Game Notes

For Starters                        

• Lake Superior State will host the Bemidji State Beavers for a Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) series this weekend at the Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The series between the Lakers and the Beavers will open on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7:07 p.m. and conclude on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 6:07 p.m.
• Last weekend, the Lakers played their first conference road series of the season as the team traveled to Houghton, Mich. to play the Michigan Tech Huskies. The Lakers posted a 3-2 overtime win against the then-ranked No. 18 Huskies on Friday night and split the CCHA series with Michigan Tech following a 2-0 loss on Saturday night. The Lakers seven game unbeaten streak came to a close with the loss as the team's overall record sits at 7-4-1 and 3-1-0 in conference play this season. 
• The Lakers return to the ice following 19-7-3 overall record during the 2020-21 season and a 9-5-0 WCHA record as the team finished the regular season second in the WCHA standings and earned the Jeff Sauer Trophy as the Lakers won a conference championship for the first time since the 1994-95 season. With the conference championship title, the Lakers received an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and fell to eventual national champion, UMass, in the opening round of the tournament.
• In both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey polls this week, the Lakers received votes. Lake Superior State earned 46 votes in the USCHO poll and four votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll. This week's polls mark the 24thstraight poll, dating back to Nov. 23, 2020, that the Lakers have received votes in at least one of the two national polls (USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey).
• Lakers Head Coach Damon Whitten enters his eighth season behind the bench in Sault Ste. Marie in 2021-22. In May 2021, Whitten agreed to terms on a six-year contract, solidifying the program through the 2027-28 season. The Laker head coach has led the team to a 107-137-27 record, with playoff appearances in all but one season. Whitten recorded his 100th career win as a head coach on Oct. 2 with the Lakers 4-3 victory over No. 17 Omaha.

Last Weekend Recap                        

• In Friday's 3-2 overtime win against the No. 18 Huskies, the Lakers trailed by a goal after the first period of play. Junior forward Logan Jenuwine scored his first goal as a Laker at 16:21 of the second period to tie the game at one. Joshua Wildauer and Dustin Manz tallied the assists on the Laker goal. With the secondary assist, Manz extended his point streak to three games. 
• Michigan Tech took a 2-1 lead at 4:29 of the third period but the Lakers responded in the same minute of play to tie the game for the second time. Senior defenseman Jacob Nordqvist scored his third goal of the season, tying his previous season-high to make it a 2-2 game. Sophomore defenseman Jacob Bengtsson and Jenuwine registered the assists on the goal. With the assist, Jenwuine notched his first multi-point game as a Laker and extended his point streak to three games. 
• Only :32 seconds into overtime, junior forward Brandon Puricelli scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season to give the Lakers the win. Puricelli's goal was his second game winner of the season, with both coming in overtime. Junior forward Louis Boudon tallied the lone assist on the goal for his team-leading 17th point of the season. 
• Sophomore goaltender Ethan Langenegger stopped a career-best 42 shots, including 18 saves in the second period, in the win for the Lakers as he posted his career-best third win of the season. 
• The Lakers dropped a 2-0 decision to the Huskies in Saturday night's game to post a split in the series. Michigan Tech scored a pair of power play goals in the first period to record the win over the Lakers. 
• Laker junior netminder Seth Eisele made 29 saves against the Huskies in the game. 

Lakers vs. Bemidji State              

• The Lakers and Bemidji State Beavers will meet for the first time this season as the two CCHA opponents will play their first of two conference series scheduled for 2021-22. The pair of conference rivals will meet again in Bemidji, Minn. on Jan. 7-8 for a CCHA series. 
• Last season, the Lakers and Beavers met on five occasions with the teams splitting the series by a 2-2-1 record. Bemidji won the first game of the season series and the two teams tied the following night. Later in the season, the Lakers would fall in overtime in a road game to the Beavers and respond the following day with a 5-2 win. The final meeting of the season between the pair came on March 19, 2021 as the Lakers recorded a 4-1 win in the WCHA Semifinals. 
• In the all-time series between the two teams, the Lakers hold the advantage by an overall record of 36-33-6 against the Beavers. 

