2023–24 Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey season

Alternate captain(s)Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey seasons
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The 2023–24 Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey season was the 58th season of play for the program, the 51st at the Division I level and the 44th in the CCHA. The Lakers represented Lake Superior State University, played their home games at the Taffy Abel Arena and were coached by Damon Whitten in his 10th season.

Season

After an unmitigated disaster of a season, particularly on the offensive side of the puck, changes were needed at Lake Superior State. Thirteen new players joined the Lakers and the changes were evident early in the season. LSSU got swept in its opening weekend, but it came at the hands of a ranked Michigan State squad. After a home split the following weekend, the Lakers reeled off four consecutive victories and did so with a functioning offense. The chief instigators for this resurgence were two returning players, both of whom made tremendous improvements to their games. Jared Westcott led the team with 18 goals and nearly tripled his career high in points. Connor Millburn was an even bigger revelation, going from 5 points the year before to 35, helping Lake State improve its offense by more than a goal per game. Westcott and Millburn combined with Dawson Tritt to form the team's top unit and led the team's turnaround.

In goal, Ethan Langenegger was an adequate starting goaltender but the team struggled to put wins together. The Lakers alternated wins and losses in the first half and entered the winter break with a .500 record. With how volatile the CCHA was, the team could have finished anywhere in the standings but they would need to shore up their defensive deficiencies if they wanted to get home ice in the postseason. Lake Superior's failure at the Ledyard Bank Classic didn't really affect the team as, by then, it was already apparent that only the CCHA champion would make the NCAA tournament. A sweep of Northern Michigan two weeks later was far more important for the team but the wins were, unfortunately, fleeting. Over a 4-week stretch, the offense faltered and the team went 1–5 in conference play. The rough patch dropped the Lakers to 7th in the standings and Lake Superior was facing the prospect of starting their postseason run on the road.

In the latter portion of the campaign, Langenegger lost his grip on the starting job and the team began to rotate between him and Easton Hesse. The new entry into the Laker cage provided several good outing while the reduced minutes appeared to help Langenegger as well. The team managed to go 3–2 down the stretch, which included the Lakers' only shutout of the season, but hey were unable to get out of a road trip for the postseason.

Lake Superior opened against a surprising St. Thomas team in the quarterfinals, however, they weren't as overmatched by the #2 seed as they may have appeared. The two were separated by just one win in the standings while both were +6 in goal differential. Helping Lake Superior's chances was the Tommies being in the middle of a terrible stretch that had them win just once in their previous eight games.^[1] The Lakers took advantage of their vulnerable opponent and won the first game with relative ease. The defeat seemed to wake up St. Thomas, who outplayed the Lakers in game two to tie the series. Both teams showed up for the deciding game but Lake Superior seemed to be in trouble when Westcott took a match penalty for boarding early in the second period. However, despite being down a man, Connor Milburn scored a short-handed goal at the beginning of the penalty kill and the Lakers managed to stop all attempts from the Tommies during the disadvantage. In spite of the defensive heroics, Lake State was still down a goal entering the third. With Langenegger holding down the fort, Reagan Milburn picked the perfect time to score his second goal of the season and tie the game in the middle of the period. St. Thomas was forced to get out of their defensive shell and both teams battled for the next goal. As time was winding down, the Lakers got on an odd-man rush up the ice. After the initial shot was saved, the rebound bounced straight up in the air and landed in the crease right at the feet of Tritt the Laker winger batted the puck into the cage before anyone could stop him, scoring the winning maker with just 6.6 seconds to play.^[2]

While the Lakers were hoping for a repeat performance in the conference semifinals, they were completely outmatched by Bemidji State. The team was outshot nearly 3-to-1 and were never really a threat to the Beavers. Even with that unceremonious end, the Lakers had taken a big step forward, climbing eleven spots higher in the national rankings.^[3]

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Jacob Bengtsson	Defenseman	Sweden	Transferred to Boston College
Louis Boudon	Forward	France	Graduation (signed with Laval Rocket)
Spencer DenBeste	Forward	United States	Transferred to Aurora
Seth Eisele	Goaltender	United States	Graduate transfer to Omaha
Arvid Henrikson	Defenseman	Sweden	Graduation (signed with San Jose Barracuda)
Jack Jeffers	Forward	Canada	Graduation (signed with Savannah Ghost Pirates)
Logan Jenuwine	Forward	United States	Graduate transfer to American International
Jared Kucharek	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (signed with Iowa Heartlanders)
Sebastian Miedema	Defenseman	Sweden	Left program (retired)
Brandon Puricelli	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Iowa Heartlanders)
Jake Willets	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (signed with Toledo Walleye)

