Lakers take on Nation's Leading Scorer

The 15th ranked Lake Superior State University (14-7-5, 10-7-3 CCHA) hockey team will travel to Omaha, Nebraska this weekend to take on the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (14-11-3, 8-9-3 CCHA). LSSU is 4-5-2 on the road this season while UNO is 8-6-1 at the Qwest Center Omaha. LSSU is coming off of a sweep over Bowling Green last weekend while Omaha is coming back home from an Alaskan trip that saw them beat and tie the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This weekend's match up against Nebraska-Omaha will mark the 17th and 18th times that these two teams have met since 2000. Lake Superior State University has an all time record against UNO of 10-5-1. Including a 0-4-1 record in their past 5 meetings, LSSU is 3-7-0 in Omaha. UNO' offence has been good this season with the Mavericks averaging 3.46 goals per game, good for third in the CCHA and 7th in the nation. The Mav's power play has struggled this season and is currently 10th in the conference with a .145 power play percentage. UNO's penalty kill is ranked 9th in the CCHA with a .808 penalty kill percentage, but they have been averaging only 18.82 penalty minutes a game, 4th in the CCHA. The Lakers power play is ranked 2nd in the CCHA scoring a goal 18.9% of the time, 32 goals in 169 opportunities. The Lakers penalty kill is ranked 6th in the CCHA, allowing 22 goals in 140 opportunities, for a .843 penalty kill percentage. The Lakers are averaging 2.92 goals per game this season while allowing only 1.92 goals per game, their 1.00 average margin of victory ranks 7th in the nation, while their 1.92 goals allowed per game ranks 5th in the nation. Nebraska-Omaha is lead by, the nations leading scorer Scott Parse, and Sophomore Bill Thomas, while Freshman Jerad Kaufmann has played goal in 22 of UNO's 31 games. Parse has 14 goals and 32 assists this season for 46 points, Thomas has 20 goals and 38 points in 28 games this season, 7th most in the nation. Kaufmann has recorded a .901 SV% and a 2.86 Goals Against Average. LSSU is lead by junior goaltender Jeff Jakaitis with his NCAA 7th ranked 1.84 goals against average, and 7th in the nation with a 0.930 save percentage. Jakaitis is also ranked third in the nation with 1496:17 minutes played this season. The Lakers offensive leader is Trent Campbell who has amassed 9 goals and 19 points this season.

Doug Weight traded to the Carolina Hurricanes

RALEIGH, NC (January 30, 2006) - Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has acquired former Laker Superior State University standout center Doug Weight from the St. Louis Blues. Weight played for LSSU from 1989-91, amassing 50 goals, and 94 assists for 144 points. Weight will join the Hurricanes for the team's practice at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Thursday. Rutherford will be available to the media today at 3 p.m. in the RBC Center's fourth floor conference room. "Doug is one of the premier forwards in the National Hockey League and will add a strong element to our top lines," said Rutherford. "His skill, leadership and experience will be a great benefit for our team." In exchange for Weight and left wing Erkki Rajamaki, the Hurricanes have traded their first round draft pick in 2006, Toronto's fourth-round pick in 2006, Chicago's fourth-round pick in 2007, right wing Jesse Boulerice, center Mike Zigomanis and rights to unsigned draft pick Magnus Kahnberg to the Blues. Carolina acquired the fourth-round pick from Toronto in the draft-day deal that sent Jeff O'Neill to the Maple Leafs, and acquired Chicago's 2007 fourth-round pick in the Dec. 29 trade that sent Radim Vrbata to the Blackhawks. Weight, 35, leads St. Louis with 33 assists and 44 points, and ranks third on the team with 50 penalty minutes in 47 games this season. The Warren, MI, native has notched seven of his 11 goals on the power play. He will represent the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy along with Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette and left wing Erik Cole, and former Lakers Brian Rolston and John Grahame. The Carolina Hurricanes will be Doug Weight's fourth NHL team, with the U.S. Olympian having previously played for the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues. Weight was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the second round, 34th overall, in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He began his professional career with the Rangers during the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs, following his second season at Lake Superior State University of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. In 959 career NHL regular-season games, Weight (5' 11", 200 lbs.) has tallied 235 goals and 648 assists (883 points) with the Rangers, Edmonton and St. Louis. Rajamaki, 27, is a native of Vantaa, Finland, and is currently playing in the Finnish league. He played all of the 2004-05 season with the Worcester Ice Cats of the American Hockey League and recorded five goals and four assists (9 points) in 60 regular-season games. The Tampa Bay Lightning drafted Rajamaki (6' 2", 205 lbs.) in the eighth round, 216th overall, in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