Scouting the Beavers              

• Bemidji State is led by Tom Serratore, who is in his 21st season as the head coach of the Beavers. 
• Through eight games this season, the Beavers sit at a .500 record with a 4-4-0 overall record and a 3-1-0 mark in CCHA play. Bemidji State is coming off a bye week and most recently played a home series against Bowling Green. The Beavers dropped the first game by a score of 3-2 and responded with a 2-1 win the following night to split the pair of fames. 
• The Beavers have three skaters tied for the team lead in points this season with seven apiece. Alex Ierullo (4G, 3A), Lukas Sillinger (2G, 5A), and Owen Sillinger (1G, 6A) share the lead through BSU's first eight games of the season. Tyler Kirkup's five goals lead the Beavers. 
• In goal, Bemidji State is led by the duo of Gavin Enright and Mattias Sholl. Enright has started three games for the Beavers, posted a .929 save percentage and a 2.37 goals against average. Sholl has started four contests, posting a .919 save percentage and a 2.43 goals against average. 
• This season, Bemidji has combined for a 14.8 power play percentage (4-for-27) and a 79.3 success rate on the penalty kill (6-for-29). 

In the Polls                        

• In both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey polls this week, the Lakers received votes. Lake Superior State earned 46 votes in the USCHO poll and four votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll.
• The 2021-22 week four poll marks the 24th straight poll, dating back to Nov. 23, 2020, that the Lakers have received votes in at least one of the two national polls (USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey).
• Last season, the Lakers were nationally ranked on nine occasions and peaked at the No. 13 spot in both polls on March 22.
• In the CCHA Preseason Coaches Poll, Lake Superior State was picked to finish in the sixth spot, receiving 45 total points.

Keys to Success                                  

• The Laker hockey team has had two of the program's best seasons in the last 25 years in the span of the last three seasons, and have the records to prove it. LSSU posted a 56-43-9 overall record since the start of the 2018-19 season through the close of the 2020-21 season, which is the 11th most in all of Division I hockey in that span.
• The Lakers have been a solid road team in the last three years, posting a 12-6-0 record in 2018-19 and an 8-2-0 record last year. During the 2020-21 season, the Lakers were the last Division I program with an undefeated road record. The Lakers open the 2021-22 season with a 2-4-0 road record with all six road contests coming against ranked programs.
• Six of the team's last eight wins over ranked opponents have come on the road (No. 12 Bowling Green, Feb. 12-13, 2021; No. 18 Michigan Tech, Feb. 16, 2021; No. 17 Bemidji State, March 3, 2021; No. 13/12 Bemidji State, March 19, 2021; No. 17 Omaha, Oct. 2, 2021; No. 18 Michigan Tech, Nov. 5, 2021).
• Since the start of the 2018-19 season, the Lakers have combined for a 37-6-3 record when scoring the game's first goal.
• Another key to the Lakers success in recent years (since the 2018-19 season) has been the team's ability to preserve a lead as Lake Superior State has posted a 28-1-3 record when leading after the first period and a 41-1-0 record when heading into the third period with the score advantage. Last year, the Lakers recorded a 13-0-1 record when notching the game's opening goal, a 10-0-1 record when leading after one period, and a 12-0-0 record when leading after two periods of play.
• The Laker offense has been hot to start the 2021-22 season, with the team averaging 3.50 goals a game, which ranks second among all CCHA teams. Through 12 games this season, the Lakers have posted the most points in the NCAA (121).
• Lake Superior State's power play ranks tied for 11th in the nation heading into this weekend's series as it is running at a 25.9 percentage. The team has scored 15 power play goals this season, which is two more goals than the team's total from the 2020-21 season. The Lakers have scored the third highest among of power play goals in the NCAA this season.

