Laker Hockey 2009-10

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Okay now that the roster is out i am going to modify my take on what i think would be good lines combinations.

Macvoy-Cassiani-Barczuk

This line would bring a lot of energy and a lot of physicality. These are the 3 hardest working forwards on the team and with 2 of our top 3 offensive players in Macvoy and Cassiani this line should put up some points, especially if Barczuk contributes more offensively than he did last year.

Acton-Schofield-Monardo

Schofield and Acton have played together for the last 2 years so chemistry should not be an issue. Monardo averaged a goal and an assisit a game in the OJHL so he hopefully will turn into a consistent playmaker that i think Schofield needs to put up steady numbers. Schofield has great hands and Acton has shown flashes of goal scoring ability but they both seem to be either hot or cold, if Monardo can be a catalyst on this line i think you would see Rick and Will's point totals go way up.

Scrymgeour-Cooper-Aubry

Positionally they could flip Cooper and Aubry if need be, as they are the 2 best face-off men on the team. Cooper is a decent playmaker so if Aubry and Scrymgeour can capitalize on scoring chances and this line could chip in a couple of goals every weekend and play a solid two way game this would give the Lakers a big boost.

Hobbins-Mcparland-Nehring

As many of you know, I don't even think Hobbins should be on the team, much less at forward, but that is where he is listed and unfortunately the coaches seem devoted to play him so i had to stick him somewhere....If he and Nehring can play physical and Mcparland can chip in offensively once in a while that is about the best that can be expected from these guys. As long as this line could just not give up a goal and give the top 3 lines a rest a few times a period, they're efforts would be considered a success.

Kaunisto-Gysbers

These two are team leaders and are very adequate offensive defenseman....These guys are the ones who really need to take the reins on the power play if that unit is going to improve. Gysbers in particular needs to improve on keeping the puck in the zone and it is important that when these 2 pinch in that they make sure they get back in time so they don't give up a home run the other way.

Haines-Trotman

Haines made great strides last season and looks to be a valuble asset to the team. Trotman is supposed to be big and quite strong from what i have heard and is probably our most highly touted recruit in a few seasons. Hopefully he doesnt dissapoint.

Stonehouse-Cowie

These two make their fair share of mistakes but they are more than capable of being a serviceable number 3 pairing. Neither is overly fast so smart defensive decisions are a must. If Stonehouse can get his shot on net consistently it is not too much to expect 5-7 goals out of him this season.

BMW should be the starter, he is the more consistent goalie hands down. His biggest flaw is that he is very shaky in a shootout situation, if he could improve in those we could pick up 4-5 more points from there alone.

I'm not sure if Hobbins will be back at forward this season. He could be, but he played better at D last season than forward the year before. If he's worked hard in the off season on leg strength and has added a little speed, I could see him moving back to forward. Otherwise I think he'll stay on D. (I could also see him playing in front of the net on the PP).

I expect Power to be on one of the four main lines. McParland may need some time to shake the rust off. We should know pretty early about that. He could turn out to be a very good player if the year off didn't hurt him too much.

[Neil Diamond]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Anyone know if McParland is related to the head coach of Nippising?

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Anyone know if McParland is related to the head coach of Nippising?

Nick McParland is from Schreiber (North shore of Lake Superior). Mike McParland (Ni****ing coach) is a native of North Bay, so it wouldn't appear they are related. I suppose it's possible that Mike is Nick's uncle, but I haven't heard or read anything to indicate that.

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Check out the "By the Numbers: Your All Time Roster" thread. For the Lakers, I posted some of my all time favorites. Other Laker fans undoubtedly would have made some different choices. Here is what I posted there:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a tough call in many cases, but here’s my shot for Lake Superior State. I’ve excluded current players, who haven’t finished their Laker careers yet:

1. Jeff Jakaitis
2. Mark Vichorek
3. Kord Cernich (alt Steve Barnes)
4. Tom Davies (alt Keith Aldridge)
5. Michael Smith (alt Rene Chapdelaine or Bill Slewidge)
6. Rick Comley (alt Chris Dahlquist)
7. Mark Astley
8. Mike Morin (alt Tim Harris)
9. Jim Dowd (alt Jamie McDonald or Wayne Strachan)
10. Gerald Tallaire (alt Claude Boileau)
11. Doug Weight/Brian Rolston, tie (alt Jim Wiley or Bates Battaglia)
12. Sean Tallaire (alt Julio Francella or Steve Mulholland)
13. Brad Willner
14. Clayton Beddoes (alt Mike DeCarle or Randy McArthur)
15. Jeff Jablonski (alt Terry Marchant)
16. Tim Breslin (alt Rob Valicevic)
17. Jeff Napierala
18. Steve Sherman
19. Kim Gellert (alt John Hendry)
20. Bob Ciotti (alt Paul Jerrard)
21. Pete Stauber (alt Kurt Miller)
22. Mike Matteucci (alt Dan Keczmer)
23. Sandy Moger (alt Mark Vermette)
24. Anthony Palumbo
25. Nick Palumbo
26. Derek R Smith
27. Dean Dyer
28. Josh Sim
29.
30. Bruce Hoffort (alt Darrin Madeley)
31. Blaine Lacher
32.
33.
34.
35. Pat Timms