Lakers get commitment from Martello

Lake Superior State University has received a verbal commitment from Matthew Martello of North York, Ontario. Martello is currently playing for the Vaughan Vipers of the Ontario Provincial Junior “A” Hockey League, where he is leading the Vipers in all scoring categories including scoring 9 power play goals and 6 game winning goals this season. Martello is currently tied for 15th in the OPJHL in points with 64, coming from 28 goals and 36 assists Martello has also accumulated 55 penalty minutes in 44 games. Martello is a 6’-0” forward that shoots left handed and weights in at 200 pounds. Matt is ranked 102 on the NHL Central Scouting Bureau Mid-Term rankings, fellow LSSU recruit Simon Gysbers is 171 on the list. Matthew Martello was recently named the Most Improved Player of the year in the South Conference and also was finalist in the MVP category. Matthew Martello was on to the South East Conference All Star team earlier this season.

Lakers Defend Home Ice

LSSU completed its fifth series sweep of the season defeating Bowling Green for the second consecutive night at the Taffy Abel Arena. Laker forward Colin Nicholson opened the scoring, notching his 7th goal of the season, unassisted and shorthanded at the 10:36 mark of the first period. Bowling Green was able to tie the game at 1-1 when Derek Whitmore scored on the power play for the Falcons at 8:18 of the second period. Trent Campbell was able to regain the lead for the Lakers scoring on a 5-on-3 opportunity for the Lakers at 10:39 of the second with assists going to Jeff Rainville and Barnabas Birkeland. On the ensuing 5-on-4 Bowling Green’s Brandon Svendsen was able to take the puck on a breakaway an bury it behind Jeff Jakaitis, to tie the game at 2-2. Lake State’s Jon Booras was able to break the tie with what would become the game winning goal at 3:07 of the third period with assists going to Nathan Ward and Dominic Osman. Colin Nicholson was able to add a second goal of the game a little over a minute later (4:35) to give the Lakers an insurance goal. The series sweep puts LSSU in sole possession of second place in the CCHA with 23 points, with Michigan State (22 points), Northern Michigan (22 points), and The University of Michigan (22 points) knocking at their door. LSSU has one game in-hand against MSU, two to NMU, and U of M has two games in-hand against LSSU. Lake Superior plays these teams twice each following a series next weekend in Omaha.

“Borrowing” from the Canadian Broadcast Corporation the CCHA has named today Hockey Day in Michigan. To celebrate Hockey Day in Michigan, which is sponsored in part by Rock 101 FM, LSSU will hold a post-game "Skate with the Lakers." Children attending the skate will have a chance to win prizes. Youth hockey players who participated in the Cabin Fever and Kaines Rink tournaments have been given free tickets to the game. Fox Sports Net will be broadcasting the Northern Michigan game at Western Michigan today at 4:30 PM, followed by the Michigan vs. Michigan State game from the Joe Louis Arena at 7:30PM. The Lake Superior-Bowling Green contest can be found on Rock 101, or the webcast For more information we direct you to: http://ccha.collegesports.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/hockey-day-in-mich.html

