Mavericks ranked 14th

With nine wins in their last 10 games, including two over the weekend to capture the UConn tournament championship, Minnesota State moved up four spots to No. 14 in the lastest USCHO.com rankings, which were tallied on Monday.

Here are the rankings:

1. Minnesota (35 first-place votes)

2. Boston College (5)

3. Notre Dame (9)

4. New Hampshire

5. Quinnipiac

6. Miami

7. North Dakota

8. Dartmouth (1)

9. Boston University

10. Western Michigan

11. Denver

12. Cornell

13. Union

14. Minnesota State

15. St. Cloud State

16. Nebraska Omaha

17. Yale

18. Niagara

19. Robert Morris

20. Holy Cross

Others receiving votes: Colgate, Ferris State, Providence, Harvard, Michigan Tech, UMass, UMass-Lowell, Northern Michigan, Colorado College

Mavericks 3, UConn 1

Minnesota State photo

Johnny McInnis, playing just a couple of hours from his hometown of Boston, scored two second-period goals and was named tournament MVP as Minnesota State defeated Connecticut 3-1 to win the UConn Hockey Classic on Sunday night in Storrs, Conn.

McInnis, a junior forward, now has 10 goals, which is a career high (eight was his previous high) and is tied for the team lead.

McInnis; goalie Stephon Williams, forward Jean-Paul LaFontaine and defenseman Tyler Elbrecht were named to the all-tournament team.

The Mavericks trailed 1-0 after one period, but McInnis scored two goals in a span of about 3 1/2 minutes early in the second. Defenseman Zach Palmquist added an empty-net goal in the final moments of the third.

Minnesota State (12-6-2) will return to Mankato on Monday and will prepare for its final nonconference series of the season Friday and Saturday against Providence at the Verizon Wireless Center.

See the box score here.

Mavericks 3, Bears 1

Jean-Paul LaFontaine scored two third-period goals, and Minnesota State defeated Brown 3-1 in the first game of the UConn Hockey Classic on Saturday in Storrs, Conn.

The Mavericks led 1-0 through two periods after Zach Palmquist's first-period goal. LaFontaine made it 2-0 at 9:02 of the third period with a power-play goal from Matt Leitner and Zach Lehrke.

After Brown scored a short-handed goal to make it 2-1 with 6:44 to play, the Mavericks held off the Bears the rest of the way before LaFontaine's empty-netter with 4 seconds to go.

Freshman goalie Stephon Williams won his eighth game of the season, stopping 18 shots, including 11 in the first period. MSU outshot Brown 27-19 and controlled play in the third period with a 9-4 shot advantage.

The first assist on Palmquist's goal was by Taylor Herndon, the freshman from Oklahoma City who was playing in his first career game.

Minnesota State (11-6-2) will play Connecticut at 6:15 p.m. on Sunday. UConn defeated American International 7-2 in Saturday's second game.

The MSU-Brown boxscore can be found here.

Minnesota State vs. Brown

I didn't make the trip to Connecticut for this weekend's tournament. I'll post updates on Twitter during today's and will have a postgame recap right here later.

Meanwhile, here are the Mavericks' lines for today's game against Brown:

Margonari—Leitner—Lehrke
Knowles—LaFontaine—Hayes
Grant—Zuck—McInnis
Gervais—Herndon—Gaede

Elbrecht—Nelson
Palmquist—Mosey
Stern—Jutzi

Williams
Cook

With Teddy Blueger playing at the World Junior Championship, Eli Zuck has moved up to the third line center spot, giving freshman Taylor Herndon his first action of the season as the fourth-line center. ... On defense, senior Evan Mosey is back in the lineup, replacing freshman Nick Buchanan.

Leivermann leaving

Pat Christman/The Free Press

The first Mankato native to play for the Minnesota State men's hockey team will not finish his college career as a Maverick.

Corey Leivermann, the school announced on Friday, is leaving the program and will continue his playing career elsewhere. Leivermann confirmed via text message that he will transfer down the road to Division III Gustavus Adolphus where he will be able to play immediately (once enrolled) and play his final season and a half of college hockey.

Leivermann, the former Mankato West High School standout, played in 42 career games for the Mavericks but just two this year — MSU's first two of the year. As a freshman, he scored three goals and had four assists in 19 games. Last season, he scored one goal in 21 games.

The writing might have been on the wall as far as playing time was concerned when Leivermann was moved to defense for practice in recent weeks.

In MSU's press release, coach Mike Hasting said: "We appreciate and recognize Corey's contributions to Maverick Hockey during the past two and a half years. We wish him the best as he moves forward in his future endeavors."

Minnesota State is playing in the UConn Hockey Classic in Storrs, Conn., this weekend. Gustavus' next game is Friday at St. Scholastica, but Leivermann said he won't be able to play until after Jan. 7. Gustavus will play Jan. 11 at St. John's.

Back from vacation

I'm back on the blog after a few days away for Christmas. I hope everyone had a good holiday.

