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Bob Lakso

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Bob Lakso
Born (1962-04-03) April 3, 1962 (age 62)
Aurora, Minnesota, USA
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Minnesota Duluth
Springfield Indians
Indianapolis Checkers
Milwaukee Admirals
Indianapolis Ice
Fort Wayne Komets
NHL draft 184th, 1980
Minnesota North Stars
Playing career 1980–1993

Robert Lakso is an American retired ice hockey left wing who was an All-American for Minnesota Duluth.[1]

Career

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Lakso was a star player for Aurora-Hoyt Lakes, playing football, cross country and track in addition to hockey. The NHL had changed its draft rules that year, making Lakso eligible for the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, and he was selected in the 9th round by his home state Minnesota North Stars.[2]

The following fall, Lasko began attending the University of Minnesota Duluth and he began his collegiate career slowly. A broken leg delayed the start to his sophomore season but, once he got back on the ice, Lakso began playing much better. The program changed coaches in 1982, and Mike Sertich's arrival changed the trajectory of the program. In his junior season Lakso was nearly a point-per-game player for a team that set a new program record with 28 wins. Unfortunately, many of those victories didn't come in conference play and UMD finished 4th in the WCHA.[3] Despite the low finish, the team did receive its first bid to the NCAA Tournament where they were knocked out in the quarterfinals.

Undeterred, Lasko was named alternate captain for his senior season and he produced his best season to date. His point production improved and he helped Minnesota–Duluth win their first WCHA title in 19 years of league play. The Bulldogs clinched the crown in a 4–2 thanks to a hat-trick from Lakso.[4] UMD then won their first ever conference championship and received the second western seed in the 1984 NCAA Tournament. UMD was able to eke out a victory over Clarkson in the quarterfinals to make their first Frozen Four. They faced a North Dakota squad looking for revenge but the two team's defenses held and overtime was required. It didn't take long for Lakso to find Bill Watson with a pass and the later ended the game early in the first extra session.

UMD headed to their first championship game against Bowling Green and Lakso was ready with a tremendous performance. He assisted on the first two Minnesota–Duluth goals and scored the third to give the Bulldogs a 3–1 lead early in the third period. Unfortunately, a late comeback resulted in the two teams ending regulation with a 4–4 tie. The two ended up playing the longest championship game in NCAA history, requiring 4 overtimes, but it was Bowling Green who ended up scoring the winner. Lakso was named to the All-Tournament team, to go along with his All-American honors.

After graduating, Lakso began his professional career with the Springfield Indians but quickly found himself demoted to the IHL. He found a great deal of success playing AA hockey but, despite his scoring exploits, played just 25 games at the AHL level. Despite finishing 3rd on his team in 1987, Minnesota didn't renew Lakso's contract and he went on to play for three IHL teams over the next three years. he found his greatest success with the Fort Wayne Komets, scoring 100 points in his first year with the club. That offseason, the team moved to Albany but Lakso stayed in Fort Wayne when a different franchise was moved in to replace the departed Komets, taking over the same name. Lakso was traded to the new Komets for the promise that Fort Wayne would pay its own travel costs whenever it travelled to Albany. As the Albany team folded part-way through the next season, the trade turned out to be a steal for Fort Wayne.

Injuries hampered the rest of Lakso's career, but he was able to reach the Turner Cup Final in 1991 and then win the championship in 1993. Lakso retired after the title, ending his playing career on a high note.

Statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1979–80 Aurora-Hoyt Lakes MN-HS
1980–81 Minnesota–Duluth WCHA 36 7 6 13 2
1981–82 Minnesota–Duluth WCHA 28 12 11 23 8
1982–83 Minnesota–Duluth WCHA 45 18 25 43 8
1983–84 Minnesota–Duluth WCHA 43 32 34 66 12
1984–85 Springfield Indians AHL 8 2 1 3 0
1984–85 Indianapolis Checkers IHL 76 26 32 58 4 6 3 2 5 2
1985–86 Springfield Indians AHL 17 3 6 9 2
1985–86 Indianapolis Checkers IHL 58 41 35 76 4 5 4 2 6 0
1986–87 Indianapolis Checkers IHL 79 39 55 94 6 6 2 2 4 0
1987–88 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 80 43 28 71 10
1988–89 Indianapolis Ice IHL 82 38 34 72 10
1989–90 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 82 42 58 100 6 5 3 3 6 0
1990–91 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 66 31 31 62 8 19 6 12 18 2
1991–92 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 68 31 29 60 10
1992–93 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 63 17 21 38 4 1 0 1 1 0
NCAA totals 152 69 76 145 30
AHL totals 25 5 7 12 2
IHL totals 654 308 323 631 62 42 18 22 40 4

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-WCHA Second Team 1983–84 [5]
AHCA West Second-Team All-American 1983–84 [1]
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1984 [6]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "Bob Lakso". Hockey Draft Central. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  3. ^ "Minnesota–Duluth Hockey 2018-19 Media Guide". Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  4. ^ "Memorable Bulldog Moments". Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  5. ^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  6. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
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