LSSU Responds to Critics

After enduring a week of skepticism from the Laker faithful LSSU came out with an offensive explosion Friday night against Bowling Green State University. Junior goaltender Jeff Jakaitis was his regular stellar self recording 27 saves, on 28 shots. The Lakers improved to 9-1-2 for the season, when scoring the first goal of the game. The Lakers came out flying, in front of a crowd of 2285, including a strong contingent in the student section. Junior forward Dominic Osman scored his 8th goal of the season, on a rebound, at just 3:45 into the game with assists going to Jon Booras, and Derek A. Smith. LSSU was able to add another goal at 5:35 of the opening period, 11 seconds into their first power play of the contest, with Colin Nicholson scoring his 6th goal of the season, with assists going to Dominic Osman and Derek A. Smith. Senior forward Nathan Ward banged in the goal on the doorstep, scoring at 4:58 of the second period with assists going to Dominic Osman and Matt Wheeler. After killing off two penalties freshman Troy Schwab scored his sixth of the season with assists going to Josh Sim and Mike Adamek. Troy Schwab was able to add his second goal of the game at 9:15 of the third period after getting a great pass from Nathan Ward (and Steve McJannet) and taking it into the Bowling Green zone to beat Jon Horrell. Bowling Green’s Brandon Svendsen was able to breakup Jakaitis attempt for his 5th shutout of the season by scoring a goal at 14:13 of the third period. Derek R. Smith was able to slip a back hand shot past BGSU goaltender Horrell on the odd man rush, with the assist going to Colin Nicholson, to give the Lakers a 6-1 lead. LSSU was able to maintain a slight, 56% (39 to 31), faceoffs advantage over the Falcons. The only low point for the Lakers in the game, was the horrendous officiating by CCHA referee Brett Klosowski, who called 7 penalties on LSSU giving Bowling Green 10:54 with the extra man. While the Lakers where only awarded 33 seconds of power play time on two penalties. LSSU was able to capitalize on their first power play opportunity making them 1 for 2 with the extra attacker. Lake Superior out shot BGSU 30-28, with 9 of the Falcons shots coming on the power play thanks to Klosowski. Despite the poor officiating the Lakers where able win their first game in which they where called for more penalties than their opponent, LSSU is now 1-4-3 in these games.

LSSU to host Bowling Green in CCHA action

The Lake Superior State University (12-7-5, 8-7-3 CCHA) hockey team will play host to Bowling Green State University (12-14-1, 8-11-1 CCHA) this weekend at Taffy Abel Arena. LSSU is 8-2-3 at home this season while Bowling Green is 3-6-1 on the road. LSSU is coming off of a loss and tie this past weekend at Ferris while Bowling Green split with Michigan and are 9-4 in their last 13 games. LSSU currently has 19 points in the CCHA while Bowling Green has 17 points in conference play. The LSSU – BGSU match up will pit the Falcon’s high flying offence against LSSU’s stellar defense. This weekend’s match up against Bowling Green will mark the 129th and 130th times that these two teams have met since 1970. Lake Superior State University has an all time record against BGSU of 55-67-7. Including a 4-5-3 record in their past 12 meetings, last season the Lakers split with the Falcons at Bowling Green. BGSU’ offence has been spectacular this season with the Falcons averaging 3.70 goals per game, good for second in the CCHA, and 4th in the nation. The Falcon’s power play is tied for 18th in the nation, with Lake State, with a .185 power play percentage. BGSU’ penalty kill is ranked 9th in the CCHA with a .815 penalty kill percentage, and have been averaging 20.04 penalty minutes a game, 7th in the CCHA. The Lakers power play is ranked 4th in the CCHA scoring a goal 18.5% of the time, 30 goals in 162 opportunities. The Lakers penalty kill is ranked 7th in the CCHA, allowing 21 goals in 127 opportunities, for a .835 penalty kill percentage. The Lakers are averaging 2.75 goals per game this season while allowing only 1.96 goals per game, ranking them 5th in the nation. Bowling Green is lead by, sophomore forwards Alex Foster, Jonathan Matsumoto, while Senior Jon Horrell, and Freshman Jimmy Spratt have spit time in goal. Foster has 32 assists this season and 40 points, Matsumoto has 14 goals and 35 points in 35 games this season. Horrell has played in 17 of BGSU games this season recording a .906 SV% and a 3.05 Goals Against Average, while Spratt has a .828 SV% and 5.10 GAA in his 11 games this season. LSSU is lead by junior goaltender Jeff Jakaitis with his NCAA 7th ranked 1.88 goals against average, and 11th in the nation with a 0.927 save percentage. Jakaitis is also ranked fourth in the nation with 1376:17 minutes played this season. The Lakers offensive leader is Trent Campbell who has amassed 8 goals and 17 points this season. LSSU’s team defense is rated 5th in the country only giving up an average of 1.96 goals per game this season.

