WCHA honors Wiley

Minnesota State sophomore forward Jason Wiley was named WCHA offensive player of the week for his two-goal, two-assist performance in last weekend's sweep of St. Cloud State. Wiley was the No. 2 start of the game Friday and the No. 1 star Saturday. He had five shots on goal and was plus-3 for the series. Wiley now has seven goals and four assists in 20 games.

Wiley shared the award with Michigan Tech forward Jimmy Kerr, who had a goal and three assists in the Huskies' three-point weekend against Colorado College. Minnesota Duluth goalie Alex Stalock was the defensive player of the week after allowing just one goalon 50 shots in the Bulldogs' nonconference sweep at UMass-Lowell. Wisconsin wing Patrick Johnson was named rookie of the week after scoring four points in the Badgers' win and tie against Minnesota.

Student ticket dispersal

Student tickets for this weekend's men's hockey games against No. 4-ranked Denver will be distributed starting at noon Thursday at Minnesota State's Taylor Center Hall of Champions. Tickets for each game are free for the first 1,100 students with valid Mavcards.

Promotions for this weekend's games include free MSU stress pucks for the first 1,000 fans Friday and a postgame autograph session with Maverick players Saturday.

A new recruit, other news and notes

According to several reports, including the United States Hockey League, the Mavericks landed a new recruit in Cedar Rapids Roughriders forward Tyler Thompson last week. A Wayzata native and former Benilde-St. Margaret's captain, Thompson is in his second season in the USHL and has 15 goals and 32 points in 35 games. That ranks him second on his team and 15th in the league in scoring. He's also ranked 149th among North American skaters on the NHL Central Scouting Service's mid-season rankings, which came out earlier this month.

In other news ...

St. Louis Blues president John Davidson says ex-Mav Steve Wagner deserves another shot with the big club. Wagner's promotion might even mean that the Blues are ready to trade another defenseman.

Here's a story from a couple of weeks ago about another former MSU player, Ryan Carter, who is making the most of his opportunities in Anaheim.

Grand Forks Herald hockey writer Brad Schlossman recently studied the WCHA's goal-scoring futility and even broke it down with a handy graphic. Teams are averaging an all-time low of 2.62 goals per game this season. Thirty years ago, they were averaging nearly five goals a game. That's each team!

Elsewhere around the WCHA, St. Cloud State senior forward Nate Dey, who missed Saturday's game against MSU, will have surgery on a knee that was injured in Friday's game at Mankato. ... WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod told College Hockey News that referee Randy Schmidt was suspended from working last week's games due to errors made on a pair of reviewed goals this season. The league apologized for both incidents. ... 

More votes but not ranked

Despite sweeping St. Cloud State, which was ranked No. 13 last week, Minnesota State was left out of this week's top 20. The Mavericks received 44 votes, while the Huskies fell to No. 20. Princeton, whom MSU waxed 6-1 just a month ago, is 19th. Minnesota State is ahead of St. Cloud where it really counts, however, coming in at No. 20 in the Pairwise. Here is this week's poll:

USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Men's Poll
Minneapolis, Minn./January 28, 2008

Team (First Place) Record Pts Last Week
1 Miami (49) 25- 3-0 999 2
2 Michigan ( 1) 22- 3-1 915 1
3 North Dakota 16- 8-1 854 4
4 Denver 18- 6-0 839 5
5 Michigan State 17- 5-5 819 6
6 Colorado College 18- 7-1 757 3
7 New Hampshire 15- 7-1 724 7
8 Notre Dame 20- 9-1 631 9
9 Boston College 12- 5-7 616 8
10 Clarkson 15- 7-2 568 10
11 Wisconsin 11-10-5 425 16
12 Minnesota-Duluth 10- 8-6 359 19
13 Northeastern 11- 8-3 337 11
14 Providence 11- 9-2 282 NR
15 Massachusetts 9- 8-6 231 14
16 Mass.-Lowell 11- 8-4 195 15
16 Quinnipiac 14- 7-3 195 12
18 Minnesota 12-11-5 181 17
19 Princeton 10- 8-0 125 18
20 St. Cloud State 11-12-3 120 13

Others Receiving Votes: Michigan Tech 103, Niagara 89,
Minnesota State 44, Cornell 17, RIT 16, Union 15,
Bemidji State 14, Air Force 11, Bowling Green 9,
Robert Morris 5, Yale 5

Back by popular demand

It's a been a couple of weeks but there's been some requests for a "You Want Answers" post. So submit your questions about the MSU hockey team -- and anything else on your minds -- over the next couple of days, and I'll try to answer them Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on your participation. 

