Lakers round out regular season play on the road against Northern

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - Both teams have plenty at stake as Lake Superior State hockey heads to Northern Michigan for its final regular-season hockey series. LSSU (15-14-5 overall, 10-13-3-2 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) is still in contention for home ice for the first round of the CCHA Playoffs, while NMU (15-11-8 overall, 11-9-6-3 CCHA) has a shot at a first-round bye.

The Lakers and Wildcats play at 7:35 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Berry Events Center. Both games will be broadcast live on Yes-FM 99.5.

Fifteen LSSU players tallied at least one point during the Dec. 11-12 series, which the Lakers swept, 5-1 and 6-3. Senior forward Zac MacVoy (6-14-20) totaled two goals and one assist, and junior forward Rick Schofield (15-13-28) netted three goals to lead the Lakers. Junior forward Will Acton (10-14-24), sophomore forward Fred Cassiani (5-9-14), and freshman forward Ben Power (3-15-18) all contributed one goal and two assists. Junior defender Matt Cowie (2-6-8) totaled three assists.

In the past 15 games, Northern Michigan's Mark Olver (17-24-41) has 20 points, notching at least one point in 13 of those games. In the first series between NMU and LSSU, Olver had two assists. Northern Michigan's Jared Brown netted two goals against the Lakers during the 6-3 victory. Greger Hanson assisted on two goals.

This series most-likely marks the last time that two cousins, LSSU senior defenseman Steven Kaunisto (3-11-14) and NMU senior forward Ray Kaunisto (14-13-27), will oppose each other. The family rivalry also includes freshman Kory Kaunisto, who is Ray's brother. All three are from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

Overall, LSSU leads the total-goals Father Cappo Cup series, 11-4. Eleven goals are the most the Lakers have scored against a single team this season. The fewest is one, which occurred during last weekend's 4-0 and 5-1 losses at Alaska.

LSSU and NMU were both 2-1-2 in the five games leading up to the December series. Prior to this weekend, the Lakers are 1-4-0 in their last five, while Northern Michigan is 4-1-0.

The Lakers, who are currently ninth in the CCHA standings with 35 points, need Ohio State to lose twice this weekend to No. 2 Miami. LSSU needs to take at least three points to end the regular season tied for eighth place and own the tie-breaker over the Buckeyes. Notre Dame sits behind LSSU in 10th place with 33 points. If the Irish win one game and LSSU drops both to NMU, they would overtake the Lakers for ninth place. Teams in places five through eight will host the first round of the playoffs March 5-7. 

Anyone who purchases a ticket for Saturday's hockey game will receive free admission to the LSSU vs. NMU men's and women's basketball games. The basketball double-header begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Berry Events Center.

CCHA Tiebreaker scenarios

• Conference Wins
• Best regular-season winning percentage against the other team(s) tied for position
• Total goals for and against each team in contests between (among) teams tied for position in regular-season play
• Best winning percentage of teams tied for position against the remaining highest-ranked CCHA teams
• Coin Toss
• Shootout results will not be used to break ties in the standings for playoff positioning.