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2020–21 Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey season

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2020–21 Lake Superior State Lakers
men's ice hockey season
WCHA Tournament, Champion
NCAA Tournament, Regional semifinal
Conference2nd WCHA
Home iceTaffy Abel Arena
Rankings
USCHO.com14
USA Today/
US Hockey Magazine
13
Record
Overall19–7–3
Conference9–5–0–2–2–0
Home9–4–3
Road8–2–0
Neutral2–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachDamon Whitten
Assistant coachesMike York
Zack Cisek
Mike Gugin
Captain(s)Lukas Kälble
Alternate captain(s)Ashton Calder
Hampus Eriksson
Will Riedell
Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey season was the 55th season of play for the program, the 48th at the Division I level and the 8th in the WCHA conference. The Lakers represented Lake Superior State University and were coached by Damon Whitten, in his 7th season.

Season

[edit]

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Lake Superior State's players would lose a season of play.[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.[2]

After a poor season the year before, Lake Superior saw a great deal of roster turnover. At the start of the season the altered lineup seemed to be performing well; the team lost just once in their first ten games, though the strength of their opposition (or lack thereof) did contribute to their record. Their schedule was part of the reason why the Lakers were ranked 19th when they began conference play and, due to casing the WCHA's top team, they swiftly found themselves outside the top-20. Lake Superior didn't go away, however; the team flirted with the ranking for the remainder of the regular season. The Lakers ended with a much-improved record of 15–6–3, mostly on the strength of senior netminder Mareks Mitens and receiving 170 fewer penalty minutes than the year before (which averaged to about 1 fewer power play against every other game). With both the team's offense and defense playing better than it had in years, the Lakers finished tied for second in the WCHA, the best result for LSSU since 1996.[3]

Even with their record and finish, the Lakers were still ranked outside the top 15 and needed a good performance in the WCHA tournament to get into the conversation. As the second seed, the Lakers began at home against Alabama–Huntsville and dispatched the Chargers fairly easily. In the semifinals, Lake Superior took on Bemidji State with their season on the line and the defense completely shut down the Beavers. Lake State scored the first four goals of the game and Mitens didn't surrender a single goal until 4 minutes remained, even then it only came on a BSU power play with their goalie pulled. The Lakers received a gift by facing 6th-seeded Northern Michigan for the championship. Lake Superior took full advantage by against scoring the first four goals and then coasted to a 6–3 win. it was the program's first conference title since 1995 and the automatic bid allowed the Lakers into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996.

Lake Superior received a 3-seed and were set opposite Massachusetts. Unfortunately, the Minutemen were the hottest team in the country, not having lost a game since mid-January, and it showed from the very start. UMass was the aggressor, scoring first, and despite a tying goal by Lake State at the end of the first the Lakers looked like they were following the play. UMass broke the game open in the second, outshooting LSSU 18–7 and scoring twice to take the lead. The Lakers picked up their game in the third but the oppressive defense by Massachusetts prevented Lake Superior from denting the twine and two more goals against put the game out of reach. Even with poor finish, this season can't be considered anything but a resounding success for the Lakers.

Niko Esposito-Selivanov sat out the season.

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Tyler Anderson Defenseman  Canada Left program
Bryan Basilico Forward  United States Graduation
Roman Bengert Goaltender  Japan Transferred to Prince Edward Island
Roberts Bļugers Defenseman  Latvia Transferred to Alaska
Brayden Gelsinger Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Utah Grizzlies)
Owen Guy Forward  Canada Left program
Max Humitz Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Grand Rapids Griffins)
Ian Johnston Forward  Canada Graduation
Brendan McKay Forward  Canada Graduation
Colin Saccoman Defenseman  United States Graduation
Alec Semandel Defenseman  United States Transferred to New Hampshire

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Jacob Bengtsson Forward/Defenseman  Sweden 21 Stockholm, SWE
Artyom Borshyov Defenseman  Belarus 20 Vitebsk, BLR
Spencer DenBeste Forward  United States 21 Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Jeremy Gervais Defenseman  Canada 21 Prince George, BC
Jack Jeffers Forward  Canada 22 Oakville, ON; transfer from Alabama–Huntsville
Ethan Langenegger Goaltender  Canada 20 Kamloops, BC
Benito Posa Forward  United States 21 Grand Blanc, MI
Brandon Puricelli Forward  United States 22 Ellisville, MO; transfer from Minnesota–Duluth
Joshua Wildauer Forward  United States 21 Dearborn Heights, MI
Tyler Williams Forward  United States 21 South Lyon, MI

Roster

[edit]