The Mavericks took off on Thursday for Connecticut where they will be playing in the UConn Hockey Classic on Saturday and Sunday. Minnesota State will face Brown at 3 p.m. Saturday and either host UConn or American International on at 3 p.m. or 6:15 p.m. Sunday. I'm not on the trip but will be monitoring both games from Mankato.

As for the rest of the WCHA, here is the weekend schedule:

Thursday
RPI 4, St. Cloud State 3

Friday
RPI at St. Cloud State
Minnesota Duluth vs. Maine (Florida College Classic)

Saturday
Nebraska Omaha at Quinnipiac
Boston University at Denver
Minnesota Duluth vs. Ferris State or Cornell (Florida College Classic)
Michigan Tech vs. Michigan (Great Lakes Invitational, Detroit)
Minnesota vs. Air Force (Mariucci Classic)

Sunday
Nebraska Omaha at Quinnipiac
Michigan Tech vs. Western Michigan or Michigan State (Great Lakes Invitational, Detroit)
Minnesota vs. Boston College (Mariucci Classic)
Bemidji State vs. UMass (Ledyard Bank Classic, N.H.)

Monday
Bemidji State vs. New Hampshire or Dartmouth (Ledyard Bank Classic, N.H.)

Mavs move up

Despite losing their first game since before Thanksgiving and splitting a series at Nebraska Omaha, Minnesota State moved up in the latest USCHO rankings. The Mavericks are ranked No. 18, up two spots from No. 20. See the entire poll here.

UNO 5, MSU 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. All good things ... Must come to an end, the saying goes, and so ended Minnesota State's impressive seven-game winning streak, tied for the longest in the Division I era. Looking back over the last month, MSU has to be thrilled with going 7-1 and getting a big series split in Omaha. A win would have put the Mavericks in first place in the WCHA standings at Christmas break, but what's more important is the run of eight games that ensured they'll be competing for home ice at the end of the season, something Omaha coach Dean Blais all but predicted would be the case during his postgame press conference.

2. That's different: One of the first things I do when I get to the press box before a game is grab the line charts. I had to a double-take when I glanced at Omaha's. Two big white spaces among the forward spots and some extra names crammed in among the defensemen. Blais dressed just 10 forwards and eight defensemen for the game, playing around with his lineup in hopes of not having a repeat of Friday night's episode of firewagon hockey. It sure seemed to slow down the red-hot MSU Mavericks, who didn't score until Matt Leitner's goal made it 3-1 in the third period. It helped that freshman goalie Anthony Stolarz (27 saves) was on his game.

3. Mixing and matching: With one injury exception, the MSU line chart hasn't changed at all over the last eight games. And during games, there has been little movement, as Hastings has been able to roll four forward lines and three sets of defensemen. But when things got stagnant on Saturday, the coach didn't waste anytime trying to change things up, and there were all sorts of combinations out there. Matt Leitner was part of a few of them, even getting double-shifted at times. "We tried to mix it up," Leitner said. "We had no goals after two periods. I felt good tonight; I had a lot of energy tonight. We had a little push there and almost made it interesting."

Deep thought: The Mavericks are off until the UConn tournament Dec. 29-30. Happy holidays, folks!

Around the WCHA: North Dakota 4, Michigan Tech 1 ... St. Cloud State 3, Colorado College 1 ... Bemidji State 5, Denver 1 ... Minnesota Duluth at Alaska Anchorage (late, UMD won 5-1 on Friday)

MSU at Omaha — Game 2 live blog

Lines can be found below the chat box ...



MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS

26-Margonari      18-Leitner           19-Lehrke
24-Knowles         12-LaFontaine     25-Hayes
21-Grant              23-Blueger          22-McInnis
9-Gervais             29-Zuck               8-Gaede

16-Elbrecht          2-Nelson
7-Palmquist          4-Buchanan
27-Stern               28-Jutzi

35-Williams
30-Cook

Scratches: Burkemper, Herndon, Karambelas, Knoll, Leivermann, Mosey, Thauwald

NEBRASKA OMAHA MAVERICKS

19-Lane             12-Montpetit         21-White
17-Walters         14-Zombo             15-Archibald
25-Gwidt           23-Searfoss           13-Raubenheimer
                                                        18-Adams

8-Megna             3-Sustr
11-Seeler            24-Aneloski
4-Turgeon           7-Young
2-Cooper            28-O'Rourke


33-Stolarz

29-Belfour

30-Faulkner

Referees: Don Adam, Tim Walsh. Linesmen: Chad Evers, Nathan Stanton

MSU 6, UNO 3

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Keep on rolling: Minnesota State got down by a goal less than a minute in on the road and got into some penalty trouble early, but, to quote junior forward Johnny McInnis after the game: "Nothing rattles us." McInnis scored two goals and assisted on another, Teddy Blueger had three assists and MSU won its seventh game in a row in impressive fashion against a very good and highly skilled Omaha team. With the way the game started, it seemed like it might have been a bump in the road for the visiting team, but that was not the case. Can the purple Mavs make it eight in a row to close the first half of the season on Saturday night?

