Lakers to hit the road after being ranked once again

NEWS RELEASE

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

**********************

Lakers return to the road to take on Bulldogs

SAULT STE. MARIE – The Lake Superior State hockey team, which cracked the USCHO.com Top-20 following last weekend’s sweep of Northern Michigan, will play seven of eight December games on the road, including a series at Ferris State on Friday and Saturday.

No. 20 LSSU (10-5-1 overall, 5-4-1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) and Ferris State (4-10-1 overall, 2-8-1 CCHA) play at 7:05 p.m. Friday and 5:05 p.m. Saturday at Ewigleben Ice Arena. Both games will be broadcast live on WSUE 101.3 FM and simulcast on www.lssulakers.com. Live video streaming will be available on the B2 Network, which is accessible via the LSSU and FSU web sites.

After posting their first series sweep against Northern Michigan in six years, the Lakers are taking on an opponent they haven’t swept since Nov., 1996. LSSU was 0-1-3 against Ferris State last season and is 2-8-4 against the Bulldogs dating back to 2001-02. The Lakers’ only victory in Big Rapids during the past six seasons was a 4-2 win on Feb. 28, 2004.

Ferris State, which suffered 5-3 and 7-2 losses at Miami last weekend, limped through a difficult November. The Bulldogs were 1-3-1 for the month, including a victory over Western Michigan and a tie against Michigan State. Seventy-four minutes in penalties were their downfall at Oxford, Ohio. FSU is the most-penalized team in the CCHA this season, while LSSU is among the league’s most-disciplined teams.

After posting his school-record 10th career shutout in last Friday’s 2-0 victory over the Wildcats, senior goaltender Jeff Jakaitis is ranked second in the nation in save percentage at .949 and fourth in goals-against average at 1.70. Rookie netminder Pat Inglis was almost as impressive in Saturday’s 5-2 victory as he withstood a fierce NMU attack during the second and third periods. The Wildcats out-shot LSSU for the series, 70-44.

Thanks to Jakaitis and Inglis, and the league’s No. 3-ranked penalty-killing defense, LSSU is ranked eighth nationally and second in the CCHA in team goals-against at 2.19.

More importantly, Trent Campbell and Derek A. Smith scored power-play goals on Saturday, ending the Lakers’ 0-for-23 drought with the man-advantage. Smith, who also had an assist in the game, improved from 19th to 14th nationally in average points per game by a defenseman. He has three goals and 11 assists for the season and is second on the team in scoring behind Campbell (7-9—16).

************************************************************