Game Notes

For Starters                                                                                                                                                                                  

• No. 17 Lake Superior State (17-6-3, 9-5-0 WCHA) will take on the Bemidji State Beavers in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Semifinals on Friday, March 19 at 8:37 p.m. EST in Mankato, Minn. as the winner will advance to the Championship on Saturday, March 20 at 8:07 p.m. EST.
• Last weekend, the Lakers swept a best-of-three series against the Alabama Huntsville Chargers in the WCHA Quarterfinals with a 6-1 win on Friday night and a 4-1 victory on Saturday at the Taffy Abel Arena.. The Lakers have advanced to the semifinal round for the second time in the last three seasons. 
• Lake Superior State finished the regular season with 27 points in league play, which is tied with the Bowling Green Falcons. The Lakers swept the season series against the Falcons to win the tiebreaker to earn the second seed in the 2021 WCHA Playoffs. 
• It marks the highest regular season finish for Lake Superior State since the 1995-96 season when the team finished tied for first place in the CCHA standings. Lake Superior State's highest finish in the WCHA regular season standings was fourth place in 2018-19. It marks the second time since joining the WCHA that the Lakers have hosted a playoff series (2018-19). 
• Since Feb. 1, the Lakers have compiled an 11-3-0 overall record and two of the team's three losses have come in overtime. 
• For the eighth time this season, the Lakers are nationally ranked as LSSU holds the No. 17 spot in the USCHO poll.  The Lakers have not been ranked 17th or higher since Dec. 9, 2013 when Lake Superioer also held the No. 17 spot. For the 17th straight week, the Lakers have received votes in at least one of the two national polls (USCHO and the USA Today). 
• 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 97-132-27 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 999th all-time win on March 13 against Alabama Huntsville. 

Last Weekend Recap....                                                                                                                     

• It marked the second time in three seasons that the Lakers have swept a WCHA Quarterfinal Series on home ice as the 2018-19 team defeated the Bemidji State Beavers in two games at the Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie. 
• In the opening game of the series against UAH, the Lakers held a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period as junior forward Pete Veillette and sophomore forward Brandon Puricelli each scored for the Lakers. Ashton Calder and Louis Boudon recorded the assists on Veillette's 12th goal of the season. Defensemen Jacob Nordqvist and Will Riedell registered the helpers on Puricelli's goal. 
• The second period saw the Lakers score four unanswered goals after the Chargers netted a goal in the opening minutes. Veillette added his second goal of the game on his second shorthanded goal of the season. 
• Seniors Lukas Kaelble and Alex Ambrosio each notched their first goals of the season to extend the LSSU lead to 5-1. Calder and Boudon each notched their second point of the game with the assists on Kaelble's goal. Nordqvist also added his second point of the contest as he assisted on Ambrosio's goal while Benito Posa added the secondary assist on the Lakers fifth goal in the game. 
• Junior forward Miroslav Mucha capped off the game's scoring in the final minutes of the second period to give the Lakers a 6-1 advantage. Senior forward Hampus Eriksson forced a turnover, notching the lone assist on the goal. 
• Laker goaltender Mareks Mitens stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced in the first forty minutes of play to record his 12th win of the season. Freshman netminder Ethan Langenegger played the third period, stopping the three shots he faced. 
• In Saturday's 4-1 win, the Lakers were propelled by a three goal second period as LSSU scored three power play goals for the first time this season in a single game. Louis Boudon opened the game's scoring in the first minute of the second period as he netted his career-best eighth goal of the season and his fourth power play goal this year. 
• Boudon's goal was set up by Jack Jeffers, who was playing against his former team in UAH, and Eriksson. 
• Defenseman Will Riedell scored his third game winning goal of the season when he notched his sixth goal of the season for the Lakers. Puricelli added his second point of the series with an assist while Eriksson recorded the secondary assist to bring his weekend total up to three points. 
• Hampus Eriksson, who assisted on the first two goals, netted the Lakers third power play goal of the period to record a season-high three points in the game. Mitchell Oliver and Veillette tallied the helpers. 
• Puricelli scored his second goal of the series in the third period to seal the Lakers victory over the Chargers in two games. The goal marked his third point of the weekend and was assisted by his linemate, Dustin Manz. 
• Sophomore goaltender Seth Eisele posted his first career playoff win on Saturday as he stopped 13 shots in the game to lead the Lakers to the two-game sweep.
• 14 Lakers recorded at least a point in the series against the Chargers with eight different skaters recording goals for the Lakers. Hampus Eriksson led the way for the Lakers with four points in the series (1G, 3A). 
• This season, the Lakers power play has gone 13-for-105, totaling a 12.4% success rate while the team's penalty kill has killed off 78 of 94  power play opportunities (83.0%). 

