{"id":138488,"date":"2023-02-01T06:00:35","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T12:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=138488"},"modified":"2023-01-31T21:21:35","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T03:21:35","slug":"this-week-in-ccha-hockey-lake-superior-state-finding-positives-making-progress-in-what-has-become-trying-2022-23-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2023\/02\/01\/this-week-in-ccha-hockey-lake-superior-state-finding-positives-making-progress-in-what-has-become-trying-2022-23-season\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in CCHA Hockey: Lake Superior State finding positives, making progress in what has become trying 2022-23 season"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Lake Superior State defenseman Jacob Bengtsson helped the Lakers to a series split last weekend with Bemidji State (photo: Lake Superior State Athletics).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By most measures, it\u2019s been a tough winter in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s a far cry from the team that won a conference tournament title and made an NCAA tournament appearance just two seasons ago.<\/p>\n

Head coach Damon Whitten said it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been disappointing that some guys didn\u2019t have the years we expected them to have, so we\u2019ve made some changes,\u201d LSSU\u2019s ninth-year head coach said Monday. \u201cWe\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s been slow.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until January that things seemed to have clicked \u2013 at least a little bit \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

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).<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve 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,\u201d Whitten said, noting it was a small thing, but it at least means they are more competitive. \u201cThat\u2019s giving us a chance to stay in games and win some games, and get to overtime, things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond that, Whitten said he noticed some other locker room issues were happening affecting the mood of the squad. He didn\u2019t elaborate but said refreshing the lineup and using different line combinations has paid off on the ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we\u2019ve 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 \u2013 they\u2019ve done a good job, and they\u2019re still contributing and a big part of our group \u2013 but as we\u2019ve made some other changes and separations, it\u2019s partly opportunity and partly getting the right people on board in the right place.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a combination of guys taking advantage of their opportunity and also getting the right guys in the right spots.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s last four games \u2013 including a goal against Bemidji State on Friday \u2013 while Tritt scored twice in the Lakers\u2019 win over Ferris earlier in the month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve stepped up and done a lot of good things for us and have played in a lot of situations,\u201d Whitten said.<\/p>\n

Going forward, the Lakers have six more games before the CCHA playoffs begin. They are currently in eighth place with 14 points \u2013 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Considering Lake State was just seconds from sweeping Bemidji State this weekend \u2013 the Beavers scored the game-winning goal with just 17 ticks left on the clock on Friday \u2013 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.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re 17 seconds away from taking six points on the weekend,\u201d Whitten said. \u201cIt\u2019s progress, and we\u2019re going to take it. We\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs our goal to win the playoffs? Absolutely, but before that, we need to focus on winning the first five minutes on Friday night. We\u2019re 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\u2019s more the few inches in front of your face that you have to worry about now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By most measures, it\u2019s 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. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":138489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[854],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis Week in CCHA Hockey: Lake Superior State finding positives, making progress in what has become trying 2022-23 season - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By most measures, it\u2019s been a tough winter in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. 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