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LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

I'm happy with the tie. A win tomorrow will make it a very good weekend against a very good Michigan Tech team.
Agreed. It sounded like a good hard fought game. Nice to see Matt McArdle get his first goal for the Lakers; and Nick Kossoff played well in net.

Also nice to see Luke Morgan get another goal for Cedar Rapids tonight.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

Agreed. It sounded like a good hard fought game. Nice to see Matt McArdle get his first goal for the Lakers; and Nick Kossoff played well in net.

Kossoff has played very well. I just wished our offense did more for him as I think they score a little more when Defiel is in goal.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

Found this from CTV Northern Ontario on Owen Headrick and his transition from the NOJHL to the NCAA: http://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=768514&binId=1.1142344&playlistPageNum=1

The surging Lakers continue to impress and Owen Headrick, despite being the youngest player on the team, is one of the leaders on and off the ice. Owen Headrick, a Garden River, Ontario native, continues to impress with his smooth-skating and precision like passing, along with solid defence. He is also the points leader among all WCHA freshman defenceman and has pro scouts talking and attending.

The good ship Laker looked good last night, in front of over 2000 fans at the Taffy Abel Arena, and are now tied with Northern Michigan for 5th place in the WCHA. All of the teams ahead of them in the standings have played more games, so the Lakers should continue to move up the standings with their resurgence under head coach Damon Whitten. I can't wait for tonites game.

Ringy Dingy

Lake Superior State skated to a 1-1 tie with Western Collegiate Hockey Association and Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech on Friday night in the first game of a two-game weekend series.

The Lakers (6-9-4, 4-3-4 WCHA) opened the scoring just under six minutes into the game with a seeing-eye shot from the slot by freshman Matt McArdle (1-1--2). The goal for McArdle was the first of his collegiate career and assisted by the Lakers' captain Austin McKay (0-1--1) and the team's leading-scorer J.T. Henke (6-6--12).

With the assist, Henke moves into a tie for 11th in league scoring with 12 points. Henke has scored a point in each of his last four games, scoring one goal and tallying three assists during that span.

Coming off a sweep-clinching shutout on the road against Alaska last weekend, freshman goaltender Nick Kossoff (2-3-1) made 27 saves to ensure keep the game even despite a number of chances for the Huskies (9-6-2, 8-6-1 WCHA). Kossoff improved his goals-against average to 1.79 and now boasts a .933 saves percentage.

The lone blemish on Kossoff's night came less than a minute after the Lakers had taken a 1-0 lead to open the contest.

Huskies captain Alex Petan (8-8--16) lit the lamp with his eighth goal of the season to tie the game. The goal drew Petan into a tie with teammate Tyler Heinonen (11-5--16) and Ferris State's Gerald Mayhew (7-9--16) for the league-lead in scoring.

In net for the Huskies was senior Jamie Phillips. Phillips made 20 saves on the night and allowed the lone goal by McArdle.

The game was the sixth for the Lakers to go to overtime. The Lakers are now 0-2-4 in overtime games this season.

For the Lakers, the tie broke a three-game losing streak to the Huskies. The last time LSSU beat their U.P. rival was Jan. 3, 2014 in Sault Ste. Marie.

The series will come to a close Saturday night with the puck drop set for 7:07 p.m.

Saturday's game will feature the annual Teddy Bear Toss. LSSU will have a limited supply of stuffed toys for sale for $5. Everyone is invited to bring a stuffed toy to toss on the ice when the Lakers score their first goal. All toys will be donated to local charities.

Coach Whitten's post game interview with the Voice of the Lakers, Bill Crawford http://static.psbin.com/y/6/8qslkfdrcngedi/Laker_hockey_Post_Game_Coachs_Interview_12-11-2015.mp3
 
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Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

This team has taken a huge step forward from where it was last year at this time. I liked what Whitten said after the game about looking at the game film and see where they can get the offense more involved. Good hard fought tie against a very good Tech team. Lakers threw a lot of freshmen out there against a very solid upper classmen team.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

Agreed. It sounded like a good hard fought game. Nice to see Matt McArdle get his first goal for the Lakers; and Nick Kossoff played well in net.

Also nice to see Luke Morgan get another goal for Cedar Rapids tonight.

