LSSU to Attempt to Right Ship against OSU

This weekend’s Central Collegiate Hockey Association series between Lake Superior State and Ohio State pits the freshmen-sophomore dominated Lakers against the freshman-senior dominated Buckeyes. LSSU (3-15-4 overall, 1-12-3 CCHA) and OSU (7-17-2 overall, 3-12-1 CCHA) play at 7:05 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at Taffy Abel Arena. Friday is “Rally Towel Night,” and the first 2,000 spectators who enter the gate will receive a free Laker Hockey rally towel. Both games will be broadcast live on ROCK 101 FM and simulcast on www.lssulakers.com. Pay-per-view video webcasts are available on the B2 Network. Both teams are coming off a pair of one-sided losses against nationally-ranked opponents. LSSU fell to 2-12-2 against teams receiving votes in the national polls after losing 6-1 and 5-0 at No. 2 Miami last weekend. Ohio State lost 4-1 and 4-0 at home to No. 5/6 Michigan State on Jan. 18-19. Against common opponents Miami, Nebraska-Omaha, Michigan and Michigan State this season, Lake Superior State has a record of 0-6-2 including two ties against UNO, while Ohio State’s mark is 1-8-0 including a split at Michigan. Ohio State’s roster includes nine seniors and 12 freshmen, while the remaining five players are sophomores and juniors. The Buckeyes matched a season high last Saturday when 11 freshmen suited up against Michigan State. They also played with 11 rookies on Jan. 5 against Alaska. LSSU’s roster includes 17 freshmen and sophomores, including 16 who play regularly. Senior Dan Eves (5-7--12) and junior Troy Schwab (1-10--11) are the only upperclassmen among the Lakers’ top 10 in scoring. Sophomore Nathan Perkovich, who leads the team in points with 12-2--14, drew an assist last weekend at Miami, but was shut out of the goal-scoring column in a series for the first time since Nov. 23-24 against Northern Michigan. Four of OSU’s top five scorers are seniors, including Tommy Goebel (12-8--20), Tom Fritsche (4-10--14), Matt McIlvane (4-9--13) and Jason DeSantis (2-9--11). Ohio State’s top-scoring freshman is Peter Boyd (4-8--12), while rookie Sergio Somma is second on the team in goals scored (7-3--10). LSSU’s top scoring freshman is Rick Schofield, who is fourth on the team in points with 6-4--10.