Friday-morning skate

Minnesota State is in Anchorage, Alaska, today but PucKato won't be there (I will go to Omaha and Denver in the coming weeks, however). The Mavericks and Seawolves will face off at 10:07 p.m. CDT. Mankato-area folks can hear the game with Mike Sullivan's call on KTOE (1420 AM). Also, UAA games are streamed online, so perhaps you'll be able to watch on your laptop.

PucKato won't be live blogging but will try to do regular updates on Twitter (I'm looking for more followers, so join me, won't you?).

On to this morning's coverage of the WCHA ...

Minnesota State will be seeing a familiar face on the opposing bench tonight in Alaska. Mavericks alum Ryan McKelvie is an assistant coach for the Seawolves. The gameday preview isn't posted online, but here are a few nuggets: Phil Cook will start in goal for the Mavericks ... Rylan Galiardi remains out with a lower-body injury but Eli Zuck and Evan Mosey are back in the lineup. ... With Galiardi out, senior forward Andy Sackrison moves up to the No. 1 center spot.

As for the Seawolves, they are hoping to make Sullivan Arena a tough place to play. Last year, UAA went 6-8-0 at home against WCHA teams. Five times, it lost Friday night, only to bounce back and win Saturday. Once, they won Friday and lost Saturday. St. Cloud State was the only WCHA team to score a sweep in Anchorage.

In other league action ...

Michigan Tech at Wisconsin: The Huskies are hoping to remain unbeaten when they travel to Madison following a week off (their last games were the win and tie with MSU). ... Meanwhile, Wisconsin boasts the top-scoring rookie in the nation in Mark Zengerie. He also leads the team in scoring with 10 points and will be one of seven freshmen in the Badgers' lineup.

Denver at North Dakota: Minnesota State has many road miles ahead of them, but North Dakota has been traveling just as far to start the year. The Sioux are finally back at home after racking up more than 7,400 miles. North Dakota will also be honoring former goalie and NHL-great Ed Belfour this weekend. It ought to be a cool moment tonight when the Sioux all skate out for warmups in custom No. 29 Belfour jerseys that will be signed by Belfour and sold for $199.29. ... As for the Pioneers, they are being led by a very young goaltender, Sam Brittain, who only seems to have done what every other goalie at DU has done: play great. He has a .940 SV% and a 1.70 GAA in four games.

Minnesota at Colorado College: The Gophers are on the road at Colorado Springs (their only flight this season) and coach Don Lucia has promoted goalie Kent Patterson to almost equal-billing with senior Alex Kangas. "The way Kent has played, he has earned more ice time," Lucia said. ... The Tigers, coming off last week's split in Mankato, have some juggling to do in their lineup with star forward Rylan Schwartz out after his game DQ for kneeing MSU's Chase Grant last Saturday.

Minnesota Duluth at Bemidji State: The Bulldogs aren't forgetting their last meeting with Bemidji, which may have cost them a bid into the NCAA tournament. This will also be a matchup between the team with the new arena (BSU) and the team that will be moving into one later this year (UMD). Apparently, Penn State officials have looked at Duluth's Amsoil Arena as it designs its hockey building. ... Meanwhile, the Beavers are quickly learning the grind of the WCHA. After hosting then-No. 2-ranked North Dakota, they now face the nation's third-ranked team, UMD.

Quinnipiac at St. Cloud State: The Huskies are stepping out of conference play and will host the Bobcats. One SCSU player who has stepped up his game of late is senior defenseman Brett Barta.

You can also read league previews from USCHO, INCH and This is the WCHA.