With 4 players gone to the WJAC, Luke Morgan played a more prominent role last night. As always he saw 1st line PK time, but was also inserted on the PP last night where he got his goal.

Quinnipiac recruit Johnny DeRoche threaded the needle to Morgan who was on the left wing. Morgan one timed the puck for a goal.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

I can't wait to hear Coaches Corner, with Dave "The Professor" Watson, Saturday morning at 11am on Radio Soo www.1230wsoo.com. He will have a lot more on the LSSU Lakers big point against Michigan Tech and more on tonite's game.

Check out Randy Russon on www.hockeynewsnorth.com for more on last night's game.

Lake Superior State Lakers have moved into a tie for fifth place in the air-tight, 10-team Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Playing at home in front of more than 2,000 fans on Friday, the Lakers skated to a 1-1 tie with the third-place Michigan Tech Huskies to improve their WCHA record to 4-3-4. The Lakers now have an overall mark of 6-9-4.

The two teams play again tonight in a 7:07 puck drop at Taffy Abel Arena. Bill Crawford will call the play-by-play on radio station 99.5 YES-FM www.yesfm.net

All of the scoring in Friday’s well-played tilt came within a minute of the early stages of the first period as freshman Matt McArdle scored for Lake Superior before Alex Petan replied for Michigan Tech.

Freshman goalie Nick Kossoff made 27 saves for the Lakers, including a number of timely stops in the third period.

The Lakers killed off both Michigan Tech power plays, including one in the overtime to preserve the point. Michigan Tech had entered the game clicking at 25 per cent on the power play.

The Lakers best chance to take the lead after the score was tied may have come in the third period while shorthanded when freshman forward Diego Cuglietta narrowly missed a wide-open net.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

I can't wait to hear Coaches Corner, with Dave "The Professor" Watson, Saturday morning at 11am on Radio Soo www.1230wsoo.com. He will have a lot more on the LSSU Lakers big point against Michigan Tech and more on tonite's game.

Check out Randy Russon on www.hockeynewsnorth.com for more on last night's game.

Lake Superior State Lakers have moved into a tie for fifth place in the air-tight, 10-team Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Playing at home in front of more than 2,000 fans on Friday, the Lakers skated to a 1-1 tie with the third-place Michigan Tech Huskies to improve their WCHA record to 4-3-4. The Lakers now have an overall mark of 6-9-4.

The two teams play again tonight in a 7:07 puck drop at Taffy Abel Arena. Bill Crawford will call the play-by-play on radio station 99.5 YES-FM www.yesfm.net

All of the scoring in Friday’s well-played tilt came within a minute of the early stages of the first period as freshman Matt McArdle scored for Lake Superior before Alex Petan replied for Michigan Tech.

Freshman goalie Nick Kossoff made 27 saves for the Lakers, including a number of timely stops in the third period.

The Lakers killed off both Michigan Tech power plays, including one in the overtime to preserve the point. Michigan Tech had entered the game clicking at 25 per cent on the power play.

The Lakers best chance to take the lead after the score was tied may have come in the third period while shorthanded when freshman forward Diego Cuglietta narrowly missed a wide-open net.

Will Owen Headrick be suiting up for the Lakers tonight? I heard he was really good.
 
Will Owen Headrick be suiting up for the Lakers tonight? I heard he was really good.

Methinks he will be suited up and be out there for a lot of shifts tonite. He is prominately featured on the power play, and is first among freshman defenceman in the WCHA in points and is in the top 6 for the LSSU Lakers. He is garnering lots of attention, and at least 2 pro scouts have come to the games raving about his play, and maturity, despite being the youngest player on the team, and being paired up on D with someone 3-4 years older.

See you at the Taffy Abel arena tonight. Over 2000 last night, the house will be rockin!

Ringy Dingy
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

Well this has escalated quickly.

Tough first 8 minutes tonite for the good ship Laker, but they played Michigan Tech even for the rest of the game and the weekend. The LSSU Lakers are 3-1-1 in their last five games and continue to surge up the standings in the WCHA. Head coach Damon Whitten has them heading in the right direction going into the Christmas break, and they are light years ahead of where they were last year at this time, as Damon inherited a mess left over from the previous coach of eight seasons. Well over 2000 people again tonite at the Taffy Abel Arena as the support continues to grow.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

We are .500 in league play right now. I think almost all of us would of been very happy at the start of the season if the Lakers ended the first half of the season with a .500 record in league play.
 