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Carter Batchelder	Forward	United States	20	Savage, MN
Jack Blanchett	Defenseman	United States	20	Monroe, MI
Evan Bushy	Defenseman	United States	21	Mankato, MN
Jacob Conrad	Defenseman	United States	21	Green Bay, WI
William Håkansson	Goaltender	Sweden	20	Oskarshamn, SWE
John Herrington	Forward	Canada	21	Hudson's Hope, BC
Cam Kungle	Defenseman	Canada	21	Red Deer, AB
Luke Levandowski	Forward	United States	21	Rosemount, MN
Reagan Milburn	Forward	Canada	20	Kamloops, BC
Branden Piku	Forward	United States	21	Harrison Township, MI
Ross Roloson	Defenseman	United States	21	Woodbury, MN
Nate Schweitzer	Defenseman	United States	21	Champlin, MN; transfer from Colorado College
Sasha Teleguine	Forward	United States	21	North Attleborough, MA; transfer from Connecticut

Roster

As of September 18, 2023.^[4]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Ethan Langenegger	Senior	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	2000-09-10	Kamloops, British Columbia	Salmon Arm (BCHL)	—
2		Bryan Huggins	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2002-03-26	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Fargo (USHL)	—
3		Tyler Williams	Senior	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-05-16	South Lyon, Michigan	Nanaimo (BCHL)	—
4		Jacob Conrad	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2002-05-18	Green Bay, Wisconsin	Fairbanks (NAHL)	—
5		Evan Bushy	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2002-03-26	Mankato, Minnesota	Trail (BCHL)	—
6		Ross Roloson	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-01-30	Woodbury, Minnesota	Surrey (BCHL)	—
7		Branden Piku	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2002-08-25	Harrison Township, Michigan	Maryland (NAHL)	—
8		Harrison Roy (C)	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2000-01-17	Lakeville, Massachusetts	Boston College (HEA)	—
9		Connor Milburn	Sophomore	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2001-04-11	Kamloops, British Columbia	Chilliwack (BCHL)	—
10		Sasha Teleguine	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2002-09-17	North Attleborough, Massachusetts	Chilliwack (BCHL)	—
11		Dawson Tritt (A)	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-09-01	Spokane, Washington	Lone Star (NAHL)	—
12		Reagan Milburn	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2003-02-13	Kamloops, British Columbia	Vernon (BCHL)	—
14		Nate Schweitzer	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	2002-02-21	Champlin, Minnesota	Colorado College (NCHC)	—
15		Jared Westcott	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-07-18	Imperial, Missouri	Penn State (Big Ten)	—
16		Jack Blanchett	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-05-12	Monroe, Michigan	Powell (BCHL)	—
17		Luke Levandowski	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2002-09-26	Rosemount, Minnesota	Wisconsin (NAHL)	—
18		Carter Batchelder	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-02-25	Savage, Minnesota	Des Moines (USHL)	—
19		Joshua Wildauer	Senior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1999-06-16	Dearborn Heights, Michigan	Coquitlam (BCHL)	—
20		Grant Hindman (A)	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2002-05-16	Oakland, Michigan	Youngstown (USHL)	—
21		Jordan Venegoni	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-08-16	Livonia, Michigan	Amarillo (NAHL)	—
22		Timo Bakos	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2000-07-28	Augsburg, Germany	Rosenheim (Oberliga)	—
23		Artyom Borshyov (C)	Senior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2000-08-22	Vitebsk, Belarus	Northern (NCDC)	—
24		Cam Kungle	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	2002-03-28	Red Deer, Alberta	Cranbrook (BCHL)	—
25		Jeremy Gervais	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1999-01-09	Prince George, British Columbia	Salmon Arm (BCHL)	—
26		Cole Craft	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-06-29	North Bay, Ontario	Lincoln (USHL)	—
27		Benito Posa	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-01-16	Flint, Michigan	Des Moines (USHL)	—
28		John Herrington	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2002-04-19	Hudson's Hope, British Columbia	Prince George (BCHL)	—
29		Brett Roloson	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2000-12-29	Worcester, Massachusetts	Minot (NAHL)	—
30		Easton Hesse	Junior	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-06-28	Beaumont, Alberta	Bonnyville (AJHL)	—
31		William Håkansson	Freshman	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2003-03-24	Oskarshamn, Sweden	Maryland (NAHL)	—