Mavericks sweep Huskies, 5-3 final

Minnesota State  1-3-1--5

St. Cloud State    2-0-1--3

FIRST PERIOD

Scoring: 1. SCSU-Swanson 3 (unassisted) shg 7:58; 2. SCSU-Lasch 18 (Nodl 18, Roe 18) ppg 11:59; 3. MSU-Wiley 7 (Sackrison 9, Youds 7) 12:36

Penalties: Marvin, SCSU (cross-checking) 2:02; Peckskamp, SCSU (holding) 7:14; Kalinski, MSU (elbowing) 10:41; Hartman, SCSU (tripping) 13:58; Linder, MSU (elbowing) 16:47

SECOND PERIOD

Scoring: 4. MSU-Mouililerat 4 (Bruess 13) 1:32; 5. MSU-Sackrison 2 (Canzanello 8, Bruess 14) ppg 5:51; 6. MSU-Berge 14 (Stewart 1, Boe 3) 13:52

Penalties: Raboin, SCSU (hooking) 3:49; Nodl, SCSU (delay of game) 5:51; Marvin, SCSU (hooking) 10:27; Boe, MSU (interference) 14:32; Wiley, MSU (roughing) 17:07; Raboin, SCSU, double minor (roughing) 17:07; Nodl, SCSU (cross-checking) 18:33

THIRD PERIOD

Scoring: 7. SCSU-Nodl 12 (Raboin 14, Roe 19) ppg 10:30; 8. MSU-Irwin 6 (Wiley 4) 12:36

Penalties: Galiardi, MSU (interference) 3:21; MSU (too many on ice) 10:19

Shots on goal: MSU 19, SCSU 19

Greetings from St. Cloud

I think everybody's curious to see how both the Mavericks and Huskies will respond to last night's craziness. First off, MSU made two lineup changes, putting Channing Boe in for Brian Kilburg on defense and Ryan Gunderson in for James Gaulrapp up front. Kilburg scored the empty-netter Friday. Both appear to be coach's decisions.

Here are the lines (starters in italic):

MINNESOTA STATE

Kalinski-Harrison-Berge

Hanson-Bruess-Mouillierat

Irwin-Sackrison-Wiley

Galieardi-Gunderson-Stewart

Davis-Boe

Youds-Friesen

Linder-Canzanello

Zacharias

Tormey

ST. CLOUD STATE

Nodl-Roe-Volpei

Mosey-Hartman-Lasch

Borgen-Marvin-Peckskamp

Oslund-Olson-Anderson

Carlisle-Stephenson

Swanson-Raboin

Bocklehurst-Ammerman

Dunn

Weslosky

O'Brien

Comeback kids

Five goals in 8 minute, 15 seconds. I sure didn't see it coming. 

The Mavericks' comeback over St. Cloud State was so surprising that Chris Clark called it the best he's seen. Clark, you may recall, was the winning goalie in Minnesota State's 2003 8-7 comeback win over Denver. The Mavericks were down 7-1 midway through the second period when Clark became the third goalie to play for MSU. From there, the Mavericks scored seven goals in a row to win. Here's what Clark, now a graduate assistant, had to say about Friday's game: 

"Down 3-nothing, against a rival, in our barn ... I've never seen one better. We were down and out for 52 minutes."

As surprising as the comeback was, especially with how uninspired the Mavericks seemed to be before R.J. Linder started the rally, it's wasn't exactly a rarity. On Jan. 12, 2007, the Maverick were down 4-1 at St. Cloud State and scored five goals to win 6-4. A couple of differences between that night and Friday night: The Mavericks' rally began early, starting with Mick Berge's goal at 4:38 (Linder's was at 11:45); it included two power-play goals (Friday's were all even-strength); and the now-graduated Travis Morin dominated the period  with two goals and an assist.

The win didn't move the Mavericks up in the WCHA standings much. Michigan Tech's tie with Colorado College put Tech and MSU in a tie for eighth place. However, the Mavericks stayed in the race. They're two points out of sixth and four out of fifth.

"Ever since Duluth when we were up 3-1 in the third period and they came back, we've kind of been a lull," Linder said of the Mavericks' four-game winless streak leading up to Friday. "North Dakota swept us, and, obviously, our confidence was down. I think this game was a huge morale boost."