As of October 14, 2020.[4]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 British Columbia Ethan Langenegger Freshman G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2000-09-10 Kamloops, British Columbia Salmon Arm (BCHL)
2 Ontario Michael Mannara Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-03-21 Caledon, Ontario Trenton (OJHL)
3 North Carolina Will Riedell (A) Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1996-10-09 Greensboro, North Carolina New Jersey (NAHL)
4 Sweden Jacob Bengtsson Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 1999-05-08 Stockholm, Sweden Waterloo (USHL)
5 Sweden Arvid Henrikson Sophomore D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 211 lb (96 kg) 1998-02-23 Stockholm, Sweden Austin (NAHL) MTL, 187th overall 2016
7 British Columbia Mitchell Oliver Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1997-06-17 Kelowna, British Columbia Alberni (BCHL)
8 Michigan Dustin Manz Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1999-09-21 Vanderbilt, Michigan Prince George (BCHL)
9 British Columbia Alex Ambrosio Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1997-03-12 Burnaby, British Columbia Coquitlam (BCHL)
10 Slovakia Miroslav Mucha Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 1997-10-07 Bytča, Slovakia Minot (NAHL)
11 Florida Niko Esposito-Selivanov Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-09-23 St. Petersburg, Florida Cowichan Valley (BCHL)
12 Missouri Brandon Puricelli Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-02-04 Ellisville, Missouri Minnesota Duluth (NCHC)
13 Michigan Sepncer DenBeste Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-02-17 Marquette, Michigan Johnstown (NAHL)
14 Japan Yuki Miura Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1996-07-19 Tokyo, Japan Waterloo (USHL)
15 Sweden Jacob Nordqvist Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1998-02-12 Gothenburg, Sweden Madison (USHL)
16 Michigan Ashton Calder (A) Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1998-02-09 Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Lincoln (USHL)
17 Michigan Chase Gamelin Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1996-07-20 Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Brookings (NAHL)
19 Michigan Joshua Wildauer Freshman F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1999-06-16 Dearborn Heights, Michigan Coquitlam (BCHL)
20 Ontario Jack Jeffers Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-09-21 Oakville, Ontario Alabama Huntsville (WCHA)
21 Michigan Tyler Williams Freshman F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-05-16 South Lyon, Michigan Nanaimo (BCHL)
22 Germany Lukas Kaelble (C) Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1997-10-13 Mannheim, Germany Fargo (USHL)
24 Sweden Hampus Eriksson (A) Senior F 6' 6" (1.98 m) 211 lb (96 kg) 1996-09-11 Forsbacka, Sweden Fairbanks (NAHL)
25 British Columbia Jeremy Gervais Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-01-09 Prince George, British Columbia Salmon Arm (BCHL)
26 Quebec Pete Veillette Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1997-02-26 Drummondville, Quebec Ottawa (CCHL)
27 Michigan Benito Posa Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-01-16 Grand Blanc, Michigan Des Moines (USHL)
29 France Louis Boudon Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1998-10-04 Grenoble, France Northeast (NAHL)
30 Latvia Mareks Mitens Senior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-01-29 Ventspils, Latvia Aston (NAHL)
31 Minnesota Seth Eisele Sophomore G 6' 5" (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-10-30 Lake Elmo, Minnesota Lone Star (NAHL)

