The Lakers take on the Guelph Gryphons today in a preseason game, before starting the regular season on the road at Colgate in two weeks.
There was a bit of news earlier this week when the Lakers were once again picked to win the regular season in the CHA, something they have not done since 2016. The Lakers received 3 first place votes, RMU 2, and Syracuse 1. I definitely agree with the pick - the Lakers have always been steady, have won 5 out of 9 games versus the Colonials in the past two seasons.
If the Lakers clean up their consistency versus lower ranked teams in the league, they are certainly a reasonable pick to win the conference. Both RMU and Syracuse lost some key players from last year, and so they may be vulnurable early in the season. At RMU Welsh, Rennie and Lague, put up 60 plus points combined. At Syracuse Munroe and Avery combined for 49 points. Hurst's top scoring 3 seniors put up 36 points combined.
It's funny because the Lakers get picked to win the conference, but when CHA team awards come around, they don't get much representation. Perhaps it's because the Lakers have a real team game, with everyone contributing just enough, with few players really separating themselves from the pack in terms of points.
Because of that, when you ask yourself, who should I watch on this team, the answer is pretty much everyone, because on any given day, anyone could be the player to make the difference. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see some break out stars, or see Nuutinen break that point a game plateau. But I know the Laker blueprint, and as such here are several players I'm looking forward to watching this year:
#24 Celine Frappier: Frappier is a redshirt junior from Tecumseh, Ontario. She didn't play last year due to injury. Prior to Mercyhurst she was on Canada's U18 team. In her first year at the Hurst, she got 6 points, and improved it to 11 in her sophomore year. Assuming she was on campus and watching hockey last year, I would bet her understanding of the game further improved in her year off, something we hear often from players who have to sit a year. I'm interested to see how it translates to the ice in her junior year.
The entire sophomore class is also worth a look:
Last year had 5 skating seniors who saw a lot of ice time, which made it harder for last year's freshmen to really earn ice time. Add in the high volume of penalties and powerplay opportunities, and the freshmen's ice time was further impacted. I'm expecting greater opportunity for the now sophomores this year, and if history proves correct (like Frappier and the contribution of last year's sophomores), they should continue to progress. Not rocket science there, more ice time generally means more points, but it also comes with tougher opposition or game situations, and the rising sophomores will need to prove ready to the task. Their class includes:
#11 Sarah Nelles (Saint Ann's, ON): Nelles, a winger, got four points as a freshman. She didn't see a ton of ice time, as a bottom six forward. Sisti is not afraid to move someone up the depth chart if they get going (see Hine and Robillard last year) so Nelles' role may evolve yet.
#19 Emily Pinto (Mississauga,ON): Five-foot-three Pinto led all freshmen in points, with 8. She is a winger, and one memory I have of her, is in her first ever college game, versus the Markham Thunder, skating hard and fearless for pucks along the wall and in the corner. Kind of playing like a power forward despite her size. She also put up one of her goals versus Minnesota. One game is a terribly small sample size, but the fact that Sisti was putting her on the ice against the best in the country suggests he sees capability and potential in her.
#34 Liliane Perreault (Hinsdale, IL): Perreault had six points, and was the only center in last year's freshman class, taking 46 faceoffs on the season. Vasko (junior) and Knott (senior) will likely be interchangeable first and second line centres this year. With Hine graduated, that leaves Korzack (junior) and Perreault who have college experience at center, plus whatever the freshmen class might bring. Third line centre is a tough spot to be I think, because often a third line centre could do just fine at wing on a top line, but is needed in a role that gets inevitably gets less ice time, simply because not anybody can play centre. The flip side is that a team that has a strong third line, is a huge asset in a sport where depth is often an issue.
#21 Alexane Rheaume (Sherbrooke, Que): Rheaume is a defender, got 2 points her freshman year. She traded ice time with Gialames it seemed. We saw more of Rheaume later in the season. With three defenders graduated (Blasen, Stacey, Fieseler), there is room for new life on the blue line and Rheaume should get some chances early.
#9 MK Gialames (Pittsburgh, PA): Gialames is also a defender and everything said about Rheaume applies to her. Gialames got six points as a freshman. I'd love to see her develop into a fixture on the blue line, perhaps becoming the first of a pipeline that channels more of that Pittsburgh Penguins Elite hockey program talent to Erie, Pa.
It's game day. Time to quit guessing about the players and see what they've actually got. Let's go Lakers!
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