Lakers play final regular-season series with home ice bid on the line

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Lake Superior State, which plays its last regular-season series at home this weekend against 11^th-ranked Miami, is still in a Central Collegiate Hockey Association race that’s too close to call.

LSSU (10-13-9 overall, 8-10-8-5 CCHA), which had a five-game unbeaten streak end with last Saturday’s 5-2 loss at Ohio State, heads into this weekend’s series in eighth place in the CCHA standings. The Lakers are two-points out of fifth place in the CCHA with 37 points. The RedHawks are in third place with 49 points.

The Lakers and RedHawks (17-9-6 overall, 14-7-5-2 CCHA) play at 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Taffy Abel Arena. Both games will be broadcast live on Yes-FM 99.5 with a pay-per-view video feed on AmericaOne.

The Lakers have an outside shot at top-five CCHA finish and receiving a bye for the first round of the CCHA Playoffs. The next best option is finishing sixth, seventh or eight and hosting a CCHA First-Round playoff series next weekend.

The last time the Lakers played host to a first-round series was in 2006-07 when they were the No. 8 seed and beat No. 9 Ferris State in three games. They went on to sweep No. 3 Miami in Oxford, Ohio, and earn a trip to the CCHA Semifinals at Joe Louis Arena. None of the current LSSU players were on the team that year.

Going into their last home series, the Lakers are 4-2-6 against conference opponents at the Taffy Abel. On the road, the RedHawks are 4-5-3 against CCHA teams. The Lakers have an all-time record 54-35-11 over Miami.

Miami claimed five of six points during an October series in Oxford, Ohio, by defeating LSSU 6-2 Friday and winning the five-round shootout after a 2-2 tie Saturday. Senior defenseman Matt Cowie (4-12—16) notched LSSU’s extra-attacker, game-tying goal with only seven second left in the third period on Oct. 30. Senior forward Chad Nehring (6-3—9) netted two goals, while senior forward and points leader Rick Schofield (13-16—29) tallied two assists during the series.

Schofield needs two more points to reach the 100-point career scoring milestone. He heads into the Miami series with 47-51—98. Only one other Laker, Troy Schwab (’09), has accomplish that feat during the past decade.

Miami’s Reilly Smith 2-3—5, Andy Miele 1-4—5, and Carter Camper 2-3—5 dominated against the Lakers. Miele leads Miami in points with 17-39—56, while Camper is in second place with 15-32—47. Miele, Camper, Smith and Pat Cannone occupy four of the top seven spots in conference scoring.

Lake Superior State seniors Will Acton, Schofield, Tyson Hobbins, Nehring, Dillin Stonehouse, Brian Mahoney-Wilson and Matt Cowie are making their final regular-season home-ice appearance this weekend. Following Saturday’s game, they will be introduced and skate around the ice to say their good-byes to the fans.

Ferris State travels to ninth-place Ohio State for a Thursday-Friday series. Other series have Bowling Green State at Michigan State, Michigan at Northern Michigan, and Notre Dame and Western Michigan playing home-and-home. LSSU can secure home ice with two points without needing help from other teams.