Lakers head to Duluth and Houghton for third annual Superior Cup

SAULT STE. MARIE - The Lake Superior State hockey team will officially open the 2009-10 season on the road against Minnesota-Duluth and Michigan Tech for the third annual Superior Cup. UM-D will host the Lakers Friday at 8:05 p.m. EST and MTU will host the Lakers Sunday at 5:07 p.m. EST.

Both games will be broadcast live on Yes-FM 99.5 with audio web feeds on www.yesfm.net.

Lake Superior State is 0-2-2 overall in the Superior Cup with two ties against UM-D and two losses to MTU. The Lakers are returning all of the point grabbers from last year's event, which was played in Sault Ste. Marie.

Junior defenseman Dillin Stonehouse had an unassisted goal and one assist, senior forward Zac MacVoy had one goal and one assist, and junior forward Will Acton added two assists to lead LSSU in the 2008-09 Superior Cup.

LSSU senior goaltender Pat Inglis played in his first career shootout during last year's 2-2 overtime tie with UM-D. He totaled 29 saves in the game, but lost the shootout 1-0. Junior goaltender Brian Mahoney-Wilson, who had 27 saves in a 3-2 loss to Michigan Tech last season, is expected to start Friday's game at UM-D.

Last Saturday, the Lakers had their first official practice and an exhibition game against Nipissing. Senior defenseman Simon Gysbers contributed two goals and an assist, and junior forward Rick Schofield and senior forward Zac MacVoy both had a goal and three assists as LSSU had its way with Nipissing, 7-1.

Minnesota-Duluth leads the all-time series against LSSU, 6-3-4, and 11 of those 13 games have been played in Duluth, Minn.

Junior Justin Fontaine returns to the UM-D Bulldogs as the leading scorer from the 2008-09 season. Fontaine finished his season last year 15-33-48. UM-D was picked to place sixth in the Western College Hockey Association by WCHA coaches.

Before the start of the Superior Cup, LSSU and MTU hadn't played each other since 1999. Last year was MTU's first appearance at Taffy Abel Arena since 1998. The Lakers are trying to snap a three-game losing streak against the Huskies that dates back 10 years.

Junior Jordan Baker led MTU in goals (16) and points (27) last season. The Huskies were picked to finish 10th in the WCHA pre-season coaches poll.

The pre-game hockey show will be broadcast, for home and away games, one hour prior to the start of the game on 1400 am. Laker hockey will be broadcast live during every game on 99.5 Yes fm.