Mavericks 5, Huskies 3 - final

No, that's not a typo. The Mavericks came back, erasing a 3-0 deficit and scoring five goals over the final 8:15 to defeat the No. 13 Huskies Friday. More later ...

St. Cloud State    2-1-0--3

Minnesota State  0-0-5--5

FIRST PERIOD

Scoring: 1. SCSU-Nate Dey 10 (Tony Mosey 10, Ryan Lasch 18) 12:15; 2. SCSU-Matt Hartman 5 (Aaron Marvin 5, Brent Borgen 5) 12:39

Penalties: MSU (too many on ice) 7:33

SECOND PERIOD

Scoring: 3. SCSU-Mosey 4 (Brian Volpei 3) 13:13

Penalties: John Swanson, SCSU (unsportsmanlike conduct) 3:46; Trevor Bruess, MSU (unsportsmanlike conduct) 3:46; Kael Mouillierat, MSU (holding) 7:34

THIRD PERIOD

Scoring: 4. MSU-R.J. Linder 1 (Jason Wiley 3) 11:45; 5. MSU-Bruess 6 (Kael Mouillerat 9, Blake Friesen 2) 12:20; 6. MSU-Wiley 6 (Geoff Irwin 5, Zach Harrison 8) 15:11; 7. MSU-Mick Berge 13 (Jon Kalinski 3, Harrison 9); 8. MSU-Brian Kilburg 3 (Bruess 12, Joel Hanson 10) eng 19:08

Penalties: Roe, SCSU (hooking) 12:3

Shots on goal: SCSU 28, MSU 27

A new football coach, tonight's lineups ... updated

Just returned from the press conference announcing Todd Hoffner as the Mavericks' new football coach. Hoffner was the offensive coordinator at South Dakota the last two seasons and was the head coach at Wisconsin-Eau Claire for six years before that. He'll be introduced to Maverick fans during the first intermission of tonight's hockey game. ...

Here are tonight's lines. One noteable change: Nick Canzanello is back in on defense after missing last week's games; Channing Boe is out. 

UPDATED: Starters in italic.

MINNESOTA STATE

Kalinski-Harrison-Berge

Hanson-Bruess-Mouillierat

Irwin-Sackrison-Wiley

Gaulrapp-Galiardi-Stewart

Davis-Kilburg

Youds-Friesen

Linder-Canzanello

Zacharias

Tormey

Lee

ST. CLOUD STATE

Mosey-Dey-Lasch

Nodl-Roe-Volpei

Borgen-Marvin-Hartman

Mjelleli-Olson-Oslund

Raboin-Stephenson

Swanson-Anderson

Brocklehurst-Barta

Weslosky

Dunn

Check back later for updates ...

Gameday

It's gameday, and the Mavericks are in need of some points as they play a home-and-home WCHA series against St. Cloud State. The Mavericks are trying to snap a four-game winless streak that followed a 6-1-2 stretch. ... When they play Saturday in St. Cloud, it will be the final return home for senior defenseman and alternate captain R.J. Linder. ... Sophomore forward and leading scorer  Trevor Bruess will be back in the lineup after missing last Saturday's game due to a Friday-night fight. ... Defenseman Nick Canzanello returned to practice this week after suffering a leg injury in Duluth and could return this weekend, coach Troy Jutting said. ... Goalie Mike Zacharias will start. Full lines will be posted before the game tonight.

Pro players

An update on some of the former Mavericks in the pros: 

Tim Jackman (pictured, left) has been up with the New York Islanders for 29 games this season and has one goal, three assists and 46 PIM. ... David Backes has been on a roll of late. He has six goals, nine assists and 41 PIM in 38 games with the St. Louis Blues but has seven of those points in his last eight games, including a five-game scoring streak. Backes' MSU and Blues teammate Steve Wagner remains in the AHL in Peoria. ... The Anaheim Ducks' Ryan Carter has been skating regularly since being recalled in December. He has three assists and 23 PIM. On Wednesday, he won eight of 13 faceoffs and played more than 12 minutes. ... Grant Stevenson  has yet to play for the Calgary Flames but this week was named the AHL's player of the week. Playing for Quad City Stevenson ranks sixth in "the A"in overall scoring and is fourth with 22 goals. ... Travis Morin, meanwhile, scored a goal in the ECHL All-Star Game Wednesday. Morin, playing for South Carolina, is tied for eighth in the league scoring race with 43 points.

