Lakers look for six points
SAULT STE. MARIE, MICH. – Lake Superior State, hoping to make a move in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings, takes on much-improved cluster opponent Western Michigan at the Taffy Abel Arena Friday and Saturday.
Both games start at 7:05 p.m. The Lakers-Broncos rematch follows a series split in Kalamazoo Dec. 10-11.
The Broncos (12-6-6, 6-5-5-3 CCHA) sit in sixth place in the CCHA with 26 points. LSSU (6-11-5, 4-8-4-3 CCHA) is seven points behind the Broncos. The Lakers are in ninth place in the CCHA with 19 points.
Western Michigan first-year coach Jeff Blashill, of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., is making his hometown head coaching debut this weekend. He’s a Ferris State graduate and was an assistant at Ferris State and Miami for 10 seasons. Prior to taking over the Broncos, he served two seasons as head coach of the United States Hockey League’s Indianapolis Ice.
The Lakers are one of only three teams with less then 20 points in the CCHA standings. Only 12 points separate the seven teams in fourth through 10th place, and only five points separate the top three teams. LSSU will play WMU at home for the first time since February, 2009, when the teams split the series.
LSSU won 5-2 and lost 4-1 at WMU last month. Eleven Lakers notched at least one point during the Dec. 10-11 series, and sophomore Nick McParland led with 2-1—3.
Sophomore forward Domenic Monardo continues to lead LSSU in points with 8-10--18, while Schofield is second with 8-9--17. Senior center Max Campbell (12-11--23) is ranked ninth in the CCHA in overall scoring and leads WMU. Campbell was one of five Broncos to tally two points during Dec. 10-11 match-up against the Lakers.
The Lakers improved their shootout record to 3-1 after taking two points from 10th-place Michigan State last Saturday. The Lakers killed off seven minutes of penalties during the last nine minutes of play, and got shootout goals from Rich Schofield and Ben Power. Schofield netted the third short-handed goal of his career during the 2-2 tie against MSU. LSSU lost to MSU 4-0 during game one of the series.
LSSU’s has its best shootout record since the shootout format began in 2008-09. The Lakers were 1-4 that year and 2-1 against CCHA opponents in 2009-10.
LSSU freshman goaltender Kevin Kapalka (5-6-4) is fifth in the CCHA in overall save percentage at .922 and third against league opponents at .934. He is sixth against CCHA opponents in goals-against average at 2.06 and ninth overall at 2.40.
During the next three home games, Laker fans have a chance to win tickets to the 2011 NCAA Men’s Hockey Regional Championships March 26-27 in Green Bay, Wis. Entry forms will be included in the Game Day Program sold by the LSSU softball team. The winner will be announced on Feb. 12 when the Lakers take on Alaska.
This weekend, LSSU welcomes players, coaches and parents from the Cabin Fever Tournament, an annual house team tournament. Fifty-four teams are participating this weekend.
On Saturday, all Sault Area High School students with a valid student I.D. will receive free admission to the hockey game. SAHS students are encouraged to pick up their tickets during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. LSSU Admissions also invites all Sault High students to dinner at the Quarterdeck and a campus tour prior to the hockey game. If interested, please call Jeremy in Admissions, 635-2644. Dinner will be at 5:30 p.m., and the campus tour is at 6 p.m. and will end at the Norris Center.
