Lake Superior State’s regular season begins Thursday night in suburban St. Louis, where the Lakers open a two-game nonconference series against Lindenwood at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. Both games are set for 8 p.m. Eastern on Thursday and Friday.
The Lakers tuned up last weekend with two exhibitions across the border against the University of Windsor, skating to a 2-2 tie on Oct. 2 and winning 5-2 on Oct. 3.
A score to settle
This is the second straight October these programs have met to open a weekend. Last season Lindenwood came to Taffy Abel Arena and took both games, 7-4 on Oct. 10 and 5-4 on Oct. 11, 2025. Those losses set the tone for a difficult year in the Soo: Lake Superior State finished 11-22-3 overall and 8-16-2 in the CCHA, placed seventh, and was eliminated in a best-of-two quarterfinal at St. Thomas, losing Game 1 in overtime.
Lindenwood, coached by Keith Fisher in his second season, set a program record with 15 wins last year. The Lions opened this season at home against NCHC opponent Arizona State on Oct. 2-3 before turning to the Lakers.
New faces, especially in net
Head coach Damon Whitten has reshaped the roster. Both of last season’s goaltenders, Rorke Applebee and Adam Manji, left through the transfer portal, which puts a heavy load on freshman Charlie Tritt, who went 23-9-2 with a .934 save percentage for the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers.
The freshman class also includes Swedish forward Måns Toresson, who played for Frölunda and Sweden’s World Junior team, and defenseman Adam Belusko, a Slovak World Junior player who comes from the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks. Forward Reese Shaw (67 points in 45 BCHL games) and defenseman Teo Besnier, who led Dubuque’s blue line with 36 points, add more offense.
How to follow
College Hockey News lists Thursday’s game on FloHockey. Lake Superior State’s radio partners are 99.5 YES FM and News-Talk 1400. The Lakers stay on the road next weekend at Alaska Anchorage before their home opener against Bowling Green on Oct. 23-24.
Leave a comment