The Western College Hockey blog ran a transcript of an All-Star week interview with Morin. Here's a taste: On playing for coach Troy Jutting at MSU: "The thing that I had to learn the most was that I had to compete all the time. I probably didn't do that early in my college career and (Jutting would) say it. It's just something that you learn as you get a little bit older. You learn patience and when you have to choose your times. You've got to come to play every day because you never know what tomorrow holds."

Meanwhile, reporters in St. Louis are finding out, as I did over three years, that you can always go to Backes for a good quote. He told columnist Dan O'Neill this week that his ultimate golf foursome would include Albert Einstein, Babe Ruth and, uh, Jessica Simpson. "She can have some un-witty one-liners and she can just sit in the cart for all I care," Backes said.

Mavericks fall out of poll

Minnesota State fell to No. 25 in the Pairwise and out of the USCHO.com/CSTV Top 20 after getting swept by North Dakota over the weekend. Here are this week's rankings, which were released Monday afternoon:

USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Men's Poll
Minneapolis, Minn./January 21, 2008

Team (First Place) Record Pts Last Week
1 Michigan (49) 22- 2-0 999 1
2 Miami ( 1) 23- 3-0 944 2
3 Colorado College 18- 6-0 907 3
4 North Dakota 14- 8-1 815 6
5 Denver 18- 6-0 783 4
6 Michigan State 16- 5-4 766 7
7 New Hampshire 13- 7-1 704 5
8 Boston College 11- 5-6 627 11
9 Notre Dame 18- 9-1 566 8
10 Clarkson 13- 7-2 521 12
11 Northeastern 11- 6-3 490 9
12 Quinnipiac 14- 5-3 393 14
13 St. Cloud State 11-10-3 383 13
14 Massachusetts 9- 7-5 365 10
15 Mass.-Lowell 11- 6-4 351 15
16 Wisconsin 10-10-4 214 17
17 Minnesota 12-10-4 213 18
18 Princeton 10- 8-0 119 19
19 Minnesota-Duluth 8- 8-6 96 16
20 Air Force 12- 8-4 78 NR

Others Receiving Votes: Bowling Green 40, RIT 26,
Providence 22, Michigan Tech 21, Niagara 18,
Union 12, Minnesota State 9, Cornell 6,
Dartmouth 6, Bemidji State 5, Boston University 1

North Dakota 5, Minnesota State 3

So much for Jon Kalinski's goal with .5 seconds left in the second period. North Dakota broke the game open with a pair of goals 12 seconds apart early in the third period to all but secure the weekend sweep.

Chay Genoway scored the Sioux's fifth power-play goal of the weekend at 2:48, and Evan Trupp finished off a rush just after the ensuing faceoff.

Mavericks goalie Mike Zacharias was pulled after that, and Dan Tormey saw his first game action since Nov. 17.

Tormey stopped all four shots he faced the rest of the way, and Jerad Stewart added a late power-play goal for the Mavericks, who have not won in their last four games.

Updated: Sioux 3, Mavericks 2 - end of 2

North Dakota       2-1-0--0

Minnesota State  1-1-0--0

FIRST PERIOD

Scoring: 1. UND-Chris VandeVelde 9 (Taylor Chorney 16, Robbie Bina 18) ppg 8:34; 2. UND-Ryan Duncan 10 (T.J. Oshie 12) shg 9:58; 3. MSU-Mick Berge 12 (Andy Sackrison 8, Ben Youds 6) 15:47

Penalties: Ryan Duncan, UND (hooking) :21; Brian Kilburg, MSU (slashing) 4:45; Andy Sackrison, MSU (tripping) 7:05; Evn Trupp, UND (tripping) 9:22

SECOND PERIOD

Scoring: 4. UND-Andrew Kozek 8 (Chay Genoway 10, Matt Frattin 7) ppg 13:55; 5. MSU-Jon Kalinski 6 (Kael Mouillierat, Mick Berge 3) 19:59

Penalties: Brian Kilburg, MSU (hooking) 4:11; Joe Finley, UND (roughing) 11:38; Jerad Stewart, MSU (roughing) 11:38; Joel Hanson, MSU (tripping) 12:14; Ryan Duncan, UND (roughing) 15:27; T.J. Oshie, UND (slashing) 15:27; Zach Harrison, MSU (slashing) 15:27; Chris VandeVelde, UND (goalie interference) 19:03

Shots on goal: MSU 10-9, UND 10-11

Kalinski's goal came with .5 seconds remaining on the clock.