In the Polls                                                                                       

• For the eighth time this season, the Lakers are nationally ranked as LSSU holds the No. 17 spot in the USCHO poll.  The Lakers have not been ranked 17th or higher since Dec. 9, 2013 when Lake Superioer also held the No. 17 spot. For the 17th 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 eight times in the USCHO National Poll, marking the first national ranking for the program since the 2018-19 season. LSSU has spent three weeks in the No. 20 spot, two weeks in the No. 19 spot, and 2 weeks as the No. 18 team. 
• 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.

Comin' in Hot                                                                                        

• Since Feb. 1, the Lakers have compiled an 11-3-0 overall record with only one regulation loss in that span. The 11 wins ties Minnesota State for the most in the nation in that stretch. The Lakers have scored the most goals (47) and points (127) and are tied for the most assists (80) in the NCAA since the start of February.
• Lake Superior State's .712 winning percentage ranks seventh nationally while its 17 wins is tied for fourth-best in the NCAA as of March 15. The Lakers have posted the program's highest win percentage since the 1995-96 season (.775). 
• Lake Superior State finished the regular season with a .688 win percentage in overall play, which ranks 11th in the NCAA, and a .643 win percentage in WCHA competition. The .688% mark is the program's highest since the 1995-96 season and the .643 conference percentage ties the 1999-00 Lakers mark in CCHA play. 
• Defensively, the Lakers rank eighth nationally in goals allowed per game (2.08) and have surrendered two goals or less in 73 percent of games this season (19-of-26). 
• Since Feb. 1, the Lakers have totaled a .786 win percentage which is fourth in the NCAA among teams who have played 10 or more games since then (Minnesota State, Wisconsin, Boston College). The Lakers are tied for first in wins (11) in the NCAA with Minnesota State and Michigan Tech since Feb. 1. 
• Veillette (9G) and Calder (7G) are two of 10 players in the NCAA to score seven or more goals since Feb. 1. Veillette, the Lakers leading goal scorer with 13, ranks second in goal scoring in the NCAA since Feb. 1, trailing only Wisconsin's Cole Caufield. 

Keys to Success                                                                  

• With an 8-2-0 record on the road this season, the Lakers were the last Division I program with an undefeated road record this season. All four of Lake Superior State's ranked wins have been on the road, including three wins in a row at then-No. 12 Bowling Green (Feb. 12-13) and at then-No. 18 Michigan Tech (Feb. 16). The Lakers' fourth ranked win was a 5-2 overtime victory at then-No. 17 Bemidji State on March 3.
• Among teams with 10 or more road games this season in the NCAA, the Lakers have the second best win percentage (.800%), behind only Minnesota. 
• When the Lakers have scored the game's first goal, the team holds a 11-0-1 record this season. LSSU has posted a 8-0-1 record when leading after one period and a perfect 10-0-0 record when leading after two periods of play. 
• Defensively, Lake Superior State ranks eighth nationally in goals allowed per game, surrendering just 2.08 scores per contest this season. The Lakers have surrendered two goals or less in 73 percent of their games this season (19-of-26).
• 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). The 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.
• With a .643 win percentage this season in WCHA play, 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 11 have recorded at least 10 points through the first 26 games of the season. 17 skaters have scored a goal for the Lakers this season with nine of them scoring four or more goals. Two Lakers have 12 or more goals this season (Calder, Veillette). 
• Five Lakers rank in the top-28 scorers in the WCHA heading into the Championship weekend (Calder, Veillette, Boudon, Riedell, Eriksson). 
• The Lakers 17 game winning goals this season have been scored by 11 different players (Bengtsson, Boudon, Calder, Eriksson, Jeffers, Mucha, Oliver, Posa, Puricelli, 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. 

