The Anzalone Years, Part I

1983 Assistant Coach Frank Anzalone was promoted to the head coach position to close out the 1982-83 season. Anzalone led the Lakers to a 5-10-1 record taking over for Selman in January, finishing the season 12-23-1, 10-21-1 in the CCHA. Senior Steve Mulholland led the team in goals and assists on the season finishing with 24 goals and 45 points, ending his brilliant career in the Soo. 1983-84 The 1983-84 season saw Frank Anzalone remain behind the bench as the teams head coach. Anzalone’s first recruiting class brought in a few faces that would have an impact on Laker hockey for years to come including Dean Dixon, Paul Jerrard, and Jim Roque. The Lakers played in two tournaments during the 83-84 campaign including starting the season at the Battle Creek Invitational in Battle Creek, Michigan falling to Ferris State 10-3 in their first game before coming back to beat the University of Michigan 6-5 in overtime in the consolation game. Over the holiday break the Lakers once again participated in the Jeno's Holiday Classic in Duluth, Minnesota, beating hosts Minnesota-Duluth 4-3 before falling to Boston College 6-4, and tying Ferris State 5-5. The Lakers finished the CCHA season 12-17-1 advancing to the CCHA playoffs for the first time since the 1981-82 season. The Lakers fell to Bowling Green State University after losing the first game 7-3, despite coming back to win the second game 7-6. 1984-85 Lake Superior State College experienced a breakthrough season in 1984-85. On December 15 Frank Anzalone’s coaching antics created one of the most memorable moments in Laker history by pulling goaltender Randy Exelby seven times including six times in the third period, for an extra skater. The Lakers scored three times with the extra attacker to come back and win the game 7-6 in overtime against Illinois-Chicago. The Lakers played in the Syracuse Invitational in Syracuse, New York over Christmas break beating Clarkston 4-3 in overtime before falling to Colgate 3-2 in overtime of the championship game. LSSU recorded a 21-11-0 record in the CCHA regular season to advance to the CCHA playoffs for the second season in a row. The Lakers defeated the University of Michigan in the opening round of the CCHA playoffs beating them 3-1 and 7-6 in the Sault, to advance to the CCHA finals at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The Lakers beat Bowling Green State University 4-1 on March 8th before falling to Michigan State University 5-1 in the CCHA finals to be the CCHA Tournament Runner-Up. The Lakers where awarded with their first appearance in the NCAA Playoffs falling to Rensselar 10-6 in a most goals series, despite a 3-3 tie after losing 7-3 in the opening game. The Lakers concluded the season with an overall record of 27-16-1. Laker senior Allan Butler was named to the CCHA all conference second team after scoring 31 goals and 63 points, leading the league with 5 game winning goals. 1985-86 The fall of 1985 saw Mark Vermette, Anthony Palumbo, Mike De Carle, and Rene Chamdelaine arrive in the Soo to bolster the Laker lineup coming off of its first NCAA playoff appearance. The Lakers played in the Syracuse Invitational in Syracuse, New York held over thanksgiving break beating Alaska-Anchorage 5-3 before falling to Rensselaer 3-2 in the championship game. The Lakers finished the regular season with a 17-14-1 record in the CCHA and hosted Ohio State in the first round of the CCHA playoffs beating Ohio State in three games to advance to the CCHA finals in Detroit, Michigan. At the CCHA finals the Lakers fell to Michigan State University 3-2, and then fell to Bowling Green State University 3-0 in the consolation game. 1986-87 The Lakers brought in Dan Keczmer, Cord Cernich, Jeff Jablonski, and Pete Stauber at the beginning of the 1986 season in an attempt to get the Lakers back into the NCAA playoffs. Frank Anzalone also brought in Jeff Jackson to serve as an assistant coach on the team. The Lakers posted a 19-11-2 record in the CCHA regular season to again host Ohio State University in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. The Lakers won the first game against Ohio State 8-5 but went on to lose the next two games 5-2 and 8-3, abruptly ending the Lakers season. 