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2023–24 Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey season

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2023–24 Lake Superior State Lakers
men's ice hockey season
Conference7th CCHA
Home iceTaffy Abel Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall17–20–1
Conference11–12–1
Home9–6–1
Road8–13–0
Neutral0–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachDamon Whitten
Assistant coachesMike York
D. J. Goldstein
Dwayne Roloson
Vincent Pietrangelo
Captain(s)
  • Artyom Borshyov
  • Harrison Roy
Alternate captain(s)
  • Grant Hindman
  • Dawson Tritt
Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

The 2023–24 Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey season was the 58th season of play for the program, the 51st at the Division I level and the 44th in the CCHA. The Lakers represented Lake Superior State University, played their home games at the Taffy Abel Arena and were coached by Damon Whitten in his 10th season.

Season

[edit]

After an unmitigated disaster of a season, particularly on the offensive side of the puck, changes were needed at Lake Superior State. Thirteen new players joined the Lakers and the changes were evident early in the season. LSSU got swept in its opening weekend, but it came at the hands of a ranked Michigan State squad. After a home split the following weekend, the Lakers reeled off four consecutive victories and did so with a functioning offense. The chief instigators for this resurgence were two returning players, both of whom made tremendous improvements to their games. Jared Westcott led the team with 18 goals and nearly tripled his career high in points. Connor Millburn was an even bigger revelation, going from 5 points the year before to 35, helping Lake State improve its offense by more than a goal per game. Westcott and Millburn combined with Dawson Tritt to form the team's top unit and led the team's turnaround.

In goal, Ethan Langenegger was an adequate starting goaltender but the team struggled to put wins together. The Lakers alternated wins and losses in the first half and entered the winter break with a .500 record. With how volatile the CCHA was, the team could have finished anywhere in the standings but they would need to shore up their defensive deficiencies if they wanted to get home ice in the postseason. Lake Superior's failure at the Ledyard Bank Classic didn't really affect the team as, by then, it was already apparent that only the CCHA champion would make the NCAA tournament. A sweep of Northern Michigan two weeks later was far more important for the team but the wins were, unfortunately, fleeting. Over a 4-week stretch, the offense faltered and the team went 1–5 in conference play. The rough patch dropped the Lakers to 7th in the standings and Lake Superior was facing the prospect of starting their postseason run on the road.

In the latter portion of the campaign, Langenegger lost his grip on the starting job and the team began to rotate between him and Easton Hesse. The new entry into the Laker cage provided several good outing while the reduced minutes appeared to help Langenegger as well. The team managed to go 3–2 down the stretch, which included the Lakers' only shutout of the season, but they were unable to get out of a road trip for the postseason.

Lake Superior opened against a surprising St. Thomas team in the quarterfinals, however, they weren't as overmatched by the #2 seed as they may have appeared. The two were separated by just one win in the standings while both were +6 in goal differential. Helping Lake Superior's chances was the Tommies being in the middle of a terrible stretch that had them win just once in their previous eight games.[1] The Lakers took advantage of their vulnerable opponent and won the first game with relative ease. The defeat seemed to wake up St. Thomas, who outplayed the Lakers in game two to tie the series. Both teams showed up for the deciding game but Lake Superior seemed to be in trouble when Westcott took a match penalty for boarding early in the second period. However, despite being down a man, Connor Milburn scored a short-handed goal at the beginning of the penalty kill and the Lakers managed to stop all attempts from the Tommies during the disadvantage. In spite of the defensive heroics, Lake State was still down a goal entering the third. With Langenegger holding down the fort, Reagan Milburn picked the perfect time to score his second goal of the season and tie the game in the middle of the period. St. Thomas was forced to get out of their defensive shell and both teams battled for the next goal. As time was winding down, the Lakers got on an odd-man rush up the ice. After the initial shot was saved, the rebound bounced straight up in the air and landed in the crease right at the feet of Tritt the Laker winger batted the puck into the cage before anyone could stop him, scoring the winning maker with just 6.6 seconds to play.[2]

While the Lakers were hoping for a repeat performance in the conference semifinals, they were completely outmatched by Bemidji State. The team was outshot nearly 3-to-1 and were never really a threat to the Beavers. Even with that unceremonious end, the Lakers had taken a big step forward, climbing eleven spots higher in the national rankings.[3]

