Lakers head Wright into 2nd half
A busy second half to the 2015-2016 Western Collegiate Hockey Association season begins for the Lake Superior State Lakers this weekend with a pair of home games.
The sixth-place Lakers, who have 12 points from a WCHA record of 4-4-4, are home to the second-place Bowling Green Falcons on Friday at 7:37 p.m. and Saturday at 7:07 p.m. at Taffy Abel Arena.
Bowling Green has a WCHA record of 8-2-4, good for 20 points.
The Lakers, who have an overall record of 7-11-4 through 22 outings, have 16 games to play this 2015-2016 season — 8 at home and 8 on the road — and all are WCHA matches.
Sophomore defenseman Aidan Wright, who hails from the Canadian side of the St. Mary’s River at Sault Ste. Marie, plays on the top unit for the Lakers as one of second-year head coach Damon Whitten’s more-dependable defenders.
And Wright is of the belief that the young, rebuilding Lakers can continue to climb the standings of the 10-team WCHA.
“We had a decent first half of the season but now that we have our feet wet we’ve got to build off it,” said Wright, who along with freshman forward Anthony Nellis are the only two Lakers to play in all 22 games this far this season.
“Guys know what to expect on a nightly basis in terms style of play and what teams have to offer and points become that much more important, so we are looking to continue to climb the standings and try to secure home ice advantage for playoffs,” Wright added.
Wright is of the notion that the Lakers have learned from some of their early-season defeats.
“We have played well for the most part but there have been games we let slip away from us,” continued Wright. “But as a young team I think that’s part of the process. I feel we have grown and learned from those nights. Like I said, now that we have our feet wet, we’ve just got to continue to build off what we’ve started.”
A defensive-minded defenseman who has a single assist in 22 games this season, Wright is happy with his play, especially of late.
“Early on I think I was a little inconsistent but in the past month I think I’ve found my game and been playing well,” said Wright. “This year I made it a goal to really take on a defensive role and I’ve adjusted pretty well to it.
“From an entire defensive-core standpoint, I think we’ve all been good and we’ve all taken on our own roles that help us win games, so if I’m able to continue with that, I’ll be happy,” he added.
Whitten, as the hard-driven bench boss who appears to have Lake Superior State headed in the right direction, is hopeful and expectant that the Lakers will continue to improve.
“Our expectation is to keep improving and put ourselves in a position to earn home ice. We need to do a better job of taking care of home ice and continue to earn points on the road,” he began.
“We’re pleased with the growth we have seen but disappointed in some missed opportunities,” Whitten continued. “When we play within our structure and with discipline we have been an outstanding defensive team. Our offense needs to take a step forward and now past the halfway point, we know how we need to play to be successful.”
To be sure, Whitten likes the position the Lakers have placed themselves in.
“We have put ourselves in a position to have a strong finish in WCHA play. We’re excited to return to Taffy Abel and finish strong,” he relayed.
As a team that is tied with Alaska-Anchorage for sixth spot in the WCHA, the Lakers are within two points of fifth-place Northern Michigan and have two games in hand on the Wildcats
To be sure, the Lakers have been getting a lot out of their younger players.
Of the Lakers top seven scorers, four are freshmen, two are sophomores and one is a junior.
And of the two goalies who share the workload for the Lakers, one is a freshman and the other is a sophomore.
Sophomore J.T. Henke leads the Lakers in scoring with 6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points.
Then it’s junior forward Gus Correale at 5-6-11, freshman forward Gage Torrel at 4-7-11, freshman forward Mitch Hults at 4-6-10, freshman forward Anthony Nellis at 3-6-9, freshman defenseman Owen Headrick at 3-4-7 and sophomore defenseman James Roll at 1-6-7.
Headrick, who hails from Garden River First Nation and who starred for the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League the past two seasons, could return to the Lakers lineup this weekend.
After playing in the Lakers first 20 games of the season, a sore back caused Headrick to miss Lake Superior State’s two post-Christmas games at the Catamount Cup tournament in Vermont.
As for the Laker goalies, freshman Nick Kossoff has a 3-3-1 record and 3 shutouts to go with a 1.74 goals against average and .931 save percentage while sophomore tender Gordon Defiel has 4-8-3, 2.65 and .919 numbers.
PHOTO: Lake Superior State sophomore defenseman Aidan Wright. (Photo by Ali Pearson.)