By most measures, it’s been a tough winter in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
A team that was predicted to be in the mix for home ice advantage and potentially competing for a CCHA title before the season started, Lake Superior State has found itself in a place it never would have expected: In the basement. At 5-21-2, it’s a far cry from the team that won a conference tournament title and made an NCAA tournament appearance just two seasons ago.
Head coach Damon Whitten said it’s the opposite of what he expected at the start of the season, and the Lakers are just now starting to figure out the best lineup combinations to help the team get better results.
“It’s been disappointing that some guys didn’t have the years we expected them to have, so we’ve made some changes,” LSSU’s ninth-year head coach said Monday. “We’ve gone a little bit younger, giving some other guys an opportunity to fill in and step up and the good positive news is that those guys are doing it and giving us a chance to compete and win.”
The Lakers won just one game in regulation during the first two months of this season (a 5-1 victory over Clarkson). Since then, more victories have come, but it’s been slow.
It wasn’t until January that things seemed to have clicked – at least a little bit – for the Lakers, as they went 2-6 last month. They were also 2-6 in December, but the performances since the calendar turned to 2023 have been much stronger.
The Lakers split with Ferris State on Jan. 13-14 before going to Mankato to be swept by the Mavericks. However, in that series they earned a point by taking MSU to overtime on Friday before losing a close game Saturday 3-1 (the final goal was an empty-netter). And this past weekend, they split with Bemidji State by a pair of 3-2 decisions (they split with the Beavers back in December, too).
Whitten said the biggest difference he is seeing in this team is defensive consistency. In January, the Lakers had a 3.23 goals-against average. In the previous three months combined, it was 3.60.
“We’ve been better in even-strength situations in particular, and just giving ourselves a chance by cutting down our goals-against average and a better attention to detail defensively,” Whitten said, noting it was a small thing, but it at least means they are more competitive. “That’s giving us a chance to stay in games and win some games, and get to overtime, things like that.”
Beyond that, Whitten said he noticed some other locker room issues were happening affecting the mood of the squad. He didn’t elaborate but said refreshing the lineup and using different line combinations has paid off on the ice.
“I think as you sort through a challenging season you become aware of some other issues or things that are going on in the locker room,” he said. “I think we’ve made some changes to the lineup that strengthened our room. Even though we have some strong leadership at the top with guys like Louis Boudon and Jacob Bengtsson – they’ve done a good job, and they’re still contributing and a big part of our group – but as we’ve made some other changes and separations, it’s partly opportunity and partly getting the right people on board in the right place.
“It’s a combination of guys taking advantage of their opportunity and also getting the right guys in the right spots.”
Two of the youngsters who have seen the most key minutes and are taking advantage have been sophomores Timo Bakos and Dawson Tritt, who each have 13 points. Bakos has a point in each of Lake State’s last four games – including a goal against Bemidji State on Friday – while Tritt scored twice in the Lakers’ win over Ferris earlier in the month.
“They’ve stepped up and done a lot of good things for us and have played in a lot of situations,” Whitten said.
Going forward, the Lakers have six more games before the CCHA playoffs begin. They are currently in eighth place with 14 points – seven points behind both Northern Michigan and St. Thomas, who are tied for sixth place. Both the Wildcats and the Tommies have two games-in-hand, but there’s some reason for optimism, as the Lakers get to face both teams head-to-head in the final month of the season. The Lakers travel to Northern Michigan this weekend, then have a bye week before hosting the Tommies in the Sault. They will end their season at Ferris State.
Considering Lake State was just seconds from sweeping Bemidji State this weekend – the Beavers scored the game-winning goal with just 17 ticks left on the clock on Friday – Whitten has a reason to feel like the Lakers can go on a run in the last month of the regular season. (The Lakers, conversely, scored their own game-winner with 13 seconds left on Saturday.)
“We’re 17 seconds away from taking six points on the weekend,” Whitten said. “It’s progress, and we’re going to take it. We’ve got to keep growing and find a way to disrupt some things, see if we can make a push to change our standings and make a push going into the playoffs.
“Is our goal to win the playoffs? Absolutely, but before that, we need to focus on winning the first five minutes on Friday night. We’re just going to focus on practice this week, find the right pieces, continue to play better, more consistent, better defensively. We need to go into Marquette and win a game on Friday night. That starts with the first 20 minutes. It’s more the few inches in front of your face that you have to worry about now.”