LSSU squanders opportunity against Ferris State

Lake Superior State University was unable to record a victory against Ferris State in their four meetings this season after falling to the Bulldogs 3-1 Saturday night in Big Rapids. The Lakers are 2-7-4 against Ferris in their last 13 meetings including going 0-1-3 this season. The Lakers lost their first game this season Saturday night in which they have scored first, 8-1-2 for the season. The loss is also the first time the Lakers have lost a game in which they have lead this season 12-1-4, the Lakers have failed to maintain a lead 12 times this season in 8 games, resulting in a 3-1-4 record in these games. After a first period in which the Lakers found themselves out shot 18-7, LSSU found themselves in a scoreless tie thanks to the excellent goaltending performance of Junior Jeff Jakaitis. The Lakers where able to score the first goal of the game at 8:43 of the second period with Freshman Josh Sim scoring his 3rd goal of the season, Barnabas Birkeland assisted on the goal. LSSU was able to maintain the lead for the next 20 minutes until Mark Bomersback was able to score (09:20 of the third period) on a power play opportunity that Referee Brian Aaron awarded Ferris on a phantom obstruction hooking call to Josh Sim. FSU’s Corey Couturier scored the game winning goal at 15:07 of the third period. LSSU was unable to take advantage of a power play in the closing minutes of the game, and gave up a 4-on-6 shorthanded goal to Bomersback with Jakaitis sitting on the bench, in a questionable move by LSSU Head Coach Jim Roque. LSSU was 58% (38 for 66) on faceoffs which kept them in a game otherwise dominated by FSU. LSSU was 0-5 on the power play (1-11 on the weekend) while FSU was 1-4 with the extra attacker. The loss drops LSSU into a tie for 4th in the CCHA with Michigan who has 2 games in hand over the Lakers. There are currently 7 points separating the 11th place team from the second place team in the CCHA, making every game that the Lakers play the remainder of the season must win games. Next weekend the Lakers play their final home series of the regular season against Bowing Green, 7:35 on Friday, and 7:05 Saturday night.

LSSU salvages tie against Ferris State

Lake Superior State University’s hockey team was only able to salvage a tie against Ferris State in action Friday night in Big Rapids. For most of the night the Lakers where out hustled and out played, in front of a large contingent of Laker fans, including some who made the trip down from the Soo, at Ewigleben Ice Arena Lake Superior fell behind early in the first period, giving up a power play goal to Ferris’s Nick Scheible at the 4:06 mark. Lake Superior was able to mount an offensive attack during the last ten minutes of the opening period with Laker Captain Steve McJannet scoring his 5th goal of the season at the 11:08 mark of the first, with the lone assist going to Ren Fauci. Nathan Ward was able to add a power play goal a little over four minutes later, at 15:32, with assists going to Dominic Osman and Jeff Jakaitis. The Lakers where unable to mount a significant offensive attack in the second period, officially recording only 2 shots on goal for the stanza. LSSU goaltender Jeff Jakaitis surrendered the game tying goal Ferris’s Matt Verdone at the 7:28 mark of the third period. The Lakers where unable to mount a comeback and thankfully due to excellent defensive play where able to preserve the 2-2 score for the tie. Lake Superior was out shot by Ferris 20-44, Jeff Jakaitis recorded 42 saves in the tying effort. LSSU committed 8 penalties to Ferris’s 7, Lake State is 0-4-3 in games where they commit more penalties than their opponent