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Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

I don't think they have played their best hockey yet this season. Tech lost a lot of talent from last season but they are still a very good team.

I expect a stronger second half of the season for the Lakers.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

Rebuilding is an up and down process but they will get it worked out over time. We know Defile and Kossoff can have flat nights but we also know they can play brilliant.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

Great article today by Randy Russon on www.hockeynewsnorth.com on Jana Headrick, the younger sister of LSSU Lakers freshman sensation, Owen Headrick, who is going to play college hockey.

Jana Headrick, a 1998 birth-year defenseman who hails from Garden River First Nation, will be furthering her hockey and academic career next fall at prestigious University of Toronto.

Headrick, who was a girls hockey standout in Sault Ste. Marie before heading to North Bay to play at the AA midget level last fall, will suit up for celebrated coach Vicky Sunohara with the Varsity Blues while studying kinesiology at U of T.

The 45-year old Sunohara is a former Canadian Olympian who was once described as the “Wayne Gretzky of women’s hockey.”

As for Headrick — the second-oldest and one of five children of Anne and Dave Headrick — she is a younger sister of Owen Headrick, a freshman defenseman with the Lake Superior State Lakers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

While playing in North Bay this season, Jana is a star defender on an Ice Boltz team that is coached by 57-year old Ray Irwin, a former Ontario Hockey League defenseman with the Sudbury Wolves, Kitchener Rangers and Oshawa Generals.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

Can't complain playing 500 hockey in league play so far. Playing 15 underclassmen every week is going to make them a stronger team the second half and in the future.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2015-16: The 50th season

Hack Hack Hack let me clear my throat....

Bill Crawford is hands down the best broadcaster in the game. There have been others (see term coined above) that have tried and tried, and still try, but no one can hold a candle to the legendary Voice of the Lakers and his professional manner in which he carries himself.

I can't wait to hear Bill with LSSU Lakers head coach Damon Whitten on Laker Talk this morning on radio station ESPN 1400. As the good ship Laker heads into the holiday break, they have some good math going their way, according to www.hockeynewsnorth.com and www.saultthisweek.com Randy Russon.

Lake Superior State Lakers head into the holiday break tied for sixth place in the 10-team Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 12 points from a record of 4-4-4.

Which is not bad considering that the Lakers were picked to finish last in the WCHA in a pre-season poll.

“It’s not where we want to be, we can be better, but the signs of improvement are definitely there,” said second-year Lakers head coach Damon Whitten.

To be sure, the freshman-sophomore-laden Lakers, who ice the youngest lineup in the WCHA, are a program on the rise under the guidance of Whitten and assistant coaches Rich Metro and Doug Holewa.

With an overall record of 6-10-4 to date, the Lakers will play 18 games after Christmas, 16 of which will be within the WCHA.

The 12 points that Lake Superior State has within the WCHA are just two fewer than fifth-place Northern Michigan — and the Lakers hold two games in hand on the Wildcats.

TOP SCORERS

Sophomore forward J.T. Henke continues to lead the Lakers in scoring with 6 goals, 6 assists, 12 points.

Following Henke are junior forward Gus Correale at 4-5-9, freshman forward Mitch Hults at 4-5-9, freshman forward Gage Torrel at 3-6-9, freshman forward Anthony Nellis at 2-6-8, freshman defenseman Owen Headrick at 3-4-7, junior forward Alex Globke at 4-2-6, freshman forward Diego Cuglietta at 2-4-6 and sophomore defenseman James Roll at 1-5-6.

NET WORTH

Between the pipes, freshman Nick Kossoff has a 2-3-1 record to go with a 1.99 goals against average and .920 save percentage while sophomore Gordon Defiel has 4-7-3, 2.78 and .916 numbers.

3 FOR 20

Only three Lakers have played in all 20 of the team’s games thus far this season — freshmen Owen Headrick and Anthony Nellis and sophomore Aidan Wright.
 
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