ALLENDALE, Mich. – The No. 3 Grand Valley State Lakers head to the Upper Peninsula for the final conference matches of the 2017 regular season this weekend, taking on Michigan Tech on Friday (Oct. 20) at 4:00 ET (VIDEO | STATS) and Northern Michigan on Sunday (Oct. 22) at 1:00 ET (VIDEO | STATS). Earlier this week, the Lakers were ranked first in the Midwest Region in the first NCAA Regional Rankings of the 2017 season.
 
The Lakers (13-2-0, 7-0-0 GLIAC) would clinch at least a share of the regular season GLIAC championship and the top seed in the 2017 GLIAC Tournament with one win this weekend, giving GVSU the right to host the second and third round of the conference tournament. A sweep on the road, or a win combined with a loss by Ashland, would give GVSU their 13^th straight outright regular season title.
 
Winners of 13 straight matches, including 12 shutouts, the Lakers look to continue to fine-tune the offense that has erupted over their last five matches. GVSU has scored 32 goals during that stretch, netting at least three goals in each contest and five or more goals in four of them. Thanks to the recent offensive prowess, the Lakers lead Division II with 67 goals and are second in goals per match, averaging 4.47.
 
GVSU had a streak of four consecutive matches with a hat trick snapped on Sunday in their 3-0 win over Davenport. Gabriella Mencotti, the Division II leader in goals (21) and points (47), had three consecutive hat tricks before Tara Lierman's first career hat trick on Friday against Purdue-Northwest.
 
Lierman is second on the team in goals (10), which is also tied for the second-highest goal count in the GLIAC. The top three in points in the GLIAC are all Lakers, with Mencotti, Lierman (25) and freshman Ava Cook (23) leading the league. This emergence of depth for the Lakers is what head coach Jeff Hosler says will be vital for his team to have another deep playoff run.
 
"We have players on our roster that came into this season without a lot of experience that are really stepping up for us both in the starting lineup and off the bench," said Hosler. "That's going to be really important to carry us through this time of year as we ready ourselves for post-season play."
 
The high-flying offense travels north to Houghton, Michigan for a date with the Michigan Tech Huskies (5-7-1, 2-4-1 GLIAC) Friday. The Huskies have only conceded more than two goals in a match once this year, surrendering three goals to Minnesota Duluth on Sept. 10. The Huskies have struggled to score goals of their own, though, averaging less than a goal per match (0.92). The Huskies have scored multiple goals just twice this season, doing so in back-to-back matches on September 15 and 17. The defensive-minded opponent is only a part of the challenge awaiting GVSU this weekend according to Hosler.
 
"Heading up to the UP is always a tough task, with the travel conditions and playing surface at both venues, so we're going to have to be at our best to come away with the points we need this weekend and continue this momentum we've generated over the last 13 matches," Hosler said.
 
Friday will be the third of a five-match home stand for the Huskies to end the year. Michigan Tech dropped two GLIAC contests over the weekend to Ashland and Tiffin. The Huskies are trying to hang on to a GLIAC Tournament spot, currently tied for seventh in the league with seven points. With two conference matches remaining, five points separate the five-through-nine seeds in the standings, with the top eight earning tournament berths.
 
The Huskies attack has been spread around in 2017 with seven different players scoring on the year, five of whom have scored twice to lead the way. Freshman Brooke Schauer has been the focal point of the chances generated by Michigan Tech with a team-high 31 shots this year. Senior Taylor Archibald has two goals and a pair of assists to lead the team with six points. In net, senior goalkeeper Kirsen Hudak has been massive for the Huskies, making 48 saves on the year, an .828 save percentage that ranks second in the GLIAC. GVSU's Jennifer Steinaway is third with an .816 save percentage.

On Sunday, the Lakers head over to Marquette, Michigan for the final GLIAC match of the regular season, taking on the Northern Michigan Wildcats (2-9-2, 1-4-2 GLIAC) who are looking or their first win since September 23. The Wildcats won back-to-back matches on Sept. 17 and 23 but have scored just one goal in the six matches since, going 0-4-2.
 
Currently two points out of a tournament spot, the Wildcats are hoping star freshman Jenna Halonen can help Northern Michigan sneak into a tournament spot during the final weekend. Halonen has a team-high seven goals and 16 points, with no other Wildcat scoring more than a single goal this season.
 
Halonen got off to a hot start this year, scoring all seven goals in the first seven matches, culminating in a four-goal match at Purdue Northwest on Sept. 23, but the freshman has been kept off the scoresheet since. Halonen isn't the only reason the Wildcats envision a bright future. Another freshman, goalkeeper Brianna Frontuto, ranks fourth in the GLIAC with 65 saves this season.  
 
The Lakers head north with hopes of clinching the top spot in the GLIAC for the 2017 season. Grand Valley State is also trying to go through the entire conference season without conceding a goal, currently out-scoring opponents 39-0 in GLIAC matches. Grand Valley State has already earned one more home match for the GLIAC quarterfinals and now look to ensure home field for the final two rounds of the conference tournament and put themselves in a position to host the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.