Empty rinks and last-minute schedule changes were par for the course as the Lake Superior State Lakers hockey team took to the ice for the 2020-21 season.
The team has four wins and a pair of shootout wins in six games heading into the new year and strange has been a good way to describe what those games were like in a sense for the team.
“It’s so strange, there’s so much preparation for trying to play in COVID that when you finally walked out when we hosted Michigan Tech that opening weekend, and there’s nobody in the building, we had seen it with the NHL playoffs and we had talked to other coaches about it, but until you walk out that tunnel, it really hits you,” Lakers coach Damon Whitten said. “It was really strange.
“It was really unique and really challenging there to play without that energy in the building,” Whitten added.
The Lakers opened the season with a regulation and a shootout win over Michigan Tech at Taffy Abel Arena in the Michigan Sault.
Due to state regulations, all four games the Lakers played at home prior to Christmas, which included a pair of games against Alabama-Huntsville as well, were played with no fans in the building.
Whitten was pleased with what he saw early on from the team.
“The Tech weekend was probably our biggest challenge and we passed that with flying colours,” Whitten said. “We didn’t give up a five-on-five goal all weekend and we only gave up one goal on the weekend and played very well defensively and got good goaltending.”
Whitten went on to say he felt the team took “a step back in terms of some habits and playing the right way” in the following two series’ against Adrian College and Alabama-Huntsville but he was overall pleased with the opening six games.
In a summer interview, Whitten spoke of the Lakers goaltending being a strength for the team this season, which includes senior netminder Mareks Mittens.
Whitten credited the play of Mittens early on this season.
“He’s a very experienced goaltender and a very mature goaltender at this point in his career,” Whitten said of Mittens. “He’s going to be really important for us.”
“We lost games, but we were still able to play Seth Eisele and Ethan Langenegger, two guys that we’re really excited about,” Whitten also said. “We love our depth in net and think that’s a strength of our team, but certainly Mitts, as a senior, will lead the way.”
A veteran blueline has also been solid for LSSU through six games and have made life easier for the trio between the pipes.
“The D corps in front of them, Lukas Kaelble and Will Riedell are two guys that play in all situations and major minutes,” Whitten said. “Jacob Nordqvist is a very experienced junior defenceman for us. Arvid Henriksson is back so we’re a very experienced group.”
Up front, Ashton Calder, a Sault, Mich. product, has led the way offensively with four goals and six points in six games.
“He’ll drive our offence and I think we’ve got better depth around him,” Whitten said of the junior forward. “Last year, we had Max Humitz and we kind of sat around and watched Max and wait for Max to score for us. Ashton can replace a lot of that, but there’s more depth around him as well.”
After getting off to a good start in his sophomore season, Calder struggled for a stretch last season before finishing the year strong and has carried that over into the early part of this season.
In talking about the added depth up front this season, Whitten has been pleased with the play of a pair of transfers in the Lakers lineup in Brandon Puricelli and Jack Jeffers.
Puricelli transferred to LSSU after a season with Minnesota Duluth, where he won a title last season while Jeffers spent two seasons with Alabama-Huntsville.
“It’s obviously and advantage in that you’re not a freshman coming out of junior hockey,” Whitten said. “(Puricelli) has played against and with some of the best players in the country. His transition has been pretty seamless. He’s been a really good contributor offensively and good in the locker room.
“The same thing with Jack, maybe on the opposite side coming from a Huntsville program that has struggled, but Jack being surrounded by some more talent has really blossomed early on,” Whitten said. “We’ve seen a lot of good things out of Jack. They’re two guys that we’ll lean on and they’re a big part of why our depth has improved.”
Another player who has added to the depth up front for the Lakers is veteran forward Yuki Miura.
“I give Coach York and Coach Cisek a lot of credit,” Whitten said. “Development-wise, you see some programs that lose guys that aren’t playing early on and it’s a credit to our players. They’ve been patient and believed in us and trusted our vision for their development with us and Yuki is one of those great examples.”
Whitten called Miura “a big part” of the Lakers improved depth up front.
“He plays in a lot of situations,” Whitten said. “As a senior, he’s taken on a much bigger role this year.”
With the team returning from Christmas break and preparing for a return to action on Jan. 2 at home against Bemidji State, Whitten said the break was a chance for some of the European players to return home, though COVID-19 didn’t necessarily make things easy.
“We had some dates in mind so the guys could book flights and it was just up to the program for what guys wanted to do,” Whitten said. “Players wanted to get home. We had made the decision months ago with the information we had at that time. It’s hard to say what’s right and what’s wrong in this environment. It’s obviously a very sensitive subject to have to travel and do that, but, for the health of our players and them wanting to see family, we allowed that.
“A couple of our European players stayed with teammates more locally or in downstate Michigan,” Whitten added.
With players returning to town, the Lakers currently have 18 games scheduled between Jan. 2 and Feb. 27, which is the end of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season.