Senior Night Saturday

Only one point separates Lake Superior State and Western Michigan heading into this weekend’s Central Collegiate Hockey Association series, which happens to be the Lakers’ final regular-season home series of the season. The Lakers (9-15-8 overall, 6-12-6-1 CCHA) play host to WMU (9-16-7 overall, 6-12-6-2 CCHA) at 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Taffy Abel Arena. Both games will be broadcast live on Rock 101 and simulcast on www.rock101.net. A pay-per-view video feed is available on the B2 Network. Only one shootout victory separates the ninth-place Broncos (9-16-7 overall, 6-12-6-2 CCHA) and 10th-place Lakers (9-15-8 overall, 6-12-6-1 CCHA). LSSU claimed a shootout victory over Bowling Green State, while WMU beat Nebraska-Omaha and Ferris State in shootouts. Mathematically, LSSU and WMU are among six schools that can still finish anywhere from sixth through 12th place in the CCHA standings. Many are predicting that home ice for the first round of the CCHA Playoffs will come down to the Lakers’ final regular-season game at Northern Michigan. Other schools involved in that mix are sixth-place UNO, which plays host to first-place Notre Dame, seventh-place Ferris State, which travels to Alaska, and eighth-place Northern Michigan, which travels to second-place Miami. Michigan State, which is tied for 10th with LSSU, plays a home-and-home series against 12th-place BGSU. Notre Dame and Miami have both clinched first-round byes in the CCHA Playoffs. LSSU will pay tribute to seniors Troy Schwab, Josh Sim, Carter Lee and Steve Oleksy following Saturday’s game. Schwab, the team’s points leader with 9-16—25, is one of only three LSSU players to have worn the “C” for two years and he is the first Laker in 11 years to reach the 100-point career scoring milestone. He is on track to lead the Lakers in assists for four straight seasons. Sim, who is the Lakers’ No. 2 scorer with 9-14—23 this season, has over 60 points during his career. He was the team’s co-leader in goals scored as a sophomore with 15. This season he has been a leader at both ends of the ice. He is second on the team in plus-minus at +9. That’s his best rating since he was +3 as a freshman. Lee, who played two seasons at LSSU after transferring from Northeastern, has seen limited playing time. He has contributed two assists in nine appearances. Oleksy, a transfer in his third season at LSSU, is having his best season so far with seven assists and a +3 rating.