Career Years                                          

• Through the first 12 games of the season, a number of Lakers have bested their previous season-high totals in various offensive categories. 
• Sophomore defenseman Jacob Bengtsson has set new season-highs in assists (10) and points (11) through the first 12 games of the season. As a freshman, Bengtsson posted two goals and five assists for seven points in 28 games played. 
• Junior forward Logan Jenuwine has set new career highs in assists (4) and points (5). During the 2019-20 season at Arizona State, Jenuwine totaled four points (3G, 1A) in 10 games. 
• Junior forward Dustin Manz set a new season-high in goals this season with three. In both his freshman and sophomore seasons, Manz scored two goals. 
• • Senior forward Miroslav Mucha has tied his previous season-high in assists with nine through the first 12 games of the season. Last season, Mucha recorded nine assists in 29 games for the Lakers. 
• • Junior forward Brandon Puricelli has set new season-highs in power play goals (3) and game winning goals (2). Both of Puricelli's game winning goals this season have come in overtime. 
• • Sophomore forward Joshua Wildauer has set new season-highs in goals (1), assists (2) and points (3) through 12 games. Wildauer posted one assist in 13 games as a freshman. 
• • Sophomore defenseman Artyom Borshyov has totaled two assists this season to set season-highs in both assists and points. In 13 games as a freshman, the defenseman did not record any points. 
• • Sophomore defenseman Jeremy Gervais has posted four assists in six games this season setting new season-highs in both assists (4) and points (4). In 16 games as a freshman, Gervais totaled two assists.
• • Junior goaltender Seth Eisele has set new season-highs in games played (6), games started (6) and wins (4) while sophomore netminder Ethan Langenegger has set new season-highs in starts (6) and wins (3). 

Balanced Attack                                  

• 20 Lakers have notched at least a point this season and nine have recorded six or more points through the first 12 games of the season. Boudon, Puricelli, Roy, Mucha, and Bengtsson have all surpassed the double digit total in points this season.
• 15 skaters have scored a goal for the Lakers this season and the team's seven game winning goals have been scored by six different players (Bengtsson, Boudon, Puricelli, Tritt, Bakos, Oliver).
• 10 Lakers rank in the top 40 scorers in the CCHA heading into the seventh week of the season (Boudon, Roy, Puricelli, Mucha, Bengtsson, Nixon, Nordqvist, Tritt, Manz, Bakos). Five Lakers make up the top-10 CCHA point scorers this season and the top three point leaders in the conference are all Lakers (Boudon, Puricelli, Roy).
• Lake Superior's skaters will return 43.0% of last season's goal scoring (31 of 86 total goals), and 46.2% of the total points recorded (110 of 238 total points).
• Four of the Lakers top 10 point scorers from last season are back this season (Boudon, Nordqvist, Puricelli, Mucha) and two of the team's top five goal scorers (Puricelli, Boudon).
• Last season the Lakers had 11 players record 10 or more points with five of those skaters returning this season (Boudon, Nordqvist, Puricelli, Mucha, Jeffers).
• The Lakers 19 game winning goals during the 2021-22 season were scored by 11 different players - with seven of those players returning to the lineup this year.