2. Special team: The 43 seconds of 5x3 penalty kill time early on settled down MSU. Their kill was good all night, allowing one goal on six tries. Stephon Williams (25 saves) came up huge at times, and Bryce Gervais' short-handed breakaway goal less than two minutes into the third period was all the cushion Minnesota State needed. They also had a big kill with about 7 minutes left in the third period when UNO coach Dean Blais pulled his goalie for a 6-on-4 attack. Minnesota State also scored a pair of power play goals, one from McInnis, on a nice feed out of the corner from Chase Grant and one by Jean-Paul LaFontaine on a similar pass from Matt Leitner.

3. Hey, rookie! This is the time of year when coaches love to say their freshmen aren't freshmen anymore. Well, MSU's first-year players came up huge. Blueger with three assists. Gervais with the shorty. Dylan Margonari with a goal. Jon Jutzi with his first career goal (with 2 minutes left, sealing the win by finishing off a 2-on-1 on a beautiful little backhanded pass from Blueger). "I think we're just trying to do the same things that have made us successful before," Blueger said. "We just try to outwork the other team and play to our system."

Deep thought: One thing I love about covering sports is seeing things I've never seen before. Tonight? How about a goalie interference penalty at one end of the rink (Eriah Hayes) and a second one called at the other end seconds later during the delay (Brock Montpetit) for matching minors? MSU dodged a bullet there and even scored a goal to go up 2-1 while those two were in the box.

Read The Free Press game story here.

Around the WCHA: North Dakota 6, Michigan Tech 1 ... Wisconsin 4, Alabama Huntsville 1 ... St. Cloud State 5, Colorado College 3 ... Denver 1, Bemidji State 1 (OT) ... Minnesota Duluth at Alaska Anchorage (late)

MSU at Omaha — Game 1 live blog

Lines are posted below the live chat ...

MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS
26-Margonari      18-Leitner           19-Lehrke
24-Knowles         12-LaFontaine     25-Hayes
21-Grant              23-Blueger          22-McInnis
9-Gervais             29-Zuck               8-Gaede

16-Elbrecht          2-Nelson
7-Palmquist          4-Buchanan
27-Stern               28-Jutzi

35-Williams
30-Cook

Scratches: Burkemper, Herndon, Karambelas, Knoll, Leivermann, Mosey, Thauwald

NEBRASKA OMAHA MAVERICKS
25-Gwidt           12-Montpetit         21-White
17-Walters         14-Zombo             15-Archibald
23-Searfoss        27-Pearce              13-Raubenheimer
9-Polk                19-Lane                 18-Adams

8-Megna             3-Sustr
11-Seeler            24-Aneloski
2-Cooper            7-Young

30-Faulkner
29-Belfour
33-Stolarz

Referees: Don Adam, Tim Walsh. Linesmen: Chad Evers, Nathan Stanton

Friday morning skate

I'll be leaving for Omaha in a few hours, which gives me enough time to get on with the skate ...

It's Mavericks vs. Mavericks as No. 20 Minnesota State heads to No. 13 Nebraska Omaha. The series closes out the first-half WCHA schedule for MSU.

There's lots of intrigue in this series, considering these teams have both been red hot of late and both sit near the top of the league standings. They have some of the top scorers in the league (Omaha's Ryan Walters leads the conference in points, while MSU's Eriah Hayes is tied for the goal-scoring lead). But we'd be remiss if we failed to acknowledge the relationship certain coaches have with the other program. Mike Hastings, of course, spent the last three seasons on UNO's bench and was a junior coach in that city for 14 years. Troy Jutting, now an Omaha assistant, was MSU's coach for the last 12 years.

Rob White of the Omaha World Herald, naturally, tackled the same storyline. But at the end of the weekend, we probably won't be talking about the coaches. Instead, it will be about the hockey, and Omaha knows it has a hot team coming to town.

Read more about Minnesota State by USCHO here.

Going around the WCHA ...

North Dakota at Michigan Tech: North Dakota apparently has a secret weapon in Corban Knight, who doesn't get much attention despite some outstanding play throughout his career. This year is no different. Meanwhile, the Huskies are feeling better about themselves after securing two points (two ties) at Wisconsin last weekend.

Colorado College at St. Cloud State: The struggling Tigers are hoping a long road swing can cure what ails them. This series begins a stretch of 11 games in which nine will be played away from Colorado Springs. For the Huskies, one of the league's better defenseman, Nick Jensen, is starting to show off his tough-guy side.

Denver at Bemidji State: The Pioneers are, shockingly, on a six-game winless streak, and it looks like their three-headed monster in goal is now down to one. The Beavers, of course, are hoping to keep Denver's streak going. Also, lots of good stuff and great reporting by Bemidji Pioneer writer Jack Hittinger on BSU's financial struggles and how they relate to hockey. Worth the read(s). Part 1. Part 2.

Minnesota Duluth at Alaska Anchorage: The Bulldogs are having an up-and-down season and trying to find their stride. It helps that they're getting a little scoring from some unlikely players. The Seawolves, meanwhile, would take scoring from just about anywhere, especially after getting just one goal last weekend in Mankato.