Changes

Minnesota State senior forward Matt Tyree will replace Trevor Bruess in tonight's lineup. Bruess is out because of his fight with North Dakota captain Rylan Kaip Friday. Jon Kalinski will move to Bruess' center spot between Joel Hanson and Kael Mouillierat.

Here are tonight's lines (starters in italics):

MINNESOTA STATE

Sackrison-Irwin-Berge

Hanson-Kalinski-Mouillierat

Gaulrapp-Harrison-Stewart

Tyree-Galiardi-Wiley

Boe-Kilburg

Youds-Friesen

Linder-Davis

Zacharias

Tormey

Lee

NORTH DAKOTA

Duncan-Oshie-Kozek

Watkins-VandeVelde-Martens

Trupp-Zajac-Frattin

Radke-Malone-Davidson

Chorney-Bina

Finley-Genoway

Jones-Marto

Lamoureux

Walski

Final: UND 2, MSU 1

North Dakota grabbed a 2-0 lead on Robbie Bina's power-play goal at 5:52 of the third period, and the Mavericks' Mick Berge made it a one-goal game again on the power play at 10:29. In between there was a drop-the-gloves fight between MSU's Trevor Bruess and UND's Rylan Kaip. There's some history between those two players, dating back to a regular-season skirmish last season in Grand Forks, N.D. Both players will miss tonight's rematch because of the game disqualification. Shots on goal: UND 16 (28 total), MSU 9 (25).

No scoring in the second period, although the Mavericks thought they did once, maybe twice. Trevor Bruess knocked in the rebound of a Kael Mouillierat shot at 8:04, but referee Ryan Thul immediately waved it off, saying the goal was dislodged, and then went to the video replay booth to review it. After a lengthy look at it, Thul confirmed his call. Three minutes later, Mouillierat crashed the net for a shot, and the rebound was batted in, but Thul called Mouillierat for goalie interference. Shots on goal: MSU 13, UND 6.

The Sioux grabbed a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Chay Genoway. His blast from just inside the blue line rattled around the pipes and in on goalie Mike Zacharias. The Mavericks had a good chance to tie the game late in the period but Kael Mouillierat, taking a nice feed from Trevor Bruess, clanged the puck off the far post. Shots on goal: UND 6, MSU 3.

Line 'em up (updated)

It's a half hour till gametime. Here are tonight's lines (starters in bold):

MINNESOTA STATE 

Galiardi-Kalinski-Berge

Hanson-Bruess-Mouillierat

Irwin-Harrison-Stewart

Gaulrapp-Sackrinson-Wiley

Boe-Kilburg

Youds-Friesen

Linder-Davis

Zacharias

Tormey

Lee

NORH DAKOTA

Watkins-VandeVelde-Kaip

Duncan-Oshie-Trupp

Kozek-Zajac-Frattin

Radke-Malone-Martens

Chorney-Bina

Finley-Genoway

Jones-LaPoint

Lamoureux

Walski

Check back later for more.

WCHA news

A couple of announcements from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association:

Wisconsin appeal denied
After reviewing the NCAA rulebook and the WCHA handbook, a group of faculty athletic representatives denied Wisconsin's appeal to have its 3-2 loss to Denver last Friday changed because of a disallowed goal that the league said should have counted.

Led by WCHA faculty chair Bill Hudson of St. Cloud State, rules state that the league cannot change the outcome of a game, citing the 2006-08 NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations book's Rule 6/Playing Rules, HR-81, Section 39: Protests are not recognized or allowed. Also, Rule 5/Officials and Officiating Systems, Section 3a: The referee(s) decision is final; there is no appeal. Further, the WCHA Handbook's Code of Regulatiosn states that NCAA rules will govern play in all ... games. Conferences and individual institutions are prohibited from modifying any playing rules except by permission of the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee.

In a press release, the league, which acknowledged referee Randy Schmidt's error, said the decision is final and the matter is considered closed.

WCHA, Bemidji State enter into scheduling agreement
The WCHA announced a scheduling agreement with Bemidji State, a College Hockey America members, which will begin in the 2010-11 season in conjunction with the opening of the Bemidji Region Events Center.

With the CHA down to four teams starting next year, the WCHA is guaranteeing home games for the Beavers within its own nonconfernce schedule. Bemidji State played 10 games against WCHA teams this year, including two against Minnesota State last month in Bemidji. Although the WCHA's announcement did not cite a specific number of games, there have been reports of a guaranteed 12 games.

Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth are the only teams to have played a series against Bemidji State every season since 1999-2000.