Initial PairWise rankings show LSSU missing NCAA tournament

Initial PairWise rankings from USCHO.com show LSSU as 18 and on the fringe of the NCAA. Tournament. LSSU ranked 14 in the current USCHO.com/CSTV and USA Today Polls might find themselves penalized by the NCAA selection committee for playing a weak schedule, currently ranked 30th in the nation, by playing teams such as Robert Morris who has just a .2222 winning percentage. Rank Team PWR Rank W-L-T Win % RPI Rank RPI 1 Wisconsin 27 1 18-2-2 0.8636 1 0.6347 2 Miami 26 3 15-4-4 0.7391 2 0.5909 3 Minnesota 23 8 14-6-4 0.6667 4 0.5682 4 Colorado Col. 22 7 17-8-1 0.6731 5 0.5647 5 Michigan State 21 16t 13-8-5 0.5962 9 0.5435 6t Boston College 20 2 14-4-2 0.75 8 0.5456 6t St. Lawrence 20 6 13-6-1 0.675 3 0.571 8 Michigan 19 13t 13-8-1 0.6136 6 0.5608 9 North Dakota 18 16t 15-10-1 0.5962 7 0.5457 10 Ohio State 17 26t 11-9-4 0.5417 12 0.5406 11 Vermont 16 4 15-5-2 0.7273 10 0.5422 12t N. Michigan 15 23 13-10-1 0.5625 11 0.5414 12t Harvard 15 20 10-7-2 0.5789 19 0.5264 14 Neb-Omaha 14 26t 12-10-2 0.5417 16 0.5323 15t Boston Univ 13 24 10-8-2 0.55 13 0.5386 15t Cornell 13 5 10-4-2 0.6875 21 0.5222 15t New Hamp. 13 15 12-7-4 0.6087 18 0.5295 18 Lake Superior 11 10t 12-6-4 0.6364 15 0.5348

Lakers make first road trip for 2006

The Lake Superior State University (12-6-4, 8-6-2 CCHA) hockey team travel to Big Rapids this weekend to take on Ferris State University (9-8-5, 4-6-4 CCHA) this weekend at Ewigleben Ice Arena. LSSU is 4-4-1 on the road this season while Ferris is 4-3-2 at home. LSSU is coming off of a home sweep of Western Michigan this past weekend while Ferris was swept by Northern Michigan going into their game Monday night at Bowling Green. This weekend’s match up against Ferris State University will mark the 101th and 102th times that these two teams have met in the past 25 years. Lake Superior State University has a come out on top of these meeting winning 57 and losing 33, ten have resulted in ties. The Lakers have struggled against the Bulldogs of late though only winning two of their last 12 contests, including the two games that the teams tied at the Taffy Abel Arena this past October. Ferris’ special teams have been average this season, the Bulldogs power play is ranked 6th in the CCHA with a .174 power play percentage. Ferris’ penalty kill has been pretty good recording a .855 penalty kill percentage, and have been averaging only 20.14 penalty minutes a game, 6th in the CCHA. LSSU’s special teams have been average this season, the Lakers power play is ranked 2nd in the CCHA scoring a goal 19.2% of the time, 29 goals in 151 opportunities. The Lakers penalty kill is ranked 7th in the CCHA, allowing 19 goals in 116 opportunities, for a .836 penalty kill percentage. Both teams have scored 5 shorthanded goals while only giving up 2 shorthanded goals each. The Lakers are averaging 2.86 goals per game this season while allowing only 1.91 goals per game. Conversely Ferris is averaging 3.18 goals per game while surrendering an average of 2.91 goals per game. LSSU is looking to continue the success they where enjoying before heading into the Christmas break, while Ferris is in the midst of the toughtest part of their schedule where they will be playing NMU, LSSU, MSU, and Miami. Ferris is lead by, senior forward Greg Rallo, Junior center Mark Bomersback and freshman goaltender Mitch O'Keefe. Rallo has 12 goals this season and 25 points, Bomersback has 9 goals and 19 points in 22 games this season. O'Keefe has played in all of two-thirds of Ferris’ games this season recording a .904 SV% and a 2.66 Goals Against Average. LSSU is lead by junior goaltender Jeff Jakaitis with his NCAA 7th ranked 1.87 goals against average, and 11th in the nation with a 0.924 save percentage. Jakaitis is also ranked third in the nation with 1132:13 minutes played this season. The Lakers offensive leader is Trent Campbell who has amassed 8 goals and 17 points this season. LSSU’s team defense is rated 5th in the country only giving up an average of 1.91 goals per game this season. The Lakers are looking to remain undefeated in 2006 with important games this January against Ferris, Bowling Green, and Nebraska-Omaha, before they conclude their season against Michigan, Northern, and Michigan State in February.