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Colin Campbell had a hat trick today in a Vaughan 6-3 win.

[Laker Prof]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Less than 2 weeks till the puck drops on the 2009-2010 season. So where does everyone see the Lakers finishing? From as high as you think they can finish to as low they can finish.

I say they can finish as high as 6 and as low as 10. Somewhere in the middle but they must get off to a decent start with all their home games early.

Comments???

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Less than 2 weeks till the puck drops on the 2009-2010 season. So where does everyone see the Lakers finishing? From as high as you think they can finish to as low they can finish.

I say they can finish as high as 6 and as low as 10. Somewhere in the middle but they must get off to a decent start with all their home games early.

Comments???

I can see them finishing as high as 5th or 6th, or as low as 10th or 11th. I think the key will be goaltending. They lost way too many 1 goal games last season that they could have won with better goaltending. Not that either goalie was statistically all that bad (in fact both improved from the prior season), but both goalies had a tendency to give up a soft goal here and there, and that proved costly given how many close games the Lakers were involved in.

Obviously you never know how the new guys will do. We'll have several new forwards this season and will need some production from them to replace the numbers from Schwab and Sim. And losing Kellan Lain and Kyle Jean to injury doesn't help. I get the feeling Lain may not play at all this season although there is some hope he could be ready after the holidays. And Jean will be playing in Juniors again once his shoulder heals enough.

[sm2pk]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

The coaches and media will be picking their choices and I have a feeling the Lakers will be picked in the bottom three.

[jnacc]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Not much love from the blogger from Western College hockey

Link
http://www.westerncollegehockeyblog....season-preview

Sadly, I have to agree with him, especially the point about recruting from Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Perhaps the Lakers can over-achieve this year and finish 6th or 7th but I say a 9th to 10th place spot is far more likely.

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Any pre-season polls are going to have the Lakers near the bottom of the CCHA. That will continue to be the case until the Lakers show they deserve better by their on ice performance. I don't expect any surprises in the polls.

[Mogerfan]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Not much love from the blogger from Western College hockey

Link
http://www.westerncollegehockeyblog....season-preview

Sadly, I have to agree with him, especially the point about recruting from Ontario and Saskatchewan.

I agree with him in theory, even though what he says is sort of opposite of what happened last year. Last year we were middle of the pack (6th) in conference scoring, but couldn't keep the puck out of the net (tied for 10th in conference goals against).

After losing 3 of our 4 leading scorers, we'll have to dial back the goals against this year, or things could get ugly.

[sm2pk]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

When do they have the coaches and media luncheon to give their predictions on the upcoming season?

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

When do they have the coaches and media luncheon to give their predictions on the upcoming season?

Not sure, but I would guess next week.

The Laker Hockey show is supposed to be streamed next Monday evening. 6:00 PM I think, on Talk Radio 1400. Paul VanWaggoner has also set up a chat room that allows you to ask questions for Jim Roque ,for the show: http://forum4.aimoo.com/LSSUlakersli...ussion-1-37677. You'll need to create a User ID for the chat room if you want to participate.

[DopeyBaker]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

CCHA to use new scoring system:

http://lssulakers.com/sports/m-hocke.../points_system

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

From the Laker Hockey Show:

Initial line combos are:

MacVoy-Cassiani-McParland
Acton-Schofield-Power
Cooper (Brad)- Scrymgeour-Hobbins
Barczuk-Aubrey-Nehring

Kaunisto-Gysbers
Haines-Stonehouse
Cowie-Trotman

Roque said he has made a commitment to the upperclassmen to try and play them out of the gate. Hobbins is back to playing forward, at least to start the season.

Kyle Jean should be playing pretty soon in Traverse City. He has just about recovered from shoulder surgery. Kellan Lain has made good progress in the past couple of weeks, but will be playing junior hockey again this season when he is ready to play, possibly by December. Both these guys should be ready to go for the Lakers next season.

Tyler Marble is a couple of seasons away from being able to help the Lakers in net.