Alabama Huntsville at Wisconsin: The Badgers won the series opener 5-0 on Thursday night. They played without the services of Ryan Little, who was suspended one game by the WCHA for an dangerous hit last week again Michigan Tech. No penalty was called on the play during the game.

Nelson earns league honor

Pat Christman/The Free Press

For the third week in a row and the seventh time this season, an MSU hockey player has been honored as a WCHA player of the week. This time, it's junior defenseman Josh Nelson, who was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in last weekend's sweep over Alaska Anchorage.

Nelson, a 6-foot-0, 180-pound blueliner from Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., had an assist in each game. He also had three shots on goal and was +1 in Friday's 3-1 win. In Saturday's 3-0 victory, he was +2 and helped goalie Stephon Williams earn his second shutout in as many series.

Nelson has a three-game scoring streak and has three goals and three assists in 15 games.

Other league honors went to North Dakota senior forward Carter Rowney (Offensive) and freshmen Rocco Grimaldi of North Dakota and David Morley of St. Cloud State (Rookies).

Among the ranked

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Minnesota State has been rewarded for its six-game winning streak and 9-5-2 start to the season by landing a spot in the national rankings. The Mavericks are ranked 20th in the latest USCHO.com poll, which was released on Monday afternoon. Minnesota State is in a tie for third place in the WCHA and is the sixth team from the conference in the poll. MSU will go to Nebraska Omaha this week; UNO moved up to No. 13 in the rankings.

Mavericks 3, Seawolves 0

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Freddy's three thoughts of the game:

1. Six in a row? Make it three: The winning streak is six games now, one shy of the MSU's last long one, a seven-game stretch in 2007-08. What's impressive about the streak, currently the third-longest unbeaten streak in the country, is that it's three series sweeps in a row. Not any easy task, especially in the WCHA. Anchorage had not been swept in a conference series yet this season, taking at least one point from the likes of Minnesota, North Dakota and St. Cloud State. Coach Mike Hastings put it in some perspective afterwards, pointing out that his team is 3-2 in series sweeps this season.

2. Willy, Willy good: Rookie goalie Stephon Williams recorded his second shutout in four games, stopping 15 shots on Saturday. He has allowed just two goals the last two weekends and six throughout the winning streak. Williams now leads the WCHA (overall games) in goals-against average at 1.61 and is third in save percentage at .932. The Mavericks' dominant puck possession and improved defense made it fairly easy for the goalie on Saturday, but he still made a couple of timely saves when he needed to. And that was key with the way the Seawolves' Chris Kamal was playing.

3. Everyone's playing: Hastings pointed out that his team is getting contributions from all over the line chart and not just offensively. Freshman defenseman Nick Buchanan played his best game of the season, Hastings said, and rookie forward Brett Knowles showed solid two-way play throughout the weekend. Of course, the big guns contributed, too, as Eriah Hayes scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season. Chase Grant and Zach Lehrke (power play) had the other goals.

Deep thought: Tough series coming up to close the first half of the conference season at Nebraska Omaha. The Mavs are tied for third place in the WCHA standings right now, and they'd love to be hanging among the top teams at the break.

Read The Free Press game story here.

Around the WCHA: Bemidji State 2, Minnesota Duluth 1 ... North Dakota 6, Denver 3 ... Michigan Tech 3, Wisconsin 3 (OT) ... St. Cloud State 2, Nebraska Omaha 1 ... Minnesota 4, Colorado College 4 (OT)

MSU vs. Anchorage — Game 2 live chat

Lines can be found below the live blog ...

MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS
26-Margonari      18-Leitner           19-Lehrke
24-Knowles        12-LaFontaine     25-Hayes
21-Grant              23-Blueger          22-McInnis
9-Gervais             29-Zuck               8-Gaede

16-Elbrecht          2-Nelson
7-Palmquist          4-Buchanan
27-Stern               28-Jutzi

35-Williams
30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Burkemper, Herndon, Knoll (inj.), Leivermann, Mosey, Thauwald

ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES
29-Allen             9-Tatchell            12-Gellert
20-Trupp            40-Naslun            16-Pettitt
23-Roy               21-Bailey             16-Kwas
13-Sproule         26-Currier            18-Crowell

3-Docken           7-Coldwell
8-Warner            22-Leask
5-Sevalrud          37-Williams

35-Kamal
33-Gunderson

Referees: Craig Welker, Brett Klosowski. Linesmen: Nick Bradshaw, Sam Shikowsky.

Mavericks 3, Seawolves 1

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. First responders: For the first time in their winning streak — now at five games — the Mavericks' opponent scored the first goal of the game. Anchorage's Matt Bailey scored on somewhat of an excuse-me shot between goalie Stephon Williams' shoulder and the right post just 1:49 into the game. Was this the start of the wheels coming off? Nope. Minnesota State tied the game on the power play just 70 seconds later (an Eriah Hayes redirect ... changed after the game, it was announced as a Zach Palmquist goal) and ground out the win from there.

