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LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

LSSULaker889294 said:
Didn't listen or watch the game. Did the goaltending suck or did the defense suck?

Edit: Anyone here go to the game at NMU tongiht? How is the video board there?
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I watched part of the game, and it was an awful effort by the Lakers. The attendance number of 1400 in the box score was not even close to what showed up. I think the City of Marquette is showing that it is time for Northern to make a coaching change.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

The lakers seem to have some good players but at the same time showing they are not a very good team. Great start to the season and now just nothing . Maybe next year the players coming in will help the team .
 
Laker Dude said:
I watched part of the game, and it was an awful effort by the Lakers. The attendance number of 1400 in the box score was not even close to what showed up. I think the City of Marquette is showing that it is time for Northern to make a coaching change.
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The city and surrounding area is more than fickle. You can find more UM and MSN wear than NMU
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Methinks the good ship Laker played really well all weekend and deserved a better fate on Saturday night. There were some bad calls by the referees and bad bounces.

Head Coach Damon Whitten has this young team headed in the right direction, man.

Ringy Dingy!
 
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Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

sm2pk said:
The lakers seem to have some good players but at the same time showing they are not a very good team. Great start to the season and now just nothing . Maybe next year the players coming in will help the team .
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There likely won't be many new players next season. As it stands now, 2 forwards, a D-man and a goalie. If any guys turn pro early, that will obviously affect how many new guys we'll have. Overall this season, despite some dry spells (specially on the PP), I think scoring has improved. Unfortunately defensive play and goaltending hasn't been up to snuff lately. Too much inconsistency. That needs to get fixed. Next season the Lakers should be better mainly from an experience point of view and that's a key thing. The big question mark for next season will be who will be our goalie. Kossoff seems to be having a sophomore jinx when he's played although some of that is likely due to less than stellar defensive pay in front of him. Nietto, the goalie recruited for next season to replace Defiel was injured early this season in Juniors (concussion I think) and he hasn't played that well since; his numbers are way off from last season. There's a lot of games to play yet this season and if the Lakers can tighten up their defensive play and get good goaltending there's still time to make a move up the standings and make some noise in the WCHA playoffs. We'll see.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

I was at the game Friday and really liked how opportunistic the Lakers were and the way they were able to buckle down and hold the lead late in the 3rd. Gordie really came up with some big stops too. I watched Saturday on WCHA.Tv, and when the roof started to fall in, it completely collapsed.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

sm2pk said:
No two ways about it, the Lakers need a sweep this weekend .
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Especially with UAA playing better lately and breathing down our neck in the standings. Lakers could be in danger of missing the WCHA playoffs if we they don't get a winning streak together real soon.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

sm2pk said:
Anyone know what was said by the coach on his weekly radio show ?
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I heard most of it. Damon said they need to close out periods better, not giving up late goals. Need to tighten up D play. Talked about Nellis having a great weekend. Need to get top line going again (Hults, Torrell, and whoever is paired with them on a given weekend). Gordie is playing well but not making the number of big saves for us that he's made in the past. Talked a bit about Laker Legion and their support. The podcast is now up so you can listen to the whole thing at this link:

http://lakers.sovcomm.net/Laker Hockey Show/LAKER HOCKEY 1-10-17.mp3
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

RapidsCity said:
I was at the game Friday and really liked how opportunistic the Lakers were and the way they were able to buckle down and hold the lead late in the 3rd. Gordie really came up with some big stops too. I watched Saturday on WCHA.Tv, and when the roof started to fall in, it completely collapsed.
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Lakers had WAY too many chances on Friday that they didn't capitalize on. The first 10 minutes they took it to NMU and it could have easily been 4 or 5 to 0 after that period. They left a lot of grade A chances out there. They were also too flat for about 30 minutes of that game. Luckily, they picked it up a bit at the end to close out the win.