Career Years                                                                                                    

• A number of the players on Lakers roster have posted career-highs in offensive categories this season, even with the abbreviated schedule. 
• With 13 goals this season, Veillette bested his previous high of 12 goals. The junior forward scored two shorthanded goals this season, setting a new career high. 
• In his second collegiate season, Boudon has scored a career-high eight goals, four power play goals, and two game winning goals. 
• Calder has tied his previous season high in goals (12) and set a new season-best in game winning goals with four. 
• Gamelin has set a new personal best in season points with four after tying his previous bests in goals (1) and assists (3). 
• As a senior, Riedell set career highs in goals (6), poower play goals (3), and game winning goals (3). 
• Defenseman Mitchell Oliver has registered bests in goals (3), points (10) and power play goals (2). This season, Oliver scored his first career game winning goal.
• Including his first career shorthanded goal, Miura has netted a career-high four goals this season for the Lakers. 
• Sophomore transfer forward Brandon Puricelli, who played 12 games in his first collegiate season at Minnesota Duluth, has set career-highs in almost every offensive category this season. Puricelli has totaled six goals, six assists, 12 points, two power play goals and a game winning goal. 
•  With five goals, six assists and 11 points this season, junior forward Miroslav Mucha has set new highs in all three categories. Mucha netted his first career game winning goal earlier this season. 

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.
• Among defensemen, two Lakers rank among the top ten in point scorers among their conference peers. Will Riedell is tied for second in the category (6G, 11A) with 17 points and Lukas Kaelble is tied for fifth among defensemen (1G, 12A).
• 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 6-1 win over Alabama Huntsville in Game 1 of the WCHA Quarterfinals as the senior defenseman scored his first goal of the season. 
• Kaelble leads the team in assists this season with 12 and is sixth on the team in points (13). The Laker captain is tied for fifth among all WCHA defensemen in points (13) and is tied for sixth in the WCHA in plus/minus with a +15 rating. 
• The defenseman's next assist will be the 50th of his career, which will make him the 86th Laker all-time to reach the mark. 
• 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. 
• Senior defenseman Will Riedell, who was named to the All-WCHA Second Team, 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 final weekend of WCHA play, Riedell has totaled 12 career multi-point games. 
• With 17 points (6G, 11A) this season, Riedell is tied for second among WCHA defensemen in points and ranks fourth among his teammates in points this year. The defenseman is one of two defensemen in the WCHA with three power play goals this season and is tied for third among all WCHA skaters in game winning goals this season. 
• Since Feb. 1, Riedell is tied for first in the nation in game winning points as the defenseman has tallied six points - either goals or assists - on game winning goals. 
• The alternate captain's most recent goal came on March 13 against Alabama Huntsville in the second game of the WCHA Quarterfinals as Riedell scored the eventual game winning goal on the power play to lead the Lakers to a 4-1 victory and a sweep of the Chargers. The goal, which was Riedell's sixth of the season, set a new season high in goals for the senior. Half of Riedell's goals this season have been game winners. 
• 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. 

Between the Pipes                                                                                                                        

• Senior goaltender Mareks Mitens, who was named to the All-WCHA Second Team, has started 22 games this season for the Lakers, posting a 12-5-3 record with a 1.84 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. In all but three of his 22 appearances this season, Mitens has allowed two or fewer goals. 
• Among WCHA goaltenders this season, Mitens ranks third among WCHA goaltenders in goals against average (1.84), fifth in minutes played (1204:05), fourth in saves (519), and third in save percentage (.933) this season. Mitens ranks ninth nationally in goals against average and seventh nationally in save percentage.
• The Laker goalie is one of nine finalists in the country for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goaltender in Division I hockey.
• Mitens posted a season-high 36 saves in the Lakers 5-2 win against Bemidji State on March 3.  
• 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. Mitens' 31st career win on Feb. 26 at Ferris State gave him sole possession of the tenth spot in program history.  
• 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 in six 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 backstopped the Lakers in the final twenty minutes of the  team's 6-1 win over the Alabama Huntsville Chargers. The freshman goaltender entered the game after Mitens played the first two periods in goal for the Lakers. 
• 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. 
• Most recently, Eisele posted his first career playoff win on March 13 as he stopped 16 shots against UAH to lead the Lakers to the two-game sweep over the Chargers in the Quarterfinals.

2021 Selection Show                                                                                                                                

• On Sunday, March 21, the NCAA Selection Show that will unveil the 16 teams that have made the 2021 National Tournament will air on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m. EST. The show will announce the four regional brackets and the first round match-ups/times.

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