2. Nice to Knowles: Freshman forward Brett Knowles scored his first college goal, putting MSU up 3-1 at 4:42 of the second period. While it seems like the Vanderhoof, B.C., native has had a quiet start, he's done many good things. Going into the game, he had five assists, led the Mavericks in plus-minus and has proven to be quite the backchecker and penalty killer. "They've given me the opportunity to kill penalties, and I enjoy it," he said. "It's a big part of the game. I try to take pride in killing penalties." But it had to be nice to score the goal, too. He had chances before that, including earlier Friday when he had a partial breakaway stymied when a defender lifted his stick off the puck at the last second.

3. Goalie stories: The Mavericks outshot the Seawolves 40-21 and had no easy time getting the puck past Anchorage's Chris Kamal, who made a couple of highlight saves (two on Dylan Margonari). Hayes had a deflection and Knowles scored on a rebound, as did Johnny McInnis (pictured), whose score with 4:36 left in the first period ended up as the game-winning goal. But it was Williams, once again, who came out with the win. The MSU rookie stopped 20 shots, including a couple of timely ones among his nine saves in the third period. Williams has allowed just six goals in the last five games.

Deep thought: Not quite at the halfway point of the WCHA season and the Mavericks are in a tie for fourth place, just one out of third, yet just 3,041 attended Friday's game. Hey, the Verizon Wireless Center might just be the place to warm up after the big MSU football game on Saturday.

Read my Free Press game story here.

Around the WCHA: Minnesota Duluth 4, Bemidji State 2 ... Michigan Tech 1, Wisconsin 1 (OT) ... Denver 2, North Dakota 2 (OT) ... Nebraska Omaha 6, St. Cloud State 5 ... Minnesota 4, Colorado College 2

MSU vs. Alaska Anchorage — Game 1 live chat

Lines can be found below the live chat ...




MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS
26-Margonari      18-Leitner           19-Lehrke
24-Knowles        12-LaFontaine     25-Hayes
21-Grant              23-Blueger          22-McInnis
9-Gervais             29-Zuck               8-Gaede

16-Elbrecht          2-Nelson
7-Palmquist          4-Buchanan
27-Stern               28-Jutzi

35-Williams
30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Burkemper, Herndon, Knoll (inj.), Leivermann, Mosey, Thauwald

ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES
29-Allen             9-Tatchell            12-Gellert
20-Trupp            40-Naslun            17-Kwass
23-Roy               21-Bailey             16-Pettitt
13-Sproule         26-Currier            18-Crowell

3-Docken           7-Coldwell
8-Warner            22-Leask
5-Sevalrud          37-Williams

35-Kamal
33-Gunderson

Referees: Craig Welker, Brett Klosowski. Linesmen: Nick Bradshaw, Sam Shikowsky.

Friday Morning Skate

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Hey there hockey fans ... Depressed about seeing no end to the NHL lockout? ... Well have no fear, college hockey is here!

Once again, all 12 WCHA teams are in action against each other this weekend, including right here in Mankato with Minnesota State hosting Alaska Anchorage. The Mavericks will try to make it five, maybe six, wins in a row as they play another of their fellow left-behind teams.

While the Mavericks' success has been largely due to the play of their high-end veterans, like Matt Leitner, Eriah Hayes and Jean-Paul LaFontaine, the freshmen are certainly making an impact now, most notably goaltender Stephon Williams (pictured). Also, Dylan Margonari is on a five-game scoring streak, while World Juniors-bound Teddy Blueger is coming off probably his best game as a college player.

For more on the series, see The Free Press' gameday preview here.

As for the Seawolves, they scored their first WCHA victory last Saturday, but MSU coach Mike Hastings isn't taking them lightly, noting that they've taken at least one point in every series they've played so far. However, Anchorage also has a pretty thin roster right now.

If you haven't read it yet, here is my column on the WCHA's hands being tied a bit when it comes to promoting its future new-look league while the upstart NCHC touts its future teams. Appropriate considering Minnesota State and Alaska Anchorage are playing each other this weekend.

Going around the rest of the WCHA ...

Bemidji State at Minnesota Duluth: The Beavers are coming off a forgettable series (for them) in Mankato and are back at "ground zero" says senior defenseman Jake Areshenko. For the Bullodgs, they're showing improvement after a tough start, and their freshmen are starting to come through.

Denver at North Dakota: The WCHA's two best teams over the last 10 years (and the ringleaders for the NCHC's formation) will square off at The Ralph. This must be the week college hockey writers like me, Duluth's Kevin Pates and Grand Forks' Brad Schlossman are scrambling for ideas and heading for the freshmen, as Schloss takes a look at UND's Drake Caggiula. The Pioneers, meanwhile, are coming off a one-point home weekend against Wisconsin and are on a four-game winless skid.

Nebraska Omaha at St. Cloud State: The red Mavericks were 7-0 in November before losing at Minnesota last Saturday (Dec. 1) and would like to keep it rolling. For the Huskies, they're beginning a stretch of 10 straight home games that goes through Jan. 19.

Minnesota at Colorado College: All right, Mike Russo, joining the trend and writing about freshmen, too! The Gophers have two rookies heading to the United States' World Junior Team camp later this month, but for now, their focus is on CC. In other Minnesota news, sophomore Nick Bjugstad, by the numbers, appears to be off to a surprisingly slow start. Not so, Bjugstad says. For the Tigers, they're 1-4-1 in their last six games, but don't blame the goalies.