Saturday was a mess. I saw a couple of the guys this week and they both said they were not happy with the total team effort and it was getting addressed. Good to hear there is solid leadership among the players and they are holding themselves to a high standard.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

The best sports writer in the area, Randy Russon from http://www.saultthisweek.com and http://www.hockeynewsnorth.com has some news on Owen Headrick and his decision to stay with the Good Ship Laker.

As the Erie Otters added world-class forward Anthony Cirelli in an Ontario Hockey League trade with the Oshawa Generals earlier this week, they once again tried to talk 1997 birth-year defenseman Owen Headrick into leaving the Lake Superior State Lakers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Headrick, though, turned down the Otters latest overture to leave Lake State for Erie, which for the third year in a row is chasing what has been an elusive OHL championship.

Erie has maintained the OHL rights to Headrick after selecting the Garden River First Nation product in the 14th round of the 2013 OHL draft.

But after starring with the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League for two seasons, Headrick opted to accept a scholarship offer from the Lakers as a freshman for the 2015-2016 campaign — and as the youngest player in the WCHA.

In 22 games with the Lakers this 2016-2017 season, the 6-foot, 185-pound sophomore is fourth on the Lake State scoring chart with 15 points from 2 goals and 13 assists.

A year ago at this time, Otters general manager Dave Brown first tried to convince Headrick to leave Lake State for Erie but the youngster chose to remain in school.

Ringy Dingy!
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

I can't wait to hear the Voice of the Lakers, Bill Crawford with the call of this weekend's games on YES FM. Methinks it will be a sweep.

http://ww.hockeynewsnorth.comhttp://www.saultthisweek.comhttp://www.lssulakers.com

Lake Superior State continues its second-straight weekend of home-and-home Western Collegiate Hockey Association play against Upper Peninsula rivals Northern Michigan this weekend, traveling to Marquette Friday and hosting NMU at Taffy Abel Arena at 7:07 p.m. on Saturday.

The Lakers (9-12-1, 6-9-1 WCHA) earned a 3-2 victory in the series opener against NMU last Friday night, defending their home ice. During Saturday's trip to Berry Events Center for the weekend finale, the Wildcats (5-17-2, 3-12-1 WCHA) picked up a 6-4 victory at to tie the series 1-1 and take an 8-7 lead in goal differential, a tiebreaker in determining the winner of the Cappo Cup rivalry trophy.

This Saturday's game is "SOOperhero Night", in which LSSU Athletics invites all Chippewa County first responders to receive one (1) free adult ticket to the game against NMU. All first responders, along with dispatch and administrative support staff can pick up one free adult ticket at the Norris Center Ticket Office on game day. To avoid long ticket window lines, additional tickets for family members can be purchased and free tickets can be picked up at Norris Center Guest Services during normal business hours. Simply show a badge or some kind of staff ID to claim the free ticket.

The Sooperhero Night promotion includes all area full-time and township volunteer fire and ambulance, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Border Patrol, Sault Police, Sault Tribe Police, Bay Mills Police, Chippewa County Sheriff's Department, and Michigan State Police.
The Series vs. Northern Michigan

Overall: NMU leads, 67-41-11... In SSM: LSSU leads, 27-25-7… In Marquette: NMU leads, 42-14-4…

Last meeting: Jan. 6-7, 2017, LSSU won 3-2 Friday in Sault Ste. Marie, and NMU won 2-2 Saturday in Marquette

Streak: NMU 1-0-0 Last 5: LSSU leads 3-1-1 Last 10: NMU leads 5-4-1

The Cappo Cup, first awarded by the late Monsignor Louis Cappo in 1991, has been awarded to the team that claims the season series every year since the 1994-95 season. All-time, the Wildcats hold a 14-9 advantage in the Cappo Cup series. The Lakers claimed the cup last season with a 2-1-1 record against the Wildcats in 2015-16.

Following last weekend's results, the series is tied 1-1-0 and the Wildcats hold a slight 8-7 advantage in total goals. If the teams split and the goal totals remain the same, the Lakers retain the cup as the previous winners.