Scoran CCHA Defenseman of the Week

Lake Superior State senior Kory Scoran was named Central Collegiate Hockey Association Defenseman of the Week after leading the Lakers to 6-1 and 4-0 victories over Western Michigan last weekend. Scoran (Winnipeg, Man.) was +2 in both games and contributed a goal and an assist in Saturday's shutout victory. He also anchored a Laker penalty-killing unit that was a perfect nine-for-nine during the sweep. He helped hold WMU standout Brent Walton scoreless for the weekend. For the season, Scoran has three goals and five assists and a +4 rating. Jeff Jakatis was beat out for Goaltender of the Week by Bowling Green's Jon Horrell, who blocked 83-of-85 shots (.976) in posting two shutouts in the same week for BGSU for the first time since 1977.

Lake Superior State Sweeps Season Series over Western Michigan

Lake Superior State University’s Hockey team completed the season sweep over Western Michigan University with a 4-0 shutout on Saturday night. The series sweep is the 4th of the year for the 19th ranked Lakers, equal to the number of sweeps they had from the 2000-2001 thru 2004-2005 seasons. The last time LSSU had 4 sweeps in a season was the 1999-2000 season. Jeff Jakaitis recorded his 4th shout out of the season with the win. Lake Superior senior forward Colin Nicholson opened the scoring for the Lakers at 6:27 of the first period scoring what would end up being the game winning goal with assists going to Jason Miller and Kory Scoran. Trent Campbell added his team leading eighth goal of the season at the 11:00 minute mark of the second period with the sole assist going to Nathan Ward. The second period started with a significant scrum in the corner that saw 40 minutes in penalties called at the 2:28 mark. Jeff Rainville and the Bronco’s Brent Walton each received 4 minutes for roughing and 10 minute misconduct penalties. The Lakers Dan Eves was given 4 minutes for roughing and Western’s Matt Clackson and Brian Bicek each got 2 minutes for roughing as well as LSSU’s Derek R. Smith being given 2 minutes for elbowing. Nathan Ward was able to score his 4th goal of the season at 3:59 of the second period, on the power play, with the assists going to Troy Schwab and Dominic Osman. Kory Scoran was able to add an unassisted empty net goal at 18:33 of the third period to ice the game. Western Michigan out shot Lake State 30-24 including 12-6 in the third period. The Lakers will be off next weekend, but will be back in action on January 20-21 in Big Rapids against Ferris State University. The Lakers tied both games against the Bulldogs early in the season.

LSSU Hockey.com on Google News

LSSU Hockey.com can now be found on Google News.

