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LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

I don't recall you coming on this thread before the weekend series so any rubbish you want to spread really means nothing to anyone here. I now see what the reputable Tech fans mean about you and a couple other folks on Techs thread. Good luck to MTU the rest of the way.

Damon is doing a great job and the start the Lakers had to this season had most fans including myself thinking that they were ahead of what most true fans expected. The Lakers are still a work in progress and I believe that the future is bright for Damon and the Lakers.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Lake Superior State gave up a 2-1 lead in the second period to eventually fall 4-2 on the road against Western Collegiate Hockey Association rivals Michigan Tech on Saturday night, completing the weekend sweep for the Huskies.

The Lakers (6-4-0, 4-4-0 WCHA) received strong goaltending in defeat from junior Gordon Defiel, posting 43 saves, 19 of which came in the third period alone. LSSU also dealt with 17 penalty minutes against while the Huskies (6-6-2, 5-2-1 WCHA) converted three-of-four power-play opportunities.

The Huskies opened the scoring, just 5:25 into the contest, on a power-play goal by Jake Lucchini, just 28 seconds after a penalty against J.T. Henke. Matt Roy and Mark Auk added the assists for MTU.

Diego Cuglietta got the Lakers on the board with 7:48 left in the opening period on a redirected point-shot from defenseman Kris Bindulis. Sophomore defenseman Owen Headrick also tallied an assist on the goal, his ninth helper of the season.

The Lakers took a 2-1 lead early in the second period on a goal just 2:57 into the period with a one-timer goal by Gage Torrel in the slot that snuck past Angus Redmond. Sophomore Mitch Hults added his 10th assist on the year and freshman Brayden Gelsinger added his sixth assist on Torrel's sixth goal of the season.

The Huskies would respond to tie the game at 2-2, however, with 3:55 remaining in the middle period when Joel L'Esperance tucked away puck under Gordon Defiel's blocker. L'Esperance's game-tying goal was set up by Gavin Gould making a head's up play to take the puck away from a Laker defender and shuffle it over to his linemate.

With 14 seconds remaining in the second period a major penalty for interference was called on Lakers forward Josh Nenadal, as well as two minutes for slashing, setting up a seven-minute power-play for the Huskies.

The teams took a 2-2 tie into the second intermission despite the Huskies out-shooting the Lakers 26-14.

After killing off over two minutes of the major penalty against Nenadal, Aidan Wright was called for another penalty for the Lakers setting up a five-on-three advantage for the Huskies. Some confusion out of the huddle then led to a bench-minor to also be called on the Lakers, adding more time to the five-on-three advantage.

Defiel and the penalty kill stood strong during the long power play, through a barrage of shots and the Huskies bringing constant pressure in the offensive zone before Tyler Heinonen was finally able to break through with a power-play goal with just eight seconds left on the original time to Nenadal. The goal came assisted by Shane Hanna and Mitch Reinke but was originally blocked by LSSU forward Gage Torrel, before Heinonen was able to scoop the rebound and get off the second opportunity.

Following the go-ahead goal, the Lakers turned up the pressure and brought a steady attack to continue to fight to tie the game, but freshman Brayden Gelsinger got called for hooking with 1:49 remaining to all but thwart any hopes of a tying goal. L'Esperance put the game out of reach 35 seconds later with a power-play goal set up by Mark Auk.

The Lakers failed to convert on any of their five power-play opportunities in the contest and managed just 20 shots on Redmond, who made 18 saves to earn the victory.

The loss keeps the Lakers in fifth place of the WCHA standings, three points ahead of Bowling Green, which swept Northern Michigan on the weekend. The victory moves the Huskies into third place, ahead of Alabama Huntsville and LSSU.

LSSU remains on the road next weekend, traveling to Ferris State for a two-game series, Nov. 18-19. Following the series against the Bulldogs (3-9-1, 2-5-1 WCHA), the Lakers travel to Yost Ice Arena to face Michigan (Nov. 25-26) for a two game non-conference series. LSSU returns home Dec. 2-3 to face BGSU at Taffy Abel Arena.

Ringy Dingy!
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

PerkyforPrez said:
I didn't get to listen to the game last night but I noticed that a different kind of penalty on Sturos. Two minutes for interfering with a spectator? Did anyone catch what happened?
Click to expand...

It wasn't identified incorrectly. It was actually interfering with the goaltender.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

We're a little over halfway through the early signing period. I'm not sure how many NLIs we'll get by the end of this period on Wednesday, but so far I think we've received them from Robert Blueger and Mike Mannara.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

Lakers are still ranked first in the WCHA in overall scoring, fourth in team defense and third in penalty kill. We still have the 3rd best overall record in the WCHA. Trying to post positive stuff after the tough weekend. Let's hope for better results against Ferris.
 
