Holiday hockey showcases four teams that have won the NCAA Division I National Championship in their history at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI. Lake Superior State, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Western Michigan duel at the Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff on Sunday and Monday for a midseason trophy and a chance to catapult their respective seasons to new heights.
The Lakers (6-11-1, 3-9-0 CCHA) take on #2 Wisconsin (12-2-2, 8-2-0 Big Ten) at 5:00 PM EST Sunday in a nonconference showdown at this high-level midseason tournament. In the other semifinal, #7 Western Michigan takes on #12 Boston College0.
LSSU last played on December 5th and 6th in a split against St. Thomas, taking a 5-3 win before dropping a 4-1 result the next night.
Calem Mangone scored twice that weekend and assisted another, as he continues his tremendous start to life at Lake State. The Sault Sainte Marie, ON native is second on the team in scoring during his freshman campaign, with eight goals and seven assists.
The only Laker with more points than the first-year talent is sophomore sensation
William Ahlrik, with 16. The Swede is second in the CCHA in faceoff percentage at 59.1% and 18th nationally. He's tied for sixth in the CCHA in assists (12), tied for 11th in points (16), and tied for seventh in powerplay goals (3). The Lakers have relied on his stellar two-way play, and Ahlrik consistently delivers the goods for his team.
In goal,
Rorke Applebee's play steals the show. Of 55 goaltenders who have logged 10 or more games, the sophomore is ninth nationally with a .921 save percentage, third in the CCHA. He made 44 saves in the win over the Tommies on December 5th.
The Lakers are captained by seniors
Sasha Teleguine and
Connor Milburn. Teleguine dazzles with his speed, flying by opposition with brilliant skating ability. Milburn combines strong skating with a massive frame to control the play on the ice. Co-captains
Evan Bushy and
Mike Brown bring plenty of experience to the table. Bushy, a junior, continues to stack up assists in his Laker career while playing excellent defense. Brown, a senior, plays with a no-quarter approach. He regularly levels opponents with huge body checks and controls play with his physicality. Both Bushy and Brown have blocked 32 shots, leaving them tied with each other for sixth in the CCHA in that category.
With players like
Branden Piku,
Hunter Ramos and
Ryan Beck continuing to lead the way with stellar play as well, the Lakers are primed for the second half of the season.
Damon Whitten coaches the Lakers for his 12th season. The Brighton, MI native boasts a string of holiday tournament successes as a player and coach, including an incredible record at the Great Lakes Invitational. He coached LSSU to that tournament title in 2018, the first GLI Championship in program history. Associate Head Coach
Mike York dominated college hockey during his playing days and enjoyed a decade in the NHL. Assistant Coach
DJ Goldstein is in his fifth year at LSSU, working his way from volunteer assistant to a full-time staff member.
Opposite the Lakers on Sunday afternoon, Mike Hastings has rapidly rebuilt Wisconsin hockey. That's no surprise to anybody who's followed the CCHA in recent years. Hastings built Minnesota State into a national powerhouse that went to a Frozen Four in 2021, then to the National Championship game in 2022. In 2023, he made the move to the Badgers and has quickly set about reviving their fortunes.
Gavin Morrissey leads the Badgers in scoring with 18 points on three goals and 15 assists. Christian Fitzgerald leads with 10 goals. He transferred to the Baders from his prior stop - Minnesota State. He and Simon Tassy are both former Mavericks who followed the head coach to Wisconsin, while Kyle Kukkonen transferred from another CCHA team - Michigan Tech.
The Badgers feature a high-powered offense that thrashed Notre Dame 9-2 last time out, after beating the Fighting Irish 7-4 the night before. Those games were also played on December 5th and 6th, so the Lakers and Badgers have been off for the same amount of time.
The most memorable meeting between these two schools came back in 1992, when the Lakers beat the Badgers 5-3 to claim their second NCAA Division I National Championship. Jason Zent scored a hat trick for the Badgers, but Paul Constantin struck on the powerplay before Tim Hanley tied the game late in the second period at 2-2. Then in the third, Michael Smith put the Lakers in front before Zent's third goal equalized. Brian Rolston scored a powerplay goal at 55:08, the game winner, and Jay Ness put the cherry on top at 59:58 with an empty net, powerplay goal. Darrin Madeley made 24 saves for LSSU, earning All-Tournament honors. Defenseman Mark Astley was named to the All-Tournament team, as were Constantin and Rolston. Constantin earned Most Outstanding Player honors as well.
The Lakers will play again on Monday at 4:00 PM no matter the result of Sunday's games. As for the opponent, they'll await the result of Sunday night's game between #12 BC and #7 Western Michigan to determine their next opponent. The winners of each game will play each other, and the losers of each game will compete on Monday as well.
Put all these ingredients into the pot and you've got the recipe for a thrilling holiday hockey tournament. Lake Superior State comes into the Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff rested and ready. While the players couldn't sit back and stuff themselves on holiday ham, fans can enjoy this tasty menu of games on BTN+, or catch every Laker Hockey game live on 99.5 YES FM. And follow us on social media for thrilling, exclusive content all season long.