Michigan Tech at Wisconsin: The Huskies are coming off a tough, even bitter and certainly frustrating, nonconference loss to rival Northern Michigan on Tuesday night and now head to Madison for a key series for both teams. For the Badgers, who bounced back from their two losses to MSU with a win and a tie at Denver last week, the concern isn't just winning games but putting butts in the Kohl Center seats.

More WCHA coverage from USCHO.

Be sure to check back later for more news and during the game tonight when I'll be live blogging during the game.

You want answers?!?! You got 'em

Sam said ...
First and foremost, I love this year’s squad. Perhaps the most talented collection of players MSU has ever assembled.
1) Can we expect Coach Hastings to stick with Stephon Williams in goal the rest of the way, barring a disaster? He’s clearly the most talented netminder on the team, and one of the most talented in all of the WCHA.
2) Any word on how the imminent decline of the WCHA is affecting the recruiting efforts of MSU? I’ve got to imagine sights are going to be shifted to lesser-known commodities in the junior circuit, sadly.
3) Do you anticipate Teddy Blueger will be a one and done, or will we be lucky enough to see him in a Mavs uniform for at least one more season?
4) Can you tell us anymore about the pro prospects of some of the other talented Mavs? Hayes is obviously going to get something, but what about the under-sized, yet gifted, duo of Leitner and Lafontaine? Are they destined for the overseas ranks like a Jack Connolly?
Keep it going MSU! No surprise to me that you’re starting to click!

Sam,

1) Whoa, there … I’m not ready to call Stephon Williams one of the most talented goalies in the WCHA just yet, but his numbers are impressive right now, and he’s been on a nice run. I’d sure expect Hastings to ride the guy while he’s hot. I think Troy Jutting recruited the kid to be a No. 1 goalie, so we’ll if he’s got that in him for the long haul.

2) I don’t know if it has or not. I think Hastings is approaching recruiting a little differently than the previous regime, and it looks (on paper, anyway) like he’s already landed some decent recruits who would be good fits no matter what the WCHA looks like in the next few years. Remember, even with the conference shakeup, only one team has been added to college hockey (Penn State), yet the talent pool remains the same.

3) I don’t think so. Blueger just turned 18 in August and still looks like he’s getting his feet wet. He’s had a solid start, but he’s certainly not dominating the game and looking like he’s ready to play for the Penguins next year. MSU is being patient with him, and, based on their reputation, I’m thinking Pittsburgh probably is, too.

4) Gotta love the way Hayes is playing right now, and I’m guessing scouts are taking notice. As for the other guys, I think they look like very good college hockey players, four-year guys (MSU hopes you can compare one or both to Jack Connolly!) who may or may not get a shot after they’re done.

Chris said ...
I am not from them there parts but have a few questions and observations. 
1. I have always been told that Minnesota is the U.S Mecca for hockey, why is the Arena never full?
- What can be done to fill the seats?
- Can you give away more tickets to students?
- Is it possible for someone to critique the arena’s “DJ”? The music could be a little fresher and have more energy. And could he stop playing “All By Myself” when our guys go to the box? 
2. Can someone tell the TV announcers to stop mentioning the words “shut out” while the game is still going? Do they know nothing about jinxes?

Chris,

Average attendance is up from last year, and I suspect that will continue to rise over the second half of the season, especially with Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota coming to town. I do, however, think more can be done to draw people in, and I think they’re working on that. Winning certainly will help. As for student tickets, they give 1,100 free ones away for each game and those usually get gobbled up. They also sell tickets to students at a discounted rate; they could probably do a better job of promoting that deal.

As for your “shutout” jinx, did the announcers talk about it on Friday night? Did Williams still get the shutout? Thought so. Jinx, schminx.

More honors for MSU players

For the second week in a row Minnesota State has two WCHA weekly award winners, and one of those again went to goalie Stephon Williams.

Williams

Williams was named WCHA Rookie of the Week for his play in the Mavericks' sweep of Bemidji State last weekend. He didn't see as much rubber as he did the week before at Wisconsin but still allowed just one goal against the Beavers (37 saves on 38 shots). The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Fairbanks, Alaska, has now won four consecutive games and is now 4-3-1 with a 1.92 GAA and a .923 SV%. By the way, Williams' shutout on Friday was the first by an MSU rookie in WCHA play since Dan Tormey did it twice in 2005-06.

Stern

Meanwhile, sophomore defenseman Brett Stern was named co-Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the BSU series. The 6-3, 185-pound Lino Lakes native was +4 in the series and was credited with seven hits. He also scored his first career goal and had an assist for a two-point game on Saturday.

Stern shared the award with Wisconsin goaltender Landon Peterson. Minnesota Duluth's Austin Farley was named Offensive Player of the Week. More on the WCHA awards here.