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Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

PerkyforPrez said:
I don't recall you coming on this thread before the weekend series so any rubbish you want to spread really means nothing to anyone here. I now see what the reputable Tech fans mean about you and a couple other folks on Techs thread. Good luck to MTU the rest of the way.

Damon is doing a great job and the start the Lakers had to this season had most fans including myself thinking that they were ahead of what most true fans expected. The Lakers are still a work in progress and I believe that the future is bright for Damon and the Lakers.
Click to expand...

It has been a good start. Hopefully they will rebound next weekend at Ferris. The biggest disappointment to me last night was failing to score on the 3 second period power plays when having a chance to extend the lead to 2 goals.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

The powerplay has me worried . It was a rough weekend and don't know what else to say.
 
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Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

sm2pk said:
The powerplay has me worried . It was a rough weekend and don't know what else to say.
Click to expand...

Really the power play has struggled ever since the Michigan State weekend. Zone entry on the power play seems to be a huge concern.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17

I hope the referees don't make a mockery of the game this weekend and in the words of Damon Whitten a complete embarrassment, man.

Lake Superior State heads to Michigan's lower half this weekend to face in-state rivals Ferris State in a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series, Nov. 18-19.

The Lakers (6-4-0, 4-4-0 WCHA) fell victim to a sweep at the hands of Michigan Tech on the road last weekend and look to rebound by salvaging important conference points this weekend against the Bulldogs, who enter the matchup 3-3-1 in their last seven games after opening the season 0-6-0. Road victories against FSU won't come easy for the Lakers, having lost five-of-six games played at Ewigleben Ice Arena since both teams joined the WCHA in 2013-14. All-time, the Lakers hold a slight 31-28-6 edge in games against the Bulldogs in Big Rapids.

FSU enters the matchup fresh off a home-and-home split with Michigan State, where both teams earned victories on the road. The Bulldogs also split their previous two series at Bowling Green (Nov. 4-5) and at Minnesota State (Oct. 28-29).
The Series vs. Ferris State

Overall: LSSU leads 68-53-14... In Big Rapids: LSSU leads: 31-28-6

Last meeting: Feb. 4-5, 2016, FSU won 3-1, LSSU won 3-2

Streak: LSSU 1-0-0 Last 10: FSU leads 8-2-0

The Lakers and Bulldogs joined WCHA together in the 2013-14 season, continuing the rivalry which dates back to 1977. The teams first met as conference opponents under the Central Collegiate Hockey Association banner in December of 1978 and have continued the rivalry into the new landscape of college hockey. Since joining the WCHA, the Bulldogs own an 8-2-0 record over the Lakers in 10 meetings.

The teams played to a pair of splits last season, with the Bulldogs winning the series openers and the Lakers rebounding with wins and earning the splits in each of the series finales. Goaltender Gordon Defiel played in all four games against the Bulldogs, making 150 saves on 158 shots faced in the season series (.949 save percentage) and averaged only 2.00 goals against.

The victory in Sault Ste. Marie for the Lakers last season snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Bulldogs. With the 3-2 victory last March, the Lakers beat the Bulldogs in Big Rapids for the first time since Halloween of 2008.
Scouting the Bulldogs

The Bulldogs entered the season with high expectations following a surprising run to win the WCHA Tournament last season, receiving the league's only bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs earned another surprising 5-4 victory over No. 2 St. Cloud State in the field of 16 before falling to Denver, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.

Under the direction of head coach Bob Daniels, now in his 25th season on the Bulldogs bench, FSU is off to a 3-9-1 record this season, but has looked better of late, winning three of their last five games.

The Bulldogs are led by freshman Craig Pefley with 12 points (2g, 10a) in 13 games, followed by a surging Gerald Mayhew with 10 points (7g, 3a) in nine games. Mayhew, a senior forward from Wyandotte, Mich., has logged a goal in each of the Bulldogs' last three games and has five goals and two assists in his last six games since returning from a four-game absence due to injury. Reigning WCHA Rookie of the Year Corey Mackin is third in Bulldog scoring with three goals and five assists through 12 games of his sophomore campaign.

Despite his standing as one of the league's top goaltenders as a freshman a season ago, sophomore Darren Smith has gotten off to a slow start this season, going winless in his 10 starts (0-9-1). Smith has posted an .881 save percentage and 3.67 goals-against average.