Loose pucks

Here are some news and notes about the Mavericks, heading into this weekend's series against No. 6 North Dakota:

Goaltender Mike Zacharias is one of 100 players listed on the preliminary ballot for the Hobey Baker Award. Fan voting will take place on the Hobey website until March 9. Fan participation will count for 1 percent of the final tally during each phase of voting. The top 10 finalists will be announced on March 20 with the winner being crowned on April 11. Zacharias, a junior, ranks eighth in the country in save percentage (.930) and 11th in goals-against average (1.93).

It looks like sophomore defenseman Nick Canzanello will miss this weekend's games with a leg injury suffered last Saturday at Minnesota Duluth. Canzanello has one goal and seven assists in 19 games and ranks second on the team with a +9 plus-minus rating.

Staying on the subject of injuries, freshman forward Mike Louwerse is being shut down for the season and will take a medical redshirt in order to allow a nagging groin injury to heal. Louwerse played in four of the Mavericks' first 10 games. "I don't think he'll be back (this season)," coach Troy Jutting said. 

Student ticket distribution

Anticipating another set of big crowds, Minnesota State will distribute student tickets for this weekend's men's hockey games against No. 6 North Dakota on campus Thursday.

Distribution of the 1,100 tickets will begin at noon at the Taylor Center's Hall of Champions. Tickets are free to students with current, valid Mavcards.

Minnesota State also distributed student tickets early for the Minnesota and Wisconsin games.

On Friday, the first 500 fans to arrive at the game will receive a set of MSU men's hockey trading cards, courtesy of Junker's Bar & Grille.

Still No. 20

Despite a loss and tie at Minnesota Duluth last weekend, Minnesota State did not drop out of the USCHO.com/CSTV top 20. However, the Mavericks did drop down in the only rankings that really count, the Pairwise, where they are No. 21. Following is the poll (Funny thing about polls,:Princeton moved in at No. 19 even though MSU destroyed the Tigers 6-1 just a couple of weeks ago):

USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Men's Poll
Minneapolis, Minn./January 14, 2008

Team (First Place) Record Pts Last Week
1 Michigan (45) 20- 2-0 995 1
2 Miami ( 5) 21- 3-0 946 2
3 Colorado College 16- 6-0 901 4
4 Denver 17- 5-0 837 3
5 New Hampshire 13- 6-1 789 8
6 North Dakota 12- 8-1 695 8
7 Michigan State 14- 5-4 681 10
8 Notre Dame 18- 7-1 647 6
9 Northeastern 11- 5-2 598 7
10 Massachusetts 9- 5-5 595 5
11 Boston College 10- 5-5 505 12
12 Clarkson 12- 7-1 423 11
13 St. Cloud State 11-10-3 373 14
14 Quinnipiac 13- 5-3 351 16
15 Mass.-Lowell 10- 5-4 331 13
16 Minnesota-Duluth 8- 7-5 204 19
17 Wisconsin 9-10-3 193 17
18 Minnesota 11-10-3 117 15
19 Princeton 10- 8-0 104 NR
20 Minnesota State 9- 8-4 57 20

Others Receiving Votes: Michigan Tech 42, Air Force 22,
Bemidji State 22, Providence 17, Bowling Green 15,
St. Lawrence 10, Cornell 9, Robert Morris 6, Yale 5,
RIT 4, Ferris State 3, Harvard 2, Niagara 1

Mavs' turn

Saturday was Minnesota State's turn to come from behind. Just as Minnesota Duluth did in Friday's series opener at the DECC, the Mavericks erased a two-goal deficit to force overtime. The only difference was, the game ended in a tie.

Trevor Bruess scored the game-tying goal wtih 2:02 remaining in regulation, despite playing with a deep cut on the top of his foot that required three stitches to close.

"I honestly don't know if there's a tougher kid in our league," MSU coach Troy Jutting said. "They would have to cut his foot off for him not to go back in the game."

Bruess leads the Mavericks with five goals and 11 assists.

The one point put the Mavericks at 10 for the WCHA standings, but they're in ninth place, one point behind Minnesota, Michigan Tech and Wisconsin, two behind St. Cloud State and six behind Duluth.

Other notes: Sophomore defenseman Nick Canzanello left the game in the first period with a leg injury and did not return. ... Joel Hanson had two assists to extend his point-scoring streak to eight games. ... MSU and UMD went 1-1-2 against each other this season with three games going into overtime and each team scoring nine goals. ... For more on Saturday's game, go to Sunday's edition of The Free Press.