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Jacob Bengtsson Defenseman  Sweden Transferred to Boston College
Louis Boudon Forward  France Graduation (signed with Laval Rocket)
Spencer DenBeste Forward  United States Transferred to Aurora
Seth Eisele Goaltender  United States Graduate transfer to Omaha
Arvid Henrikson Defenseman  Sweden Graduation (signed with San Jose Barracuda)
Jack Jeffers Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Savannah Ghost Pirates)
Logan Jenuwine Forward  United States Graduate transfer to American International
Jared Kucharek Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Iowa Heartlanders)
Sebastian Miedema Defenseman  Sweden Left program (retired)
Brandon Puricelli Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Iowa Heartlanders)
Jake Willets Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Toledo Walleye)

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Carter Batchelder Forward  United States 20 Savage, MN
Jack Blanchett Defenseman  United States 20 Monroe, MI
Evan Bushy Defenseman  United States 21 Mankato, MN
Jacob Conrad Defenseman  United States 21 Green Bay, WI
William Håkansson Goaltender  Sweden 20 Oskarshamn, SWE
John Herrington Forward  Canada 21 Hudson's Hope, BC
Cam Kungle Defenseman  Canada 21 Red Deer, AB
Luke Levandowski Forward  United States 21 Rosemount, MN
Reagan Milburn Forward  Canada 20 Kamloops, BC
Branden Piku Forward  United States 21 Harrison Township, MI
Ross Roloson Defenseman  United States 21 Woodbury, MN
Nate Schweitzer Defenseman  United States 21 Champlin, MN; transfer from Colorado College
Sasha Teleguine Forward  United States 21 North Attleborough, MA; transfer from Connecticut

Roster

[edit]

As of September 18, 2023.[4]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 British Columbia Ethan Langenegger Senior G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2000-09-10 Kamloops, British Columbia Salmon Arm (BCHL)
2 Michigan Bryan Huggins Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-03-26 Grand Rapids, Michigan Fargo (USHL)
3 Michigan Tyler Williams Senior F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-05-16 South Lyon, Michigan Nanaimo (BCHL)
4 Wisconsin Jacob Conrad Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-05-18 Green Bay, Wisconsin Fairbanks (NAHL)
5 Minnesota Evan Bushy Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-03-26 Mankato, Minnesota Trail (BCHL)
6 Minnesota Ross Roloson Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2003-01-30 Woodbury, Minnesota Surrey (BCHL)
7 Michigan Branden Piku Freshman F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2002-08-25 Harrison Township, Michigan Maryland (NAHL)
8 Massachusetts Harrison Roy (C) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2000-01-17 Lakeville, Massachusetts Boston College (HEA)
9 British Columbia Connor Milburn Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-04-11 Kamloops, British Columbia Chilliwack (BCHL)
10 Massachusetts Sasha Teleguine Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-09-17 North Attleborough, Massachusetts Chilliwack (BCHL)
11 Washington (state) Dawson Tritt (A) Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-09-01 Spokane, Washington Lone Star (NAHL)
12 British Columbia Reagan Milburn Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-02-13 Kamloops, British Columbia Vernon (BCHL)
14 Minnesota Nate Schweitzer Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 2002-02-21 Champlin, Minnesota Colorado College (NCHC)
15 Missouri Jared Westcott Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-07-18 Imperial, Missouri Penn State (Big Ten)
16 Michigan Jack Blanchett Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-05-12 Monroe, Michigan Powell (BCHL)
17 Minnesota Luke Levandowski Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2002-09-26 Rosemount, Minnesota Wisconsin (NAHL)
18 Minnesota Carter Batchelder Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2003-02-25 Savage, Minnesota Des Moines (USHL)
19 Michigan Joshua Wildauer Senior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1999-06-16 Dearborn Heights, Michigan Coquitlam (BCHL)
20 Michigan Grant Hindman (A) Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2002-05-16 Oakland, Michigan Youngstown (USHL)
21 Michigan Jordan Venegoni Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-08-16 Livonia, Michigan Amarillo (NAHL)
22 Germany Timo Bakos Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2000-07-28 Augsburg, Germany Rosenheim (Oberliga)
23 Belarus Artyom Borshyov (C) Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2000-08-22 Vitebsk, Belarus Northern (NCDC)
24 Alberta Cam Kungle Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 2002-03-28 Red Deer, Alberta Cranbrook (BCHL)
25 British Columbia Jeremy Gervais Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-01-09 Prince George, British Columbia Salmon Arm (BCHL)
26 Ontario Cole Craft Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-06-29 North Bay, Ontario Lincoln (USHL)
27 Michigan Benito Posa Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-01-16 Flint, Michigan Des Moines (USHL)
28 British Columbia John Herrington Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-04-19 Hudson's Hope, British Columbia Prince George (BCHL)
29 Massachusetts Brett Roloson Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2000-12-29 Worcester, Massachusetts Minot (NAHL)
30 Alberta Easton Hesse Junior G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-06-28 Beaumont, Alberta Bonnyville (AJHL)
31 Sweden William Håkansson Freshman G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-03-24 Oskarshamn, Sweden Maryland (NAHL)