Anchored Down                                            

• Heading into the 2020-21 season, the Lakers return a strong back end presence as the team's defensemen combine for 336 career collegiate games played while adding 19 goals, and 83 assists for a total of 104 points.
• Seniors Jacob Nordqvist and Mitchell Oliver bring the most experience to the back end for the Lakers, while juniors Arvid Henrikson and Jake Willets will also be relied on for the Lakers. Sophomores Jacob Bengtsson, Artyom Borshyov, and Jeremy Gervais round out the returning defensemen for the Lakers.
• Nordqvist, who finished his junior season with 15 points (3G, 12A) in 29 games, leads all Lakers in career games played with 114. The Swedish defenseman ranks second among all active Lakers in career points with 53 (11G, 42A) and leads all active Laker defensemen in career points.
• Last weekend against Michigan Tech, the Laker assistant captain notched his seventh point of the season with the game-tying goal in Friday's 3-2 overtime win. After a three-point performance against St. Thomas on Oct. 15 & 16, Nordqvist was named the CCHA Defenseman of the week.
• Oliver played in 25 games for the Lakers during the 2020-21 season and set new career highs in goals (3), points (10), power play goals (2) and game winning goals (1). The defenseman finished his junior season with a double digit point total for the first time in his career while also ranking fourth on the team in blocked shots (28).
• This season, Oliver has tallied two goals and one assist in 12 games this season. Oliver's most recent point was the game winning goal in the team's 7-1 win over St. Lawrence on Oct. 30. Both of Oliver's goals this season have come on the power play. 
• Willets brings 63 games of previous collegiate experience to the Laker roster as he has been a mainstay on Ferris State's defense for the last two seasons. The junior defender has scored six goals in his career, with four coming while on the power play. In nine games this season, Willets has recorded two points (1G, 1A) and scored his first goal as a Laker in the team's 7-4 win over Union on Oct. 22
• As a freshman during the 2019-20 season, Willets led the Bulldogs in points (22) and assists (19), and was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team.
• Junior defenseman Arvid Henrikson has appeared in 78 career games for the Lakers, including all 29 during the 2020-21 season. Last season, Henrikson ranked second on the team, and first among defenseman in blocked shots (31). This season, Henrikson has posted one assist.
• Bengtsson, Borshyov, and Gervais each enter their second season for the Lakers. The trio combined for 57 games played during the 2020-21 season.

Between the Pipes                                  

• The Lakers return the goaltending duo of junior Seth Eisele and sophomore Ethan Langenegger, who combined for a 5-1-0 record last season for the Lakers. Through 12 games this season, the duo has split goaltending duties for the Lakers with each starting six games and combining for a .908 save percentage and a 2.96 goals against average.
• In five games played this season, Eisele has totaled a 2.82 goals against average and a .915 save percentage while recording a 4-2-0 record. Eisele's most recent win came on Oct. 30 in the team's 7-1 win against St. Lawrence.
• Eisele set a new career single-game best in the Lakers 6-1 loss to No. 3 Michigan on Oct. 8 as he stopped 41 shots in the game. The junior goalie's first win of the season on Oct. 2 at No. 17 Omaha, as he made a then career-best 37 saves in the 4-3 overtime victory.
• Sophomore goalie Langenegger earned his first win of the season, and the third of his career, on Oct. 15 in a 3-1 win over the St. Thomas Tommies. In six starts this season, Langenegger has posted a .906 save percentage and a 2.96 goals against average.
• Langenegger set a new single-game high in saves with 42 in the team's 3-2 overtime win at No. 18 Michigan Tech on Nov. 5 as the sophomore recorded his third win of the season, setting a new season-high in wins. 
• Eisele appeared in four games for the Lakers, posting a .912 save percentage and a 2.18 goals against average for the Lakers. The netminder totaled a 3-0-0 record during the 2020-21 season, which included his first career playoff win on March 16 as he stopped 16 shots against Alabama Huntsville to lead the Lakers to the two-game sweep over the Chargers in the WCHA Quarterfinals.
• Langenegger played in six games for the Lakers, registering a 2-1-0 record as a freshman. The Laker goalie finished the season with a .906 save percentage and a 2.27 goals against average.
• Langenegger earned his first collegiate win on Dec. 6, 2020 in a 3-2 win over the UAH Chargers and made his first career start on Feb. 7 against Northern Michigan.

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 12:00 p.m. on ESPN 1400 and can be found on the CCHA website under the podcast section. 
• All Laker home and away conference games during the 2021-22 CCHA season will be available to watch live on FloHockey, the CCHA'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
• Laker tickets are available to purchase at lssulakers.com. Season ticket packages, a 10-game Laker Gold flex plan, and single game tickets are on sale now! For more information on tickets, visit lssulakers.com or call (906) 635-2601.