3 win at Michigan Tech in the opening game of the Winter Carnival series and the Huskies closed out the weekend with a win in overtime.
• Calder (5G, 4A) leads all current Lakers in career points against Michigan Tech. Riedell (8A) and Veillette (3G, 4A) round out the top three LSSU point scorers against the Huskies. 
• Mitens has started 11 games against the Huskies in his career and holds a 4-4-2 record against them. In the non-conference series against Michigan Tech, Mitens posted his sixth career shutout in a 0-0 tie and Seth Eisele recorded his first career win in the second game of the series.
• In the all-time series between the two teams, the Huskies hold the advantage in the series against the Lakers with a 49-28-7 record.

Scouting the Huskies                                                                                                                                                    

• Michigan Tech is led by Joe Shawhan, who is in his fourth season as head coach of the Huskies. Shawhan, who is a Sault Ste. Marie native and attended LSSU, served as assistant coach at Lake Superior State from 2005-08.
• Shawhan was a goaltender for the Lakers from 1982-87, and totaled 1,130 saves in his career. He led the CCHA in both goals against average and save percentage during the 1985-86 season and left the program tied for first all-time in career GAA in 3.83.
• Offensively, the Huskies are led by junior forward Trenton Bliss, who leads his team with 20 points this season (10G, 10A). Junior forward Alec Broetzman ranks second on the team in goals with nine and points (16) this season. 
• Michigan Tech has seven players with at least 10 points this season, includng freshman forward Arvid Caderoth. Caderoth leads the Huskies in assists with 12.
• In goal, sophomore goaltender Blake Pietila has led the way for the Huskies posting an 11-5-0 record in his 18 appearances this season. Pietila has posted a 1.71 goals against average and a .935 save percentage for Michigan Tech.
• Through 23 games, Michigan Tech's special teams have combined for a penalty kill percentage of 88.5% (54-for-61) while the power play is running at a 20.5% (15-for- 73) success rate.

VOTE FOR HOBEY                                                                                                

• Three Lakers - Ashton Calder, Lukas Kaelble, and Mareks Mitens - have been nominated for the 2021 Vote for Hobey Baker. Awarded annually to college hockey's top player, the Hobey Baker's tremendously popular fan-voting will run from now until Sunday, March 7 at midnight. College hockey fans can cast their vote by going to the voting website; https://www.hobeybaker.com/vote.

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