Blueger

In other MSU player news, it was announced that freshman center Teddy Blueger has been invited to participate in Latvia's pre-tournament camp for the upcoming. World Junior Championships. Blueger said on Tuesday that he will leave for the came immediately following MSU's series at Nebraska Omaha  on Dec. 14-15. Blueger, a Riga, Latvia, native who played for Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault the last few years, also played on last year's Latvian team at Worlds. The World Junior Championships. will take place Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Ufa, Russia. Read more about Blueger here. I'll have more about the MSU rookie in Thursday's Freep.

You Want Answers?!?!

It's been kind of quiet on the blog ... maybe too quiet ...

Well, we're just about two months into the season, and it seems like a good time for some Qs and As. That's right, the first and long overdue You Want Answers?!?! of the year

If you don't know the drill, here's how it goes: If you have a question about Minnesota State hockey, hockey in south-central Minnesota or anything else, really, put your question in the comment section of this blog post. Later in the week (Thursday, maybe Friday), I'll put up a post with the answers to your questions.

So, have at it. Ask away.

Movers and shakers

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Minnesota State's series sweep over Bemidji State put them into a tie for fifth place in the WCHA standings (although the teams they share that with, North Dakota and Colorado College, each have two games in hand). With 10 points, they're just two behind second-place Minnesota and St. Cloud State. Four straight wins will do that for you.

Sweeps aren't easy to come by. All 12 WCHA teams were in action against each other over the weekend, and Mavericks were the only team to win twice.

And before you pan the competition, remember that MSU hasn't strung together four consecutive wins in conference play since 2007-08 when it won seven in a row. The Mavericks finished in a tie for fourth place in the league that year and hosted a playoff series.

Matt Leitner is tied for fifth in the WCHA in points with 18 (Omaha's Ryan Walters leads the league with 20) and is tied with Walters for the assist lead with 14. Eriah Hayes is tied for fourth in goals with 8 (UMD's Mike Seidel and CC's Scott Winkler lead with 10). And Stephon Williams is second in the league in goals-against average with a 1.92 (Minnesota's Adam Wilcox leads with 1.61) and fourth in save percentage at .923 (Denver's Juho Olkinuora is tops at .934).

The Mavericks have just one win against a team with a winning record (Minnesota), but they don't have to apologize for the schedule. Don't forget that Wisconsin bounced back from losing twice to MSU and took three points at Denver this weekend, and earlier this season, Bemidji State won and tied at Omaha.

For more on the wins over the Beavers, including some notes on freshman Teddy Blueger's three-assist game on Saturday, check out my Monday review/notebook here.

Mavericks 6, Beavers 1

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Surprising Stern: Sophomore defenseman Brett Stern scored his first college goal at 5:59 of the first period to start the Mavericks' onslaught. It came at a key time, too, because Bemidji State had a fast start that included a Grade A scoring chance that rookie goalie Stephon Williams stopped about 2 minutes in. Stern finished off a scramble in front of goalie Mathieu Dugas that started with is initial shot on goal. At that point, the tide had turned, and it was all MSU after that. Stern finished with a goal and an assist, doubling his career point total.

2. Dominating defense: It was easy to forget about the Beavers' fast start by the time the first period ended. At that point, the Mavericks had outshot BSU 18-2, and that 2 remained on the board until late in the second period. Bemidji attempted just seven shots in each of the first two periods, and by the time Matt Leitner scored to make it 4-0 with 3 minutes remaining in the second period, MSU had as many goals as the Beavers had shots on goal. After some major penalties in the third period, the final shot total ended up 32-18 in favor of the Mavericks.

3. Blueger plays big: Freshman center Teddy Blueger assisted on three power-play goals and now has eight points on the year. He set up Johnny McInnis, Chase Grant and Josh Nelson for goals, getting the second power-play unit to come through for the first time in awhile. For Grant, it was his first goal since getting a hat trick in the Mavericks' season-opening game at Alabama-Huntsville on Oct. 12. McInnis scored for the first time since Nov. 3 against Minnesota. "It's huge to have two good (power-play) units that can score," Blueger said.

Deep thought: A bit more on Williams, who has been in net throughout the win streak. He shut out Wisconsin and Bemidji State for 152 minutes, 18 seconds before the Beavers scored on the power play with 7:53 left in the third period on Saturday. For the year, he now has a .923 save percentage and a 1.92 goals-against average.

Read the The Free Press game story here.

Around the WCHA: Minnesota Duluth 4, Michigan Tech 4 (OT) ... Minnesota 3, Nebraska Omaha 2 ... North Dakota 3, Colorado College 2 (OT) ... Wisconsin 3, Denver 1 ... St. Cloud State at Alaska Anchorage (late)

MSU vs. Bemidji State — Game 2 live blog

Lines can be found below the live chat ...