The rivalry between the Lakers and Wildcats dates back to 1976 when NMU began a NCAA Division I team and a probationary member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association during 1976-77. In 1977-78 the Wildcats became a full member of the CCHA and the teams competed against each other as conference opponents during every season until 1983-84. From 1984-96 the Wildcats competed in the WCHA, until a return to the CCHA and conference partnership with the Lakers in the 1996-97 season. In 2013-14, following the disbanding of the CCHA, the Lakers and Wildcats joined fellow Upper Peninsula rivals, Michigan Tech, in the WCHA.

All-time, the Wildcats hold a 67-41-11 record over the Lakers and a 42-14-4 record in Marquette. In Sault Ste. Marie, the Lakers lead the series 27-25-7 and are undefeated in their last four home games against the Wildcats (3-0-1).
Scouting the Wildcats

The Wildcats enter the weekend having picked up just their second win in their last 10 games (2-8-2) in Saturday's victory, and hold a 3-12-1 mark in their last 16 games. Offensively, NMU averages just 2.17 goals per game, ranking tied for eighth in the WCHA, while allowing the eighth-most goals against at 3.29 goals allowed per contest.

Special teams have also been a struggle for the Wildcats this season, producing the WCHA's ninth-ranked power play percentage (11.0 percent) and ranking last in the WCHA at 78.0 percent on the penalty kill.

Leading the way for the Wildcats offensively, is senior Dominik Shine with 12 goals and 16 points on the season and junior Robbie Payne, tying Shine with 16 points and tying for a team-high 11 assists. Last weekend, Shine posted four goals, including a hat-trick on Saturday, while Payne chipped in a pair of assists on Saturday.

Following Shine and Payne in scoring and rounding out the Wildcats to hit double digits in points this season are senior Gerard Hanson (4-11--15), freshman Darien Craighead (5-8--13), senior Brock Maschmeyer (3-9--12) and junior Zach Diamantoni (1-9--10).

Following a freshman campaign as one of the nation's top goaltenders last season, sophomore netminder Atte Tolvanen has struggled to find consistency this season. Tolvanen has produced a 3.23 goals against average and .894 save percentage this season, compared to a 2.46 goals against average and the nation's 11th best save percentage (.928) last season.

Backing up Tolvanen in net, Matthias Israelsson has also struggled this season, posting a 3.23 goals against average and .875 save percentage while forming a 1-0-0 record despite four starts between the pipes.
Last Time Out Against the Wildcats (Fri.: 3-2, W | Sat.: 6-4, L)

Last weekend the teams began the first leg of back-to-back weekends squaring off, with LSSU claiming a 3-2 victory on Friday night and the Wildcats collecting a 6-4 win on Saturday. Saturday's victory puts NMU ahead 8-7 in total goals on the series tied at 1-1-0.

Sophomore forward Anthony Nellis and linemate J.T. Henke led the way for the Lakers on the weekend, each tallying five points in the series. Nellis opened the scoring Friday with a pair of goals, each assisted by Henke.

Fellow sophomore Diego Cuglietta capped Friday's scoring with his ninth goal of the season and team-leading third game-winning tally of the season to put the Lakers ahead 3-2.

Junior goaltender Gordon Defiel looked sharp early on, stopping the first 15 shots he faced, however, allowed a power-play goal by Maschmeyer with four seconds remaining, allowing the Wildcats to cut the lead in half heading into the second intermission, trailing 2-1. In the third period, Defiel made seven saves on eight shots and closed the door on his ninth victory of the season, finishing with 23 saves on 25 shots.

On Saturday Nellis added three assists in the 6-4 loss to continue a four-game point streak. After finishing with two assists on Friday, Henke responded with a goal and two assists on Saturday to extend his own four-game point streak. Cuglietta added his second goal in as many games and now holds the team-lead with 10 goals on the season.

Ringy Dingy!
 
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