Freshman netminder Justin Kapelmaster has been sharp between the pipes in limited action, winning each of his three starts and posting 24:51 minutes of scoreless relief in his only other appearance this season. Kapelmaster is boasting a 1.47 goals-against average and holds a .948 save percentage.
Last Week Against the Huskies (Friday: 6-1, L | Saturday: 4-2, L)

Following a nation's best 5-0-0 start, Lake Superior State enters the week having lost four of their last five games, leaving a 6-4-0 record and 4-4-0 mark in conference play.

The Lakers fell victims of a sweep at the hands of Upper Peninsula rivals Michigan Tech last weekend in Houghton. The Huskies rolled to a 6-1 victory on Friday night before completing the sweep with a 4-2 win on Saturday.

Despite the loss on Saturday, Defiel rebounded well from a tough loss on Friday. Defiel made 43 saves in Saturday's loss, including 19 in the third period alone.

For the first time this season, no Laker player registered more than a single point during the weekend series with just three players registering goals and four others factoring in on the assists. In fact, there have only been two other games this season where the Lakers didn't have a player register multiple points in a game.
Laker Log

Sophomore Mitch Hults continues to lead the Lakers and the WCHA in scoring with 14 points on the season. Hults added an assist in Saturday's loss and continues to lead the league in points per game (1.40), assists per game (1.00) and is tied for the league-lead in total assists (10).
Following Hults in scoring is sophomore defenseman Owen Headrick with 11 points (2-9--11) to tie for fourth overall among WCHA scorers and to lead the league's defensemen. Headrick is followed by forwards, sophomore Gage Torrel (6-4--10), J.T. Henke (4-6--10) and freshman Brayden Gelsinger (4-6--10), each with 10 points to tie for fourth overall in the league.
Torrel and sophomore forward Diego Cuglietta, who each tallied a goal last weekend, now ranked tied for second in total goals among WCHA players.
Torrel and Cuglietta also lead the league in goals per game (.60) among eligible players who have played at least 10 games. Ferris State's Gerald Mayhew leads the league with seven goals in nine games (.78 gpg).
Junior defensive partners assistant captain Aidan Wright and Kyle Chatham continue to be a formidable force for the opposition with Wright currently leading the WCHA with a +8 rating and Chatham tied with teammate Collin Saccoman and two others for second with a +7 rating. Cuglietta is tied for sixth with a +6 rating.
The Lakers offense took a hit last weekend, totaling just three goals and now averages 3.90 goals per game this season, tenth nationally. Defensively, the Lakers are now allowing 2.80 goals against per game, tied for 23rd nationally.
LSSU ranks 11th nationally in goal margin with a +1.10 goal margin per game.
The sophomore class, one of the top point-producing classes in the nation as freshmen last season, is leading all sophomore classes in combined goals (22), assists (33) and points (55), and third nationally in combined points by a single class. Only Boston College and Minnesota Duluth's senior classes have scored more total points (56).
The freshman class for LSSU has also performed well beyond their years through to start their college hockey careers, ranking third in the WCHA and combining for the ninth-most points by a freshman class in the nation.
Special teams have taken a hit during the past two weekends for the Lakers, while going 1-3-0 in their last two series. The power play has hit just once in its last 22 attempts, since Friday's win over Minnesota State (11/4).
The penalty kill has also given up four goals on 18 tries (77.8 percent).
On the season the Lakers power play now sits at 15.2 percent, while the penalty kill is down to 84.5 percent.

Looking Ahead (at Michigan, Nov. 25-26)

The Lakers wrap up the month of November at Yost Ice Arena, facing former Central Collegiate Hockey Association rivals Michigan for a two-game nonconference set. The Wolverines are currently ranked 16th in the USCHO.com poll with a 5-4-1 record to start the season.

Both games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and limited tickets are still available by contacting the U of M ticket office directly at 734-647-3835 or by ordering online at http://www.mgoblue.com/tickets/ihm-index.html.
LSSU Alumni Association Gatherings (Big Rapids and Ann Arbor)

On Saturday, join LSSU alumni and hockey fans at Buffalo Wild Wings in Big Rapids. The LSSU Alumni Association will be sponsoring a pre-game social for Laker fans from 5:00 to 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, November 19. Laker alumni, students, parents, fans and friends are all invited to Buffalo Wild Wings before the game for appetizers and terrific LSSU door prizes. The social will be $5 per person at the door, FREE for premium (dues-paying) members of the LSSU Alumni Association and children under 12 - a fine opportunity to hang out with fellow Laker fans and get fired up for the game.
 
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