Standings

[edit]
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Bemidji State 24 15 7 2 2 1 2 48 82 64 38 20 16 2 117 111
St. Thomas 24 12 11 1 0 2 0 39 68 62 37 15 20 2 97 105
#19 Michigan Tech* 24 12 10 2 1 2 0 39 63 54 40 19 15 6 109 102
Minnesota State 24 12 10 2 2 1 1 38 73 62 37 18 15 4 111 96
Northern Michigan 24 10 10 4 1 1 2 36 57 67 34 12 16 6 83 105
Bowling Green 24 11 12 1 1 1 1 35 60 69 36 13 22 1 86 116
Lake Superior State 24 11 12 1 2 2 0 34 79 73 38 17 20 1 114 113
Ferris State 24 6 17 1 3 2 1 19 49 80 36 10 24 2 83 125
Augustana ^ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 12 18 4 90 105
Championship: March 22, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup)
^ Augustana is playing a transition schedule of 16 games against conference opponents that are not counted in the standings
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 7 4:00 pm at #9 Michigan State* Munn Ice ArenaEast Lansing, Michigan BTN+ Langenegger L 2–5  6,555 0–1–0
October 8 4:00 pm at #9 Michigan State* Munn Ice ArenaEast Lansing, Michigan BTN+ Langenegger L 2–4  6,555 0–2–0
October 13 7:07 pm Alaska Anchorage* Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger W 5–1  1,429 1–2–0
October 14 6:07 pm Alaska Anchorage* Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger L 2–3  1,589 1–3–0
October 21 6:07 pm Simon Fraser* Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan (Exhibition) FloHockey Håkansson W 6–4  947
October 27 7:00 pm at Clarkson* Cheel ArenaPotsdam, New York ESPN+ Langenegger W 4–3 OT 2,519 2–3–0
October 28 7:00 pm at St. Lawrence* Appleton ArenaCanton, New York ESPN+ Langenegger W 5–2  3–3–0
November 3 7:07 pm Bemidji State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger W 4–3 OT 1,231 4–3–0 (1–0–0)
November 4 6:07 pm Bemidji State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger W 5–1  1,313 5–3–0 (2–0–0)
November 10 7:07 pm at Northern Michigan Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger L 4–6  3,239 5–4–0 (2–1–0)
November 11 6:07 pm at Northern Michigan Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger L 3–4 OT 3,774 5–5–0 (2–2–0)
November 17 7:07 pm Bowling Green Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger L 3–5  831 5–6–0 (2–3–0)
November 17 6:07 pm Bowling Green Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Håkansson W 4–3 OT 1,059 6–6–0 (3–3–0)
November 24 8:07 pm at St. Thomas St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Langenegger L 2–4  784 6–7–0 (3–4–0)
November 25 7:07 pm at St. Thomas St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Langenegger W 3–1  826 7–7–0 (4–4–0)
December 1 7:07 pm Minnesota State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger T 2–2 SOL 930 7–7–1 (4–4–1)
December 2 7:07 pm Minnesota State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger L 3–4  892 7–8–1 (4–5–1)
December 8 8:07 pm at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Langenegger L 1–7  1,687 7–9–1 (4–6–1)
December 9 8:07 pm at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Langenegger W 6–1  1,536 8–9–1 (5–6–1)
December 16 6:07 pm at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger W 5–1  1,492 9–9–1 (6–6–1)
Ledyard Bank Classic
December 29 7:30 PM at Dartmouth* Thompson ArenaHanover, New Hampshire (Ledyard Bank Semifinal) ESPN+ Langenegger L 0–4  3,083 9–10–1
December 30 4:00 pm vs. #18 RIT* Thompson ArenaHanover, New Hampshire (Ledyard Bank Consolation Game) ESPN+ Håkansson L 2–4  2,310 9–11–1
January 12 7:07 pm Northern Michigan Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger W 5–1  995 10–11–1 (7–6–1)
January 13 6:07 pm Northern Michigan Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger W 5–2  877 11–11–1 (8–6–1)
January 19 7:07 pm at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger L 3–5  2,040 11–12–1 (8–7–1)
January 20 6:07 pm Ferris State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger L 2–3 OT 1,112 11–13–1 (8–8–1)
January 26 7:07 pm Michigan Tech Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Hesse W 3–1  1,126 12–13–1 (9–8–1)
January 27 7:07 pm Michigan Tech Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Hesse L 0–1  1,602 12–14–1 (9–9–1)
February 9 7:07 pm at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio FloHockey Langenegger L 3–6  2,202 12–15–1 (9–10–1)
February 10 7:07 pm at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio FloHockey Langenegger L 2–4  3,012 12–16–1 (9–11–1)
February 16 7:07 pm Augustana Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Hesse W 3–0  742 13–16–1
February 17 7:07 pm Augustana Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger L 0–3  1,015 13–17–1
February 23 8:07 pm at Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota FloHockey Langenegger W 4–3  4,681 14–17–1 (10–11–1)
February 24 7:07 pm at Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota FloHockey Hesse L 3–4  4,935 14–18–1 (10–12–1)
March 1 7:07 pm Ferris State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Langenegger W 4–1  1,122 15–18–1 (11–12–1)
CCHA Tournament
March 8 8:07 pm at St. Thomas* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Langenegger W 4–1  506 16–18–1
March 9 7:07 pm at St. Thomas* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Langenegger L 2–4  495 16–19–1
March 10 6:07 pm at St. Thomas* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 3) FloHockey Langenegger W 3–2  437 17–19–1
March 16 8:07 pm at #20т Bemidji State* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota (Semifinal) FloHockey Langenegger L 1–4  3,048 17–20–1
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[5]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Jared Westcott F 38 18 18 36 51
Connor Millburn F 34 16 19 35 30
Dawson Tritt F 38 13 12 25 14
Timo Bakos F 38 9 15 24 6
Harrison Roy F 38 8 16 24 8
John Herrington C 37 9 11 20 12
Carter Batchelder C 34 8 7 15 14
Evan Bushy D 37 1 14 15 18
Ross Roloson D 37 4 10 14 4
Nate Schweitzer D 38 3 10 13 24
Branden Piku F 25 7 4 11 14
Cam Kungle D 37 1 8 9 33
Reagan Milburn F 22 2 6 8 10
Luke Levandowski F 29 2 6 8 4
Artyom Borshyov D 36 2 6 8 12
Brett Roloson F 15 1 5 6 6
Grant Hindman D 36 1 4 5 8
Joshua Wildauer C 15 0 5 5 4
Jack Blanchett D 12 2 2 4 8
Cole Craft RW 17 2 2 4 4
Bryan Huggins D 30 0 4 4 6
Tyler Williams C 21 3 0 3 6
Sasha Teleguine F 34 2 1 3 29
Jordan Venegoni F 18 0 1 1 8
Jeremy Gervais D 2 0 0 0 0
Benito Posa F 4 0 0 0 2
William Håkansson G 5 0 0 0 0
Easton Hesse G 8 0 0 0 0
Ethan Langenegger G 33 0 0 0 0
Total 114 186 300 347