Lakers Top Broncos to Start Second Half of CCHA Action

Six different players scored goals for the 19th-ranked Lake Superior State hockey team, which beat Western Michigan 6-1 on Friday in its first Central Collegiate Hockey Association game of 2006. The Lakers (11-6-4 overall, 7-6-2 CCHA) improved their regular-season series record against WMU (4-12-3 overall, 4-7-2 CCHA) to 3-0. It is the first time they have beaten an opponent at least three times in a season since taking three of four games against Northern Michigan during the 1999-00 season LSSU also enjoyed its highest goal output in a CCHA home game since posting a 6-2 victory over Alaska Fairbanks on Nov. 12, 2004. Senior Mike Adamek broke a 1-1 tie with a short-handed unassisted goal at 11:38 of the second period and ignited a Laker surge. A Bronco player deflected Laker defenseman Kory Scoran's clearing pass from the corner to Adamek, who took off on a 2-on-1 break-away with Josh Sim. Adamek faced the pass and beat WMU starting goaltender Daniel Bellissimo. Derek R. Smith scored 2:13 later to make it 3-1, and Troy Schwab, Dan Eves and Dominic Osman added goals in the third period. LSSU led 1-0 on a power-play goal by Trent Campbell at 15:24 of a close first period. The Broncos out-shot the Lakers 12-11 in the opening period, and tied it 1-1 on a Mike Lesperance goal at 1:20 of the second period. The Lakers went on to out-shoot WMU 30-22 and finish 3-for-6 on the power play. Schwab and Eves also had power-play markers. LSSU goaltender Jeff Jakaitis stopped 21 of 22 Bronco shots, and the Laker defense held WMU scoreless on four power-play chances. Drawing assists for LSSU were Nathan Ward with two, and Derek R. Smith, Derek A. Smith, Schwab, Jeff Rainville, Eves, Osman and Campbell with one each. Bellissimo gave up five goals and totaled 21 saves through 42:32. He was replaced by Eric Marvin, who stopped three of four shots on goal. The Lakers and Broncos wrap up their series at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Taffy Abel Arena.

LSSU Hosts WMU to Start Second Half of the Season

The Lake Superior State University (10-6-4, 6-6-2 CCHA) hockey team will play host to struggling Western Michigan University (4-11-3, 4-6-2 CCHA) this weekend at the Taffy Abel Arena. LSSU is 6-2-3 at home while WMU is 0-6-3 on the road. LSSU is coming off a disappointing holiday break which saw them lose two games in the TBAY Tel Varsity Cup Tournament to Canadian universities. Western Michigan, picked to finish last in the CCHA in the preseason coaches poll, has done little to disappoint pollsters this season, with the exception of an early season sweep of then No. 4 Ohio State. WMU has gone 2-9-3 since, including being swept by LSSU in November which saw the Lakers score 10 goals in the opening game. Western Michigan's special teams have been extremely average this season, the Broncos power play is ranked 7th in the CCHA with a .170 power play percentage. Western’s penalty kill by contrast has been successful a horrendous 78.8 percent of the time, and has been averaging a 23.28 penalty minutes a game. LSSU’s special teams have been middle of the pack this season. The Lakers power play is ranked 6th in the CCHA scoring a goal 17.9% of the time, 25 goals in 140 opportunities. The Lakers penalty kill is ranked 7th in the CCHA, allowing 19 goals in 107 opportunities, for a .822 penalty kill percentage. The Lakers are averaging 2.65 goals per game this season while allowing 2.05 goals per game. Conversely Western is averaging 2.28 goals per game while surrendering an average of 3.89 goals per game. The Lakers are close to averaging the same number of shots per game as their opponents this season 26.9-24.9, while WMU has been greatly out shot by their opponents averaging 24.2 shots to their opponents 33.8. LSSU is looking to get back on track after a highly successful first half of the season; the Lakers have gone 2-3-1 in their last 6 games including their appearance in the TBAY Tel Varsity Cup Tournament. LSSU lead the all-time series 62-37-11. WMU is lead by, senior forward Brent Walton, Junior center Paul Szczechura and sophomore goaltender Daniel Bellissimo. Walton has 12 goals this season and 22 points, Szczechura has 12 assists and 17 points in 18 games this season. Bellissimo has played in all of WMU’s contests this season recording all of the Bronco’s 4 wins. Bellissimo has a .895 SV% and a 3.57 Goals Against Average. LSSU is lead by junior goaltender Jeff Jakaitis with his NCAA 9th ranked 2.01 goals against average, and 16th in the nation with a .918 save percentage. Jakaitis is also ranked third in the nation with 1132:13 minutes played this season. The Lakers offensive leader is Trent Campbell who has amassed 6 goals and 14 points this season. It is imperative for the Lakers to have a strong January against Western, Ferris, Bowling Green, and Nebraska-Omaha, before they conclude their season against Michigan, Northern, and Michigan State.