Standings

v t e
	Conference record											Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	OTW	OTL	SW	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Bemidji State †	24	15	7	2	2	1	2	48	82	64		38	20	16	2	117	111
St. Thomas	24	12	11	1	0	2	0	39	68	62		37	15	20	2	97	105
#20 Michigan Tech*	24	12	10	2	1	2	0	39	63	54		40	19	15	6	109	102
Minnesota State	24	12	10	2	2	1	1	38	73	62		37	18	15	4	111	96
Northern Michigan	24	10	10	4	1	1	2	36	57	67		34	12	16	6	83	105
Bowling Green	24	11	12	1	1	1	1	35	60	69		36	13	22	1	86	116
Lake Superior State	24	11	12	1	2	2	0	34	79	73		38	17	20	1	114	113
Ferris State	24	6	17	1	3	2	1	19	49	80		36	10	24	2	83	125
Augustana ^	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		34	12	18	4	90	105
Championship: March 22, 2024 † indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup) ^ Augustana is playing a transition schedule of 16 games against conference opponents that are not counted in the standings Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Regular Season
October 7	4:00 pm	at #9 Michigan State*		Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan	BTN+	Langenegger	L 2–5	6,555	0–1–0
October 8	4:00 pm	at #9 Michigan State*		Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan	BTN+	Langenegger	L 2–4	6,555	0–2–0
October 13	7:07 pm	Alaska Anchorage*		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 5–1	1,429	1–2–0
October 14	6:07 pm	Alaska Anchorage*		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 2–3	1,589	1–3–0
October 21	6:07 pm	Simon Fraser*		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (Exhibition)	FloHockey	Håkansson	W 6–4	947
October 27	7:00 pm	at Clarkson*		Cheel Arena • Potsdam, New York	ESPN+	Langenegger	W 4–3 OT	2,519	2–3–0
October 28	7:00 pm	at St. Lawrence*		Appleton Arena • Canton, New York	ESPN+	Langenegger	W 5–2	—	3–3–0
November 3	7:07 pm	Bemidji State		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 4–3 OT	1,231	4–3–0 (1–0–0)
November 4	6:07 pm	Bemidji State		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 5–1	1,313	5–3–0 (2–0–0)
November 10	7:07 pm	at Northern Michigan		Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 4–6	3,239	5–4–0 (2–1–0)
November 11	6:07 pm	at Northern Michigan		Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 3–4 OT	3,774	5–5–0 (2–2–0)
November 17	7:07 pm	Bowling Green		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 3–5	831	5–6–0 (2–3–0)
November 17	6:07 pm	Bowling Green		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Håkansson	W 4–3 OT	1,059	6–6–0 (3–3–0)
November 24	8:07 pm	at St. Thomas		St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 2–4	784	6–7–0 (3–4–0)
November 25	7:07 pm	at St. Thomas		St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 3–1	826	7–7–0 (4–4–0)
December 1	7:07 pm	Minnesota State		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	T 2–2 SOL	930	7–7–1 (4–4–1)
December 2	7:07 pm	Minnesota State		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 3–4	892	7–8–1 (4–5–1)
December 8	8:07 pm	at Bemidji State		Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 1–7	1,687	7–9–1 (4–6–1)
December 9	8:07 pm	at Bemidji State		Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 6–1	1,536	8–9–1 (5–6–1)
December 16	6:07 pm	at Ferris State		Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 5–1	1,492	9–9–1 (6–6–1)
Ledyard Bank Classic
December 29	7:30 PM	at Dartmouth*		Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire (Ledyard Bank Semifinal)	ESPN+	Langenegger	L 0–4	3,083	9–10–1
December 30	4:00 pm	vs. #18 RIT*		Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire (Ledyard Bank Consolation Game)	ESPN+	Håkansson	L 2–4	2,310	9–11–1
January 12	7:07 pm	Northern Michigan		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 5–1	995	10–11–1 (7–6–1)
January 13	6:07 pm	Northern Michigan		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 5–2	877	11–11–1 (8–6–1)
January 19	7:07 pm	at Ferris State		Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 3–5	2,040	11–12–1 (8–7–1)
January 20	6:07 pm	Ferris State		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 2–3 OT	1,112	11–13–1 (8–8–1)
January 26	7:07 pm	Michigan Tech		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Hesse	W 3–1	1,126	12–13–1 (9–8–1)
January 27	7:07 pm	Michigan Tech		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Hesse	L 0–1	1,602	12–14–1 (9–9–1)
February 9	7:07 pm	at Bowling Green		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 3–6	2,202	12–15–1 (9–10–1)
February 10	7:07 pm	at Bowling Green		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 2–4	3,012	12–16–1 (9–11–1)
February 16	7:07 pm	Augustana		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Hesse	W 3–0	742	13–16–1
February 17	7:07 pm	Augustana		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 0–3	1,015	13–17–1
February 23	8:07 pm	at Minnesota State		Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 4–3	4,681	14–17–1 (10–11–1)
February 24	7:07 pm	at Minnesota State		Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota	FloHockey	Hesse	L 3–4	4,935	14–18–1 (10–12–1)
March 1	7:07 pm	Ferris State		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 4–1	1,122	15–18–1 (11–12–1)
CCHA Tournament
March 8	8:07 pm	at St. Thomas*		St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 1)	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 4–1	506	16–18–1
March 9	7:07 pm	at St. Thomas*		St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 2)	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 2–4	495	16–19–1
March 10	6:07 pm	at St. Thomas*		St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 3)	FloHockey	Langenegger	W 3–2	437	17–19–1
March 16	8:07 pm	at #20т Bemidji State*		Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota (Semifinal)	FloHockey	Langenegger	L 1–4	3,048	17–20–1
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source:[5]

