Lakers clinch WCHA playoff spot
A three-point weekend has secured a playoff spot for the Lake Superior State Lakers and assured them of at least seventh place in the 10-team Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Playing at home, the Lakers upended fourth-place Northern Michigan 3-1 and then erased a 2-0 deficit to hold the Wildcats to a 2-2 tie.
The three points boost the Lakers WCHA record to 9-12-5 with two games to play in the regular season, both at Ferris State against the fifth-place Bulldogs next weekend.
The Lakers are two points back of sixth-place Bemidji State Beavers.
All 10 WCHA teams have two games to play in the regular season.
Freshman defenseman Owen Headrick of Garden River First Nation had assists in both weekend games for the Lakers and is sixth in team scoring with 4 goals, 7 assists, 11 points in 34 games.
Headrick, who has been playing with a sore back for the past several weeks, earned praise from Lakers head coach Damon Whitten following Saturday’s 2-2 tie.
“He’s playing the way we need him to play,” Whitten said of the freshman blue-liner, who is returning to full strength from his back ailment.
Whitten also gave full credit to the Lakers for overcoming the 2-0 deficit and gaining the 2-2 tie on Saturday.
“We stood with it,” Whitten told play-by-play announcer Bill Crawford on the Yes-FM post-game radio show.
Overall, through 36 games this season, the Lakers have a record of 12-19-5 under second-year coach Whitten.