[6]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Easton Hesse 8 292:00 2 2 0 7 156 1 .957 1.44
Ethan Langenegger 33 1827:53 14 17 1 87 873 0 .909 2.86
William Håkansson 5 136:42 1 1 0 11 55 0 .833 4.83
Empty Net - 34:29 - - - 8 - - - -
Total 38 2291:04 17 20 1 113 1086 1 .906 2.96

Rankings

[edit]
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[7]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

[edit]
Player Award Ref
Connor Milburn CCHA Best Defensive Forward [8]
Jared Westcott CCHA First Team [9]
Connor Milburn CCHA Second Team [10]
John Herrington CCHA Rookie Team [11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2023-24 Men's Hockey Schedule". St. Thomas Tommies. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  2. ^ "FULL GAME: St. Thomas vs Lake Superior State - Game 3, 2024 CCHA Playoffs". YouTube. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  3. ^ "Men's Division I PairWise Rankings". Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Lake Superior State Hockey Roster". Lake Superior State Lakers. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  5. ^ "2023-24 Lake Superior State Hockey Schedule". Lake Superior State Lakers. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  6. ^ "Lake Superior State Univ. 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "Forwards Jutting and Milburn Share Defensive Honor". CCHA. March 12, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  9. ^ "All-CCHA First Team Announced". CCHA.com. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  10. ^ "Six Earn All-CCHA Second Team". CCHA.com. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  11. ^ "CCHA All-Rookie Team Revealed". CCHA.com. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.