Standings

[edit]
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#4 Minnesota State 14 13 1 0 1 1 0 39 56 15 27 22 5 1 100 46
#14 Lake Superior State * 14 9 5 0 2 2 0 27 39 34 29 19 7 3 86 63
#18 Bowling Green 14 8 5 1 0 2 0 27 46 34 31 20 10 1 108 67
#10 Bemidji State 14 8 5 1 3 2 0 24 42 34 29 16 10 3 82 70
Michigan Tech 14 7 7 0 1 0 0 20 38 35 30 17 12 1 78 63
Northern Michigan 14 6 7 1 2 2 1 20 40 47 29 11 17 1 79 103
Alabama–Huntsville 14 3 11 0 1 0 0 8 18 49 22 3 18 1 31 80
Ferris State 14 0 13 1 0 1 1 3 28 59 25 1 23 1 55 103
Alaska 0 - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Alaska Anchorage 0 - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Championship: March 20, 2021
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular season
November 21 4:54 PM vs. Michigan Tech* Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Mitens T 0–0 SOW 8 0–0–1
November 22 3:07 PM vs. Michigan Tech* Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Eisele W 4–1  0 1–0–1
November 27 7:07 PM vs. Adrian* Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Mitens W 5–3  0 2–0–1
November 29 2:05 PM at Adrian* Arrington Ice ArenaAdrian, Michigan   Mitens W 2–1  0 3–0–1
December 5 5:07 PM vs. Alabama–Huntsville* Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Mitens T 2–2 SOW 0 3–0–2
December 6 3:07 PM vs. Alabama–Huntsville* Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Langenegger W 3–2  0 4–0–2
January 2 5:00 PM vs. Bemidji State* #19 Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Mitens L 1–4  0 4–1–2
January 3 3:00 PM vs. Bemidji State* #19 Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Mitens T 2–2 SOW 0 4–1–3
January 8 7:07 PM at Northern Michigan* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   Mitens W 4–1  0 5–1–3
January 9 6:07 PM at Northern Michigan* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   Mitens W 3–2 OT 0 6–1–3
January 15 7:07 PM vs. #5 Minnesota State #19 Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey.tv Mitens L 0–3  0 6–2–3 (0–1–0)
January 15 7:07 PM vs. #5 Minnesota State #19 Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey.tv Mitens L 2–6  0 6–3–3 (0–2–0)
February 6 5:00 PM vs. Northern Michigan Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey.tv Eisele W 5–4 OT 0 7–3–3 (1–2–0)
February 7 3:00 PM vs. Northern Michigan Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey.tv Langenegger L 3–4 OT 0 7–4–3 (1–3–0)
February 12 7:07 PM at #12 Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio FloHockey.tv Mitens W 2–1 OT 300 8–4–3 (2–3–0)
February 13 7:07 PM at #12 Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio FloHockey.tv Mitens W 5–2  300 9–4–3 (3–3–0)
February 16 7:07 PM at #18 Michigan Tech #20 MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan FloHockey.tv Mitens W 3–1  300 10–4–3 (4–3–0)
February 19 7:00 PM vs. Alabama–Huntsville #20 Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey.tv Mitens W 2–1  0 11–4–3 (5–3–0)
February 20 5:00 PM vs. Alabama–Huntsville #20 Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey.tv Langenegger W 4–1  0 12–4–3 (6–3–0)
February 23 2:07 PM at #20 Michigan Tech #18 MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan FloHockey.tv Mitens L 1–4  300 12–5–3 (6–4–0)
February 26 7:07 PM at Ferris State #18 Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey.tv Mitens W 4–2  250 13–5–3 (7–4–0)
March 2 7:07 PM at #17 Bemidji State #20 Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey.tv Mitens L 1–2 OT 250 13–6–3 (7–5–0)
March 3 5:07 PM at #17 Bemidji State #20 Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey.tv Mitens W 5–2  250 14–6–3 (8–5–0)
March 6 3:07 PM at Ferris State #20 Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey.tv Mitens W 2–1  0 15–6–3 (9–5–0)
WCHA Tournament
March 12 7:07 PM vs. Alabama–Huntsville* #18 Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan (WCHA quarterfinals Game 1)   Mitens W 6–1  0 16–6–3
March 13 5:07 PM vs. Alabama–Huntsville* #18 Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan (WCHA quarterfinals Game 2)   Eisele W 4–1  0 17–6–3
Lake Superior State Won Series 2–0
March 19 8:37 PM vs. #13 Bemidji State* #17 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota (WCHA Semifinal)   Mitens W 4–1  250 18–6–3
March 20 8:07 PM vs. Northern Michigan* #17 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota (WCHA Championship)   Mitens W 6–3  250 19–6–3
NCAA Tournament
March 26 6:30 PM vs. #6 Massachusetts* #13 Webster Bank ArenaBridgeport, Connecticut (NCAA East Regional semifinal) ESPNU Beydoun L 1–5  100 19–7–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

[5]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Ashton Calder F 29 16 13 29 20
Pete Veillette C 29 13 14 27 4
Louis Boudon C 27 8 11 19 14
Hampus Eriksson C/W 27 6 13 19 16
Will Riedell D 29 6 11 17 18
Brandon Puricelli RW 28 8 7 15 37
Jacob Nordqvist D 29 3 12 15 10
Lukas Kälble D 27 2 13 15 16
Miroslav Mucha RW 29 5 9 14 4
Yuki Miura C 29 4 8 12 4
Mitchell Oliver D 25 3 7 10 8
Benito Posa F 20 4 5 9 28
Jack Jeffers F 28 2 7 9 23
Jacob Bengtsson C/D 38 2 5 7 26
Dustin Manz C 29 2 5 7 10
Chase Gamelin F 29 1 3 4 0
Alexandro Ambrosio F 29 1 3 4 14
Jeremy Gervais D 16 0 2 2 0
Seth Eisele G 4 0 1 1 0
Joshua Wildauer C 13 0 1 1 4
Mareks Mitens G 25 0 1 1 0
Arvid Henrikson D 29 0 1 1 27
Spencer DenBeste F 1 0 0 0 0
Michael Mannara D 2 0 0 0 0
Tyler Williams C 3 0 0 0 2
Ethan Langenegger G 6 0 0 0 0
Artyom Borshyov D 13 0 0 0 6
Bench - - - - - 18
Total 86 152 238 309

[6]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Mareks Mitens 25 1380 14 6 3 45 602 1 .930 1.96
Seth Eisele 4 165 3 0 0 6 62 0 .912 2.18
Ethan Langenegger 6 211 2 1 0 8 77 0 .906 2.27
Empty Net - 8 - - - 4 - - - -
Total 29 1765 19 7 3 63 741 1 .922 2.14

Rankings

[edit]
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 19 NR 19 NR NR NR NR 20 18 20 18 17 13 - 14
USA Today NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 13 13 13

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[7]

Awards and honors

[edit]
Player Award Ref
Ashton Calder WCHA Most Outstanding Player in Tournament [8]
Mareks Mitens WCHA Second Team [9]
Will Riedell
Ashton Calder
Pete Veillette WCHA Third Team [9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "Lake Superior Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "Roster". Lake Superior State Athletics. Retrieved July 17, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Lake Superior State Lakers (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "Lake Superior State Univ. 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "Minnesota State's Mike Hastings Wins 2021 Spencer Penrose Award". WCHA. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "WCHA Announces 2020-21 All-League Teams". WCHA.com. March 10, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.