Lakers in tough at Michigan Tech
As the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season heads into the stretch run, the seventh-place Lake Superior State Lakers face the daunting task of playing the third-place Michigan Tech Huskies on the road as part of Winter Carnival weekend.
Appearing on the Laker Hockey Show, which airs on Mondays from 6-7 p.m. on Sault Ste. Marie radio station ESPN 1400, Lake State head coach Damon Whitten — who used to be an assistant at Michigan Tech — spoke of the party-like atmosphere that the Lakers will be facing this Friday and Saturday in Houghton.
“It’s a fun atmosphere but they get into the adult beverages during the day and their fans will be noisier than usual,” said Whitten. “We just have to stay focused and concentrate on the games.”
Friday’s game is an 8:07 p.m. start and Saturday’s match is slated to begin at 5:07 p.m. Both contests will be broadcast live on Sault Ste. Marie radio station 99.5 Yes-FM with Bill Crawford calling the play-by-play.
The Lakers head into the weekend set at Tech with a WCHA record of 6-8-4 while the Huskies have a mark of 11-6-3.
All 10 teams in the WCHA play a 28-game regular-season schedule within the conference. The top eight teams make the playoffs.
The Lakers and fifth-place Northern Michigan Wildcats have played 18 WCHA games to date while the other eight teams have all played 20.
As they head to Michigan Tech with an overall record of 9-15-4, the Lakers have scored only 51 goals in 28 games, which is the lowest in the 10-team WCHA.
Conversely, Michigan Tech has scored 78 goals in 26 games.
The lack of Laker production is evident in comparing top point-getters with Michigan Tech.
Sophomore forward J.T. Henke, who leads the Lakers in scoring with 6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points, is 34th in the WCHA in scoring. By comparison, Michigan Tech senior forward Alex Petan leads the entire WCHA in scoring with 14 goals, 11 assists, 25 points.
Experience-wise, Michigan Tech is a much-older team than the Lakers and to boot, the Huskies have five National Hockey League draft picks on their roster.
From a Canadian Soo standpoint, freshman defenceman Owen Headrick of Garden River First Nation is sixth on the Lakers in scoring with 4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points.
If the Lakers can take down the Huskies during their Winter Carnival this weekend, the tears of their fans will be so, so sweet.
Lake Superior will be lucky to score a goal this Wkd … let alone win a game!
Lets go Tech … lets get the Winter Carnivel Sweep!