1987-88 The 1987-88 season would end up being a monumental season for Lake Superior, for starters the School was granted university status from the State of Michigan in 1987 so it would mark the first year under the flagship moniker of Lake Superior State University or LSSU. The 1987-88 freshman class would also bring in some of the best players to ever play for the Lake Superior State program with goaltender Bruce Hoffort, Tim Breslin, Jim Dowd, Karl Johnston, and Jeff Napierala. Former team captain Jim Roque joined Frank Anzalone behind the bench as an assistant coach. The Lakers got off to a strong start in 1987 not losing a game in regulation until December 4th against Michigan State, 4-2, in East Lansing, compiling a 12-2-2 record during this time. The Lakers went on to be the CCHA’s Regular Season Champions with 22-4-6 record in conference play. The Lakers recorded a 27-5-6 overall record, losing only three games in regulation. The Lakers again hosted Ohio State in the first round of the CCHA playoffs sweeping the Buckeyes 6-2 and 4-1. At the Joe Louis Arena for the CCHA finals the Lakers topped Western Michigan 5-4 in overtime before falling to Bowling Green 5-3 in the CCHA Championship game, to be named CCHA playoff runner-ups. The Lakers played host to Merrimack University in the opening round of the NCAA Quarter Finals losing 4-3 in the opening game on March 25th, but the Lakers where able to rally back on March 26th to win 5-0 to win the most goals series with an overall score of 8-4. The Lakers advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four in Lake Placid, New York where they topped the University of Maine 6-3 on March 31st. The Lakers topped St. Lawrence University with Mark Vermette scoring at 4:46 of overtime to give LSSU a 4-3 victory on April 2nd to win their first NCAA National Championship. Laker coach Frank Anzalone was awarded the Spencer Penrose Memorial Trophy as the Division I Coach of the Year. Freshman goaltender Bruce Hoffort also collected Most Valuable Player honors at the 1988 NCAA tournament, and CCHA player of the Year honors. Vermette set a school records by scoring 45 goals, 21 on the powerplay, and recording 73 penalties during the 1987-88 season. 1988-89 Following their first NCAA national championship in 1988 the Lakers brought in the likes of Mark Astley and Sandy Moger to bolster their lineup. The Lakers struggled early in the season going 2-4-1 in their first 7 games before eventually finishing the regular season 24-8-6, 19-7-6 in CCHA play. The Lakers advanced to the CCHA Playoffs in Detroit again after Bruce Hoffort recorded back to back shutouts of Ferris State in the opening round in the Sault. In the CCHA Finals the Lakers topped Illinois-Chicago before falling to Michigan State to be named conference tournament runner-ups. The Lakers again advanced to the NCAA playoffs sweeping St. Cloud State in the Soo before falling to Harvard in Boston. For his spectacular play during the season Hoffort was named the CCHA Player of the Year, he and Kord Cernich where both named to the All Conference first team and named All Americans. Anthony Palumbo and Dan Keczmer where named to the CCHA All-Tournament for their play in the CCHA playoffs. Following the season Hoffort decided to leave LSSU to take an opportunity to play in the NHL. 1989-90 Anzalone brought in Michael Smith, goaltender Darrin Madeley to replace the departed Hoffort, and a young center named Doug Weight in the fall of 1989. The Lakers came out strong in 1989 going 18-3-1 before the start of the New Year finishing the season 28-7-3, 24-6-2 in the CCHA to finish second in the league. The Lakers swept Miami at home in the opening round of the CCHA playoffs advancing to the CCHA finals where they beat Bowling Green at the Joe Louis Arena before falling to Michigan State in the CCHA championship game. The Lakers advanced to the NCAA playoffs again sweeping Alaska Anchorage 6-2 and 10-3 in the Soo before falling to Clogate 2-3, 2-1. The 89-90 Laker squad placed 4 players on the CCHA all conference team with defenseman Kord Cernich being the only Laker on the first team, and Jim Dowd, Dan Keczmer, and Madeley making the second team. Cernich and Dowd where also named to the All-American second team while Madeley and Deight where named to the CCHA All-Rookie team. Jeff Jablonski and Cernich where named to the CCHA All-Tournament Team. Pete Stauber was named the Best Defensive Forward in the CCHA while Keczmer was named the Best Defensive Defenseman in the league. Following the 1989-90 season the administration at LSSU saw fit not to renew Frank Anzalone’s contract.