Duluth, Part IV

It's an hour before gametime, light snow is falling outside the DECC -- although not nearly as much as there is in Lambeau Field right now -- and the Mavericks and Bulldogs are getting set to conclude their season series.

The Mavericks will go with the same lineup as Friday, as will the Bulldogs. I wasn't sure how Geoff Irwin would end up. He had to be helped off the ice with an apparent leg injury in the second period Friday but returned in the third. After the game, coach Troy Jutting said Irwin "is sore."

Check back later for a postgame report.

Clear the zone!

That was coach Troy Jutting's mantra after Minnesota State's 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota Duluth Friday at the DECC.

The Mavericks failure to clear the defensive zone late in the third period turned into a game-tying goal for the Bulldogs with 71 seconds left in regulation. Duluth's Cody Danberg scored his second goal of the game to win it at 2:06 of overtime.

It was a rare third-period collapse for the Mavericks, who were 8-0-1 this season when leading after two periods. Minnesota State led 3-1 after a dominant second period.

"We made a huge mistake at a critical time in the game," said Jutting, whose team got goals from Zach Harrison, Kael Mouillierat and Geoff Irwin in the second. Duluth outshot MSU 16-4 in the third period and 4-1 in overtime.

A few other notes: With two assists, Joel Hanson extended his scoring streak to seven games. ... It was the Mavericks' first loss to the Bulldogs in eight games. ... Duluth has lost just once in 10 games at home. ... The loss prevented the Mavericks from moving up in the WCHA standings. A win would have put them in sixth place. ... It appears the MSU women's team also lost a heartbreaker to UMD Friday, falling 2-1 to the second-ranked Bulldogs with the game-winning goal coming with just six seconds remaining in regulation.

Greetings from Duluth

Hello from the DECC. The players are about to come out for warmups. Here are MSU's lines:

Galiardi-Kalinski-Berge

Hanson-Bruess-Mouillierat

Irwin-Harrison-Stewart

Gaulrapp-Sackrison-Wiley

Boe-Kilburg

Youds-Friesen

Linder-Canzanello

Zacharias

Tormey

Extra players: Gunderson, Tyree

Davis stays home

Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said that freshman defenseman Kurt Davis will not make the trip to Duluth for this weekend's hockey series due to disciplinary reasons. "It's just for this weekend," Jutting said, saying the Davis broke unspecified team rules. It will be the first time Davis will be out of the lineup since October. Freshman Channing Boe will take his place in the lineup.

As for other lineup changes, the Mavericks will go with the same personnel as they did the last two games with one change. Left wingers Geoff Irwin and Rylan Galiardi will swap places. 

I'll post more when I get to the DECC Friday evening, but for a series preview you can check out Friday's edition of The Free Press.

You Want Answers? 01.08.08

The Mavericks will start the second half of their WCHA schedule Friday and Saturday against Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 19, while the Mavericks are No. 20. MSU took three points from Duluth Nov. 30-Dec. 1 in Mankato. In anticipation of the series, it's time to answer some of your questions:

With the recent output from Jason Wiley are there going to be any line changes or scratches? Or is Jutting going to stick with what's been working? I can't imagine there being too many changes for the Duluth series. The coaching staff's best chance to try new things was during nonconference play. Jutting opted to stick with what was working, whether it was to keep Mike Zacharias in goal or keep that fourth line (Wiley, Gaulrapp, Sackrison) together. Although there may be a tweak here or there, I see no sense changing too much right now.

Jerad Stewart has been struggling.I think this is going to be a really tough series for the Mavs. I think Stewart needs to score this weekend for the sweep to be possible what are your thoughts? Perhaps one of the biggest surprises this season is the fact that Stewart has only one goal this season. He missed a couple of games due to injury recently, but Jutting had high praise for Stewart after the Princeton game in which he led the Mavericks with five shots on goal. No doubt, his productivity must improve. If he can step up as fellow sophomores Trevor Bruess, Zach Harrison, Kael Mouillierat and Jason Wiley have of late, the Mavs could be in really good shape for the second half.

Will there be a game worn jersey auction this year? There isn't one listed among the university's game promotions. My guess is, since the team has new sets of home and away uniforms this season and no third jersey, that there won't.

