Lakers off to Miami of Ohio for a pair

NEWS RELEASE

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

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Lakers return to action with a series at No. 1 Miami

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Despite being idle during the weekend of Jan. 29-30, Lake Superior State’s hockey team didn’t drop in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings. The Lakers went into last week along in fourth place and are now tied for fourth with Notre Dame.

The Lakers (14-9-5, 9-8-3-2 CCHA) head to Oxford, Ohio to take on No. 1 Maimi (18-4-6, 15-1-4-2 CCHA) Friday at 7:35 p.m. and Saturday at 7:05 p.m. in Steve Cady Arena.

Last season, LSSU dropped a pair of home games to the 2009 NCAA runner-up RedHawks, losing 2-1 and 4-0. The only Laker to score a goal against Miami was junior forward Dillin Stonehouse (2-2—4) with an assist going to sophomore forward Dan Barczuk (2-0—2).

Miami is returning five of its six goal scorers from last season’s match-up. Two of the goal scorers are this season’s top point grabbers. Tommy Wingels (13-16—29) leads Miami in points, and Carter Camper (10-18—28) is second. The RedHawks, who swept a home series against Western Michigan last weekend, lead the nation in scoring defense at 1.64 goals per game and are ranked fourth nationally in combined special teams.

Lake Superior State, which is 6-2-2 in its last 10 games, is ranked fifth in the CCHA and ninth nationally in penalty killing, and 14th nationally in combined special teams.

LSSU’s top three scorers have combined to total 63 points. Junior forward Rick Schofield (13-10—23) leads LSSU, while junior forward Will Acton (7-13—20) and senior forward Zac MacVoy (6-14—20) are tied for second. Schofield, however, must sit out Friday’s game at Miami due to incurring a major penalty and game disqualification 11 seconds into the Jan. 23 game against Notre Dame.

The Lakers lead Miami in the in the all-time series, 54-32-10. In Oxford, Miami leads, 23-19-6. The last time LSSU defeated the RedHawks was in 2007 during the second round of the CCHA Playoffs. The Lakers defeated Miami twice by 2-1 scores in Oxford and advance to the CCHA Semifinals at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

Schofield and the RedHawks’ Joe Hartman (4-4—8) are among the players ranked fifth in the nation in short-handed goals with two each. Schofield and Wingels are among seven players ranked first in the nation in game-winning goals with five.

Catch the Laker action live on 99.5 Yes FM beginning with the pre-game show one hour before game time. A free audio feed is available on www.yesfm.net. A pay-per-view video feed is available on CBS All-Access via www.muredhawks.com. Friday’s game will be televised on Comcast Local.

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