Lakers Look To Right ShipPublished on: February 12, 2010
Sterling Heights, MI — The ACHA Commissioner’s Office has handed down a ruling this morning that the formerly top-ranked Lakers must forfeit three victories from the month of January and are now subject to playing through regionals in hopes of punching their ticket to Florida. Division III commissioner Rick Kaminski noted that although this was an unfortunate incident, sanctions must be imposed: “The Lakers were found to have an ineligible player that played four games in the month of January. Having lost one of the four games, my ruling, in this case, was that the team would forfeit the remaining three games and the player would be ineligible for the duration of this season. The ranking committee was made aware of the situation and will be tasked with deciding where the Lakers will place, determined by their new record. The rules that were passed in Naples allow me to review each case and determine intent. There is a vast difference between a team playing a former professional or a player that does not attend their school and a returning player not reporting to the team that he did not meet the ACHA minimum academic requirements. The Laker coaching staff and administration were honest and forthcoming with my review of this player’s academic requirements.” Blazing their way to a 17-1 record during the first semester, the Lakers had hopes of escaping the regional tournament by placing in the top two slots, ensuring a return trip to the National Tournament, in which they finished 3rd only a year ago. Because of an academic ineligibility, the Lakers must forfeit a 6-0 victory over Jackson Community College and a pair of wins over cross-town rival Calvin College. Head Coach Todd Charlesworth is ready to move on, but now has a point to make. “It’s an unfortunate situation the team was put in and, as Head Coach, I take full responsibly of what transpired; for that, I apologize to the team. There’s been a certain routine we have followed for a very long time – unfortunately, we’ve had to rely on the students, and when that happens, oversights occur. The program has now implemented a new system that will avoid these mistakes in future seasons. We will accept what the ACHA rules and, hopefully, move on. We are grateful for the opportunity to work our way through regionals and prove that we still deserve a chance at a national championship. We have compiled, arguably, the most difficult schedule in the nation and our record is an accurate indication of our level of play – the players should not be penalized for something that was beyond their control.” The three victories forfeited leaves the Lakers at an overall record of 20-6 after a weekend split of conference opponent Northwood University. This has allowed Hope College and Saginaw Valley State (reigning national champions) to secure the North Region autobids to Ft. Myers. Although forced to play two more games, the Lakers’ squad views the opportunity to make a statement – a statement that nothing has changed. “What happened, happened,” admitted Laker senior Andrew Gilgallon. “We’re now going to take this one shift and one game at a time. This doesn’t change any team goals we made earlier in the season – to bring home a national championship to Allendale.” The Lakers will finish out their regular season with a home-and-home with Lansing Community College before taking on 10th-ranked Kettering University in the Regional Tournament held at Southside Ice Arena in Byron Center, Michigan. 
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