SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Lake Superior State University (LSSU) hockey program has released its full 2023-24 schedule, as announced by head coach Damon Whitten on Thursday.
The Lakers are set to open up the 2023-24 campaign in East Lansing with a two-game series at Michigan State on Oct. 7 and 8. The former Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) rivals will face off for the first time since the 2018 Great Lakes Invitational (GLI) Semifinals where the Lakers came away with a 4-3 victory in overtime before going on to win the GLI the following day. However, this matchup may just be more impactful to the coaches than anyone else as both Head Coach Damon Whitten and Associate Head Coach Mike York are MSU graduates with York later being named to the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015 and currently ranked 12th in program history in scoring with 210 career points (79G, 122A) in 158 games. Meanwhile, Spartan Head Coach Adam Nightingale also helps to continue to bridge the gap between the two programs having played hockey for LSSU from 1999-02 before transferring to MSU, and in Nightingale's final year as a collegiate player at MSU, Whitten served as a volunteer graduate assistant for the Spartans.
LSSU will then return to the Soo for their home-opener on Oct. 13 when they welcome the Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage to the Soo. The Lakers last faced off against the Seawolves in Jan. 2020 when both were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. LSSU won the four-game regular-season series 2-1-1 in that year.
Then, on Oct. 20 the Lakers are set to host the Simon Fraser Red Leafs for an exhibition game with both programs having never officially met on the ice. The Red Leafs are an NCAA Division II institution from Burnaby, B.C., but their ice hockey program currently competes in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League, a five-team club hockey league spread across British Columbia and Washington.
The Lakers will then travel to Upstate New York where they will split the weekend against a pair of ECAC foes. On Friday, Oct. 27, LSSU will take on the Clarkson Golden Knights after splitting a two-game series in Taffy Abel Arena this past season, a 4-3 overtime loss after the Lakers came back from down two goals in the closing minutes with freshman Connor Milburn (Kamloops, B.C.) tying the game with 1.7 seconds remaining in regulation as well as a 5-1 LSSU victory the following day that resulted in captain Louis Boudon (Grenoble, France) being named the CCHA Forward of the Week. After the game, the Lakers will then travel to nearby Canton, N.Y. to close out the weekend against St. Lawrence. LSSU took down the Saints by a score of 7-1 in their last matchup in Oct. 2021, but the most notable meeting between the two programs came in 1988 where a 4-3 Laker victory in overtime gave LSSU their first NCAA National Championship.
The Lakers will open up league play on Nov. 3 when they welcome the Bemidji State Beavers to Taffy Abel Arena. The last time LSSU hosted Bemidji State ended with a Harrison Roy (Lakeville, Mass.) game-winner in the closing seconds of regulation. They will then travel to Marquette, Mich. to begin their battle to reclaim the Cappo Cup on Nov. 10.
The Lakers will also be participating in the 34th annual Ledyard Bank Classic, hosted by Dartmouth College. LSSU will become the first program from the state of Michigan to participate in the event, and they are the first current CCHA member to participate since Bemidji State finished in fourth place in 2012. Matchups will be announced at a later date.
Later in the season, LSSU will do their part to welcome CCHA newcomers, Augustana, to college hockey with a two-game series in the Soo beginning on Friday, Feb. 16. The Augustana Vikings are playing a hybrid league schedule where they will face each CCHA opponent for a single two-game series with the locations being reversed for the 2024-25 season. All contests against the Vikings will not count toward CCHA standings.
The Lakers will close out the regular season with a single game at home against Ferris State on Friday, March. 1 before turning their attention to the CCHA Mason Cup Playoffs.
Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023: Lake Superior State @ Michigan State
Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023: Lake Superior State @ Michigan State
Friday, Oct. 13, 2023: Alaska-Anchorage @ Lake Superior State
Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023: Alaska-Anchorage @ Lake Superior State
Friday, Oct. 20, 2023: Simon Fraser @ Lake Superior State (exhibition)
Friday, Oct. 27, 2023: Lake Superior State @ Clarkson
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023: Lake Superior State @ St. Lawrence
Friday, Nov. 3, 2023: Bemidji State @ Lake Superior State 7:07 P.M.
Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023: Bemidji State @ Lake Superior State 6:07 P.M.
Friday, Nov. 10, 2023: Lake Superior State @ Northern Michigan 7:07 P.M.
Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023: Lake Superior State @ Northern Michigan 6:07 P.M.
Friday, Nov. 17, 2023: Bowling Green @ Lake Superior State 7:07 P.M.
Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023: Bowling Green @ Lake Superior State 6:07 P.M.
Friday, Nov. 24, 2023: Lake Superior State @ St. Thomas 8:07 P.M.
Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023: Lake Superior State @ St. Thomas 7:07 P.M.
Friday, Dec. 1, 2023: Minnesota State @ Lake Superior State 7:07 P.M.
Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023: Minnesota State @ Lake Superior State 6:07 P.M.
Friday, Dec. 8, 2023: Lake Superior State @ Bemidji State 8:07 P.M.
Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023: Lake Superior State @ Bemidji State 7:07 P.M.
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023: Lake Superior State @ Ferris State 6:07 P.M.
Thursday, Dec. 29, 2023: Ledyard Bank Classic @ Dartmouth College, opponent TBD
Friday, Dec. 30, 2023: Ledyard Bank Classic @ Dartmouth College, opponent TBD
Friday, Jan. 12, 2024: Northern Michigan @ Lake Superior State 7:07 P.M.
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024: Northern Michigan @ Lake Superior State 6:07 P.M.
Friday, Jan. 19, 2024: Lake Superior State @ Ferris State 7:07 P.M.
Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024: Ferris State @ Lake Superior State 6:07 P.M.
Friday, Jan. 26, 2024: Michigan Tech @ Lake Superior State 7:07 P.M.
Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024: Michigan Tech @ Lake Superior State 6:07 P.M.
Friday, Feb. 9, 2024: Lake Superior State @ Bowling Green 7:07 P.M.
Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024: Lake Superior State @ Bowling Green 7:07 P.M.
Friday, Feb. 16, 2024: Augustana @ Lake Superior State 7:07 P.M.
Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024: Augustana @ Lake Superior State 6:07 P.M.
Friday, Feb. 23, 2024: Lake Superior State @ Minnesota State 8:07 P.M.
Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024: Lake Superior State @ Minnesota State 7:07 P.M.
Friday, March 1, 2024: Ferris State @ Lake Superior State 7:07 P.M.
All times are listed in EST, and home games are in BOLD.