The last time Lake Superior State entered a season with this many seniors, they went 14-22-5, which happens to be the Lakers’ best record in head coach Damon Whitten’s tenure.

Whitten has eight seniors on hand heading into the 2018-19 campaign, and signs point to a better record than 10-22-4 last season. It’s not uncommon for a player to have their best year come in their final season, meaning a handful of career years could be seen at LSSU over the next two semesters.

But before assuming the Lakers will take a step forward, it has to be noted what they’re losing from 2017-18. It starts with the departure of senior J.T. Henke, whose 27 points (9 G, 18 A) in 36 games led the team.

Three other seniors — while not as effective as Henke offensively — join him in graduating, and all three come from the blue line, leaving a rather large hole on the backend.

That’s where the addition of new assistant coach Zack Cisek should help. Cisek joins the Lakers after spending last season under former LSSU coach Jeff Jackson at Notre Dame as the goaltending coach and practice planning.

“Zack did an exceptional job for our program last year,” Jackson told LSSULakers.com. “He is a quality person and a bright young coach. I am confident that he'll do a great job for Damon. I'm excited for Zach and proud that he will start his coaching career, as I did, with the Lakers.”

Cisek had a large role in the Irish’s stingy defense, which helped carry the team to the NCAA championship game. But goaltender Cale Morris was a student of Cisek’s, as well as a Hobey Baker finalist and the 2018 Mike Richter Award winner as the top collegiate goalie.

Whitten has stated he is confident in Cisek having an immediate impact with the team as a goaltending and defensive coach. He will go a long way in supporting the transition of the mix of classes on the blue line with the recent departures.

That starts with Nick Kossoff, one of Whitten’s eight seniors and starting netminder. Kossoff went 7-12-2 with a modest 2.99 goals against average and .911 save percentage last season. Even when Kossoff wasn’t at his best last season, he was held back by an offense that was shutout six times in 36 games and finished the campaign with just two double-digit goal scorers.

Cisek should help the relationship between the blue line and crease, where a better, more confident Kossoff could be a domino effect through the lineup as his seven senior counterparts inevitably want to leave their alma mater on a high note.

Welcome back to school, Lakers! ⚓️

— Lake State Hockey (@HockeyLSSU) August 27, 2018

Whitten and Cisek have a little more than a month to put together the finishing touches on the roster, practice plans, and overall season preparation with Fall classes officially underway and the team’s first series against Merrimack on October 6-7 coming quickly.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.