Corey Leivermann is not the first Mankato kid to play DI hockey. Jennifer Gorny was. When she was a senior, there was nothing in the papers about her going to play for the Mavs. Do people not care about the women's DI program? Every one now thinks that Corey is the first kid from Mankato to do this when Jennifer put the Maverick jersey on before anyone else. Actually, when it comes to the MSU women's team, there have been a couple Mankato-area players. Gorny was a backup goaltender last season. Before her, Amy Egli, a St. Peter native who played high school hockey in Mankato, was on the team. St. Peter native and Cleveland HS graduate Ryann Geldner still ranks among the program's top scoring leaders. Mankato West's Brandon Roberts played a handful of games for Colorado College a few years back, and, in the 1980s, Mankato's Chuck Tosch played DI hockey for Alaska-Fairbanks.

What are the chances Dan Tormey decides to transfer for his senior year, assuming Zacharias never relinquishes his hold on the No. 1 goalie spot? I know he'd have to sit out a year, but he could always go play another year of juniors while waiting. Former Maine goalie, Matt Lundin, just did that this past year.
I guess I would be stunned if he were to leave. All goalies know how quickly things can change. Tormey certainly must be aware of how well Zacharias is playing right now. Zacharias is putting up All-American-like numbers. He has the hot hand right now. Jutting and the Mavericks are -- and should be -- riding that wave, just as they did with Tormey two seasons ago when he was the top rookie goalie in the WCHA. Zacharias watched from the bench most of that year and only played in six games. As for your juniors theory, Tormey will be 23 next month and is far too old to go back to that level.

After seeing your latest post which confirmed Corey Leivermann will be a Maverick, a couple more questions popped into my head. First, can you give us any insight on the sort of impact this kid might one day have on the program? Also, what are the chances his high-scoring teammate, Ricky Litchfield, could end up joining him as a future Maverick? Thanks again. Other than the excitement it will generate among the local hockey folks, it's hard to guess just how Leivermann will do in college. He himself has admitted that he needs to play a year of junior hockey, maybe two, before he is ready for Division I hockey and the WCHA. I've been told he needs to work on his skating, but I'm also told he's they type of kid who will work on whatever he needs to work on to get better. I think he was inspired by playing in that fall elite league with some of the state's other top high school talent. He found out where he stood and how far he could raise his bar. As for Litchfield, I think he has many of the tools, too. He might have to go to the next level and play junior hockey before he gets an offer. That West team is full of talented high school players: Ryan Anderson, Andrew Bruggeman, Matt Campell, to name a few. As I wrote about in today's column, don't wait until 2011 to watch Leivermann play. The Scarlets are an exciting team to watch. They're 11-0 and ranked No. 5 in Class A.

Is it just me or does it seem like the scoreboard at the Alltel Center is malfuctioning more than usual? Is it time to maybe update the scoreboard? Also, why don't they show replays of goals and other great plays on the video screen at the games? I know Mariucci has no problem showing replays. The scoreboard has had problems almost every night. Once in awhile is fine, but once a game is embarrassing. I think people forget that the civic center is 13 years old. It needs updates all over the place. The scoreboard is just one piece of that. I'd like to see a center-ice scoreboard/video display. The arena also needs improved locker-room and training-room facilities and a real press box, just to name a few items on the list. As for replays, the scoreboard does show some, but I think it's difficult to see and also limited to what the TV coverage has to offer. There is no in-house video production.

That was all of the questions for this week. Thanks, and keep them coming. I'll try to do another YWA next week after the Duluth series.

Question time extended

Since there were only a few questions, I decided to extend wait to do the YWA post early next week. Keep those questions coming!

Mavs land local recruit

The Mavericks got a verbal commitment from Mankato West senior forward Corey Leivermann, the player said Thursday. Leivermann is Minnesota's second-leading scorer behind linemate Ricky Litchfield.

Leivermann, who said he will play a year or two of junior hockey before joining the Mavericks, aims to be the first player who grew up in the Mankato hockey system to play for MSU.

After committing to the Mavericks, Leivermann scored two goals -- including a short-handed game-winner -- and two assists in the Scarlets' 8-1 win over Faribault. Word spread fast around All Seasons Arena. After the shorty, the West student section began chanting, "He's a Maverick," over and over.

You can read more about Leivermann in Friday's edition of The Free Press.

Happy new year

The Mavericks are one game over the season's midway point and off until Jan. 11-12 when they go to Duluth. 

Sounds like a good time to do a "You Want Answers?" post. 

Just send your questions and comments on the comments link below and I'll try to give you some answers, comments, insights, guesses and musings by Friday afternoon. I'll also look back on some of the comments made since the last YWA post and consider those as well.