And away we go

Enough with these NHL guys (for now); the college season is officially underway. The Mavericks have two practices in the books -- starting with one early Saturday morning -- and are now off on their regular practice schedule.

I had a chance to talk to freshman forward Andrew Sackrison after practice and he's thrilled to be centering a line with the Mavericks' top returning scorers from last season, Joel Hanson and Jon Kalinski to start the year.

"It's a great opportunity," Sackrison said. "But it's a lot of hard work. I just hope I can add something to their success."

You can read more about Sackrison and the freshman in Tuesday's Free Press. I have a column about five big questions for the Mavericks this season. Here's a teaser (questions, no answers):

1. Is Kalinski an elite forward in the WCHA?
2. Can the sophomore class take the next step?
3. Who will win the No. 1 goaltending job?
4. Can Steve Wagner be replaced?
5. Can the Mavericks survive the early season schedule?

Check it out and tell me what you think. What are some other burning questions about this club?

A couple of other notes:

Hanson is the team's captain, while junior Mick Berge has been chosen as an alternate. Coach Troy Jutting said the team will also have a rotation set up for it's other assistant, which sounds something like what the Minnesota Wild does with it's captain.

The WCHA will be experimenting with a two-referee system this season, something the NCAA would like to see in place. Each team will play two nonconference and four conference series with two referees and two linesmen for a total of 60 games with the system. During last week's WCHA conference call, head of officials Greg Shepherd said the coaches prefer one referee. But that's not unanimous as Jutting said he likes the 2-2 system.

Finally, one more thought on Sackrison. He's a 2006 fifth-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues. The Blues have to be thrilled that he's in Mankato after what they've seen out of Wagner and David Backes so far.