The 2020–21 Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey season was the 55th season of play for the program, the 48th at the Division I level and the 8th in the WCHA conference. The Lakers represented Lake Superior State University and were coached by Damon Whitten, in his 7th season.

Season

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Lake Superior State's players would lose a season of play.^[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.^[2]

After a poor season the year before, Lake Superior saw a great deal of roster turnover. At the start of the season the altered lineup seemed to be performing well; the team lost just once in their first ten games, though the strength of their opposition (or lack thereof) did contribute to their record. Their schedule was part of the reason why the Lakers were ranked 19th when they began conference play and, due to casing the WCHA's top team, they swiftly found themselves outside the top-20. Lake Superior didn't go away, however; the team flirted with the ranking for the remainder of the regular season. The Lakers ended with a much-improved record of 15–6–3, mostly on the strength of senior netminder Mareks Mitens and receiving 170 fewer penalty minutes than the year before (which averaged to about 1 fewer power play against every other game). With both the team's offense and defense playing better than it had in years, the Lakers finished tied for second in the WCHA, the best result for LSSU since 1996.^[3]

Even with their record and finish, the Lakers were still ranked outside the top 15 and needed a good performance in the WCHA tournament to get into the conversation. As the second seed, the Lakers began at home against Alabama–Huntsville and dispatched the Chargers fairly easily. In the semifinals, Lake Superior took on Bemidji State with their season on the line and the defense completely shut down the Beavers. Lake State scored the first four goals of the game and Mitens didn't surrender a single goal until 4 minutes remained, even then it only came on a BSU power play with their goalie pulled. The Lakers received a gift by facing 6th-seeded Northern Michigan for the championship. Lake Superior took full advantage by against scoring the first four goals and then coasted to a 6–3 win. it was the program's first conference title since 1995 and the automatic bid allowed the Lakers into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996.

Lake Superior received a 3-seed and were set opposite Massachusetts. Unfortunately, the Minutemen were the hottest team in the country, not having lost a game since mid-January, and it showed from the very start. UMass was the aggressor, scoring first, and despite a tying goal by Lake State at the end of the first the Lakers looked like they were following the play. UMass broke the game open in the second, outshooting LSSU 18–7 and scoring twice to take the lead. The Lakers picked up their game in the third but the oppressive defense by Massachusetts prevented Lake Superior from denting the twine and two more goals against put the game out of reach. Even with poor finish, this season can't be considered anything but a resounding success for the Lakers.

Niko Esposito-Selivanov sat out the season.

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Tyler Anderson	Defenseman	Canada	Left program
Bryan Basilico	Forward	United States	Graduation
Roman Bengert	Goaltender	Japan	Transferred to Prince Edward Island
Roberts Bļugers	Defenseman	Latvia	Transferred to Alaska
Brayden Gelsinger	Forward	Canada	Graduation (signed with Utah Grizzlies)
Owen Guy	Forward	Canada	Left program
Max Humitz	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Grand Rapids Griffins)
Ian Johnston	Forward	Canada	Graduation
Brendan McKay	Forward	Canada	Graduation
Colin Saccoman	Defenseman	United States	Graduation
Alec Semandel	Defenseman	United States	Transferred to New Hampshire

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Jacob Bengtsson	Forward/Defenseman	Sweden	21	Stockholm, SWE
Artyom Borshyov	Defenseman	Belarus	20	Vitebsk, BLR
Spencer DenBeste	Forward	United States	21	Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Jeremy Gervais	Defenseman	Canada	21	Prince George, BC
Jack Jeffers	Forward	Canada	22	Oakville, ON; transfer from Alabama–Huntsville
Ethan Langenegger	Goaltender	Canada	20	Kamloops, BC
Benito Posa	Forward	United States	21	Grand Blanc, MI
Brandon Puricelli	Forward	United States	22	Ellisville, MO; transfer from Minnesota–Duluth
Joshua Wildauer	Forward	United States	21	Dearborn Heights, MI
Tyler Williams	Forward	United States	21	South Lyon, MI

Roster

As of October 14, 2020.^[4]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Ethan Langenegger	Freshman	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	2000-09-10	Kamloops, British Columbia	Salmon Arm (BCHL)	—
2		Michael Mannara	Sophomore	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-03-21	Caledon, Ontario	Trenton (OJHL)	—
3		Will Riedell (A)	Senior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	1996-10-09	Greensboro, North Carolina	New Jersey (NAHL)	—
4		Jacob Bengtsson	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	1999-05-08	Stockholm, Sweden	Waterloo (USHL)	—
5		Arvid Henrikson	Sophomore	D	6' 5" (1.96 m)	211 lb (96 kg)	1998-02-23	Stockholm, Sweden	Austin (NAHL)	MTL, 187th overall 2016
7		Mitchell Oliver	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1997-06-17	Kelowna, British Columbia	Alberni (BCHL)	—
8		Dustin Manz	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	1999-09-21	Vanderbilt, Michigan	Prince George (BCHL)	—
9		Alex Ambrosio	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1997-03-12	Burnaby, British Columbia	Coquitlam (BCHL)	—
10		Miroslav Mucha	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	1997-10-07	Bytča, Slovakia	Minot (NAHL)	—
11		Niko Esposito-Selivanov	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1998-09-23	St. Petersburg, Florida	Cowichan Valley (BCHL)	—
12		Brandon Puricelli	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1998-02-04	Ellisville, Missouri	Minnesota Duluth (NCHC)	—
13		Sepncer DenBeste	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-02-17	Marquette, Michigan	Johnstown (NAHL)	—
14		Yuki Miura	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1996-07-19	Tokyo, Japan	Waterloo (USHL)	—
15		Jacob Nordqvist	Junior	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1998-02-12	Gothenburg, Sweden	Madison (USHL)	—
16		Ashton Calder (A)	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	1998-02-09	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	Lincoln (USHL)	—
17		Chase Gamelin	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	1996-07-20	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	Brookings (NAHL)	—
19		Joshua Wildauer	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1999-06-16	Dearborn Heights, Michigan	Coquitlam (BCHL)	—
20		Jack Jeffers	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1997-09-21	Oakville, Ontario	Alabama Huntsville (WCHA)	—
21		Tyler Williams	Freshman	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-05-16	South Lyon, Michigan	Nanaimo (BCHL)	—
22		Lukas Kaelble (C)	Senior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	1997-10-13	Mannheim, Germany	Fargo (USHL)	—
24		Hampus Eriksson (A)	Senior	F	6' 6" (1.98 m)	211 lb (96 kg)	1996-09-11	Forsbacka, Sweden	Fairbanks (NAHL)	—
25		Jeremy Gervais	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1999-01-09	Prince George, British Columbia	Salmon Arm (BCHL)	—
26		Pete Veillette	Junior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1997-02-26	Drummondville, Quebec	Ottawa (CCHL)	—
27		Benito Posa	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-01-16	Grand Blanc, Michigan	Des Moines (USHL)	—
29		Louis Boudon	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	1998-10-04	Grenoble, France	Northeast (NAHL)	—
30		Mareks Mitens	Senior	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1998-01-29	Ventspils, Latvia	Aston (NAHL)	—
31		Seth Eisele	Sophomore	G	6' 5" (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1998-10-30	Lake Elmo, Minnesota	Lone Star (NAHL)	—

Standings

Schedule and results

^[5]

Scoring statistics

^[6]

Goaltending statistics

Rankings

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.^[7]

Awards and honors

References