Scoring statistics

Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	PIM
Jared Westcott	F	38	18	18	36	51
Connor Millburn	F	34	16	19	35	30
Dawson Tritt	F	38	13	12	25	14
Timo Bakos	F	38	9	15	24	6
Harrison Roy	F	38	8	16	24	8
John Herrington	C	37	9	11	20	12
Carter Batchelder	C	34	8	7	15	14
Evan Bushy	D	37	1	14	15	18
Ross Roloson	D	37	4	10	14	4
Nate Schweitzer	D	38	3	10	13	24
Branden Piku	F	25	7	4	11	14
Cam Kungle	D	37	1	8	9	33
Reagan Milburn	F	22	2	6	8	10
Luke Levandowski	F	29	2	6	8	4
Artyom Borshyov	D	36	2	6	8	12
Brett Roloson	F	15	1	5	6	6
Grant Hindman	D	36	1	4	5	8
Joshua Wildauer	C	15	0	5	5	4
Jack Blanchett	D	12	2	2	4	8
Cole Craft	RW	17	2	2	4	4
Bryan Huggins	D	30	0	4	4	6
Tyler Williams	C	21	3	0	3	6
Sasha Teleguine	F	34	2	1	3	29
Jordan Venegoni	F	18	0	1	1	8
Jeremy Gervais	D	2	0	0	0	0
Benito Posa	F	4	0	0	0	2
William Håkansson	G	5	0	0	0	0
Easton Hesse	G	8	0	0	0	0
Ethan Langenegger	G	33	0	0	0	0
Total			114	186	300	347

^[6]

Goaltending statistics

Name	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals Against	Saves	Shut Outs	SV %	GAA
Easton Hesse	8	292:00	2	2	0	7	156	1	.957	1.44
Ethan Langenegger	33	1827:53	14	17	1	87	873	0	.909	2.86
William Håkansson	5	136:42	1	1	0	11	55	0	.833	4.83
Empty Net	-	34:29	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-
Total	38	2291:04	17	20	1	113	1086	1	.906	2.96

Rankings

Poll	Week
	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26 (Final)
USCHO.com	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	–	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	–	NR
USA Today	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	–	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.^[7]
Note: USA Today did not release a poll in week 12.

References