MINNESOTA STATE
26-Margonari      18-Leitner           19-Lehrke
24-Knowles        12-LaFontaine     25-Hayes
21-Grant              23-Blueger          22-McInnis
9-Gervais             29-Zuck               8-Gaede

16-Elbrecht          2-Nelson
7-Palmquist          4-Buchanan
27-Stern               28-Jutzi

35-Williams
30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Burkemper (inj.), Herndon, Knoll (inj.), Leivermann, Mosey, Thauwald

BEMIDJI STATE
9-Kinne              12-Jubinville         28-George
7-Orban              14-McLeod          16-Mattson
18-Illo                 13-Ward               4-Boehm
17-Robbins         29-Brewer            27-Cain

8-Areshenko       25-Wacker
22-Prapavessis    15-Windle
20-Rendle           3-Hansen

35-Dugas
30-Walsh

Referees: Tom Sterns, Chris Perrault. Linesmen: Matt Tyree, Rick Nelson

Mavericks 3, Beavers 0

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Three in a row: You have to go back two years to find the last time the Mavericks won three games in a row. And you have to go back three years to find the last time all of those wins came in WCHA play. Is the tide turning in Mankato? Minnesota State made it three straight with the shutout win over the Beavers ad improved their record to 6-5-2 overall and 4-5-0 in league play. All in all, it's been a strong month of hockey for MSU with the split against Minnesota and two solid games (albiet losses) against Denver, both ranked No. 2 at the time, before starting this run.

2. Same old, same old: Your best players have to be the ones who are there consistently, and the Mavericks are getting that consistent play from Matt Leitner and Eriah Hayes. Leitner assisted on two goals, upping his season point total to 17 (3-14) in 13 games, while Hayes was a beast with six shots on net and a highlight-reel, backwards, between-the-legs pass to Zach Lehrke for the game's second goal. Leitner assisted on that goal as well as on the game's first goal by freshman Dylan Margonari. Lehrke said it's "an honor" to play with Leitner. Lehrke also had a two-point night.

3. Willy won't go home: Stephon Williams stopped 20 shots for his first career shutout and has started four games in a row now, winning the last three. He didn't have to do a lot back there, as the Mavericks seemed to dominate in-zone possession and was also strong defensively. Still, Williams came up bigh when he had to, including a nice save on a back-door play during the Beavers' lone power play early in the third period. He also had to be solid because BSU's Mathieu Dugas was good at the other end, finishing with 37 saves, including 16 on 17 shots in the first period.

Deep thought: Remember the Mavericks' penalty problems? They sure were disciplined on Friday, getting called for just one penalty — Max Gaede's interference infraction in the third period.

Read the game story here.

Around the WCHA: Minnesota Duluth 7, Michigan Tech 3. ... Nebraska Omaha 3, Minnesota 2 ... Colorado College 5, North Dakota 3 ... Wisconsin 1, Denver 1 (OT) ... St. Cloud State 4, Alaska Anchorage 3 (OT)

MSU vs. Bemidji State — Game 1 live blog

Lines are posted below the live chat ...



MINNESOTA STATE
26-Margonari      18-Leitner           19-Lehrke
24-Knowles        12-LaFontaine     25-Hayes
21-Grant              23-Blueger          22-McInnis
9-Gervais             29-Zuck               8-Gaede

16-Elbrecht          2-Nelson
7-Palmquist          4-Buchanan
27-Stern               28-Jutzi

35-Williams
30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Burkemper (inj.), Herndon, Knoll (inj.), Leivermann, Mosey, Thauwald

BEMIDJI STATE
9-Kinne              12-Jubinville         28-George
7-Orban              14-McLeod          16-Mattson
18-Illo                 13-Ward               4-Boehm
23-Gerbrandt      29-Brewer            27-Cain

22-Prapavessis    11-McCormack
8-Areshenko       25-Wacker
20-Rendle           3-Hansen

35-Dugas
30-Walsh

Referees: Tom Sterns, Chris Perrault. Linesmen: Matt Tyree, Rick Nelson

Friday morning skate

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Minnesota State returns home to host its old rival, Bemidji State. The Mavericks are coming off a weekend sweep at Wisconsin, while the Beavers took three of four points at home against Alaska Anchorage a week ago.

The Mavericks lost their last two home games, something that clearly irked coach Mike Hastings and his team.

"We want to feel like we have a place where other teams can't come here and get points," sophomore center Matt Leitner (pictured) said. "We need to protect our house."

Leitner will be a key to doing that. The top-line center is coming off a five-point weekend from which he earned WCHA offensive player of the week honors. The Mavericks' leading scorer was the best center at Kohl Center a week ago and has become a player who every MSU winger would like to play with.

The Mavericks are also getting top-notch play from senior captain Eriah Hayes and improved penalty killing with senior Eli Zuck and freshman Bryce Gervais handling those duties (for more, see the sidebar with the Leitner story). Expect freshman goalie Stephon Williams to get the start tonight.

As for Bemidji State, word is the team was a little late getting to Mankato on Thursday after getting into an accident near St. Cloud. No one was hurt but the team did have to change busses.

As for tonight, coach Tom Serratore says he's sticking with the hot hand and playing senior Mathieu Dugas in goal. Dugas made just one appearance as a junior but earned the tie and win last weekend against Anchorage.

It's been a crazy week in Bemidji, as the school's athletic director was essentially fired (effective at the end of the school year) after getting a pretty negative review. It appears that funding for BSU's athletic department is the No. 1 issue.

In other Mankato hockey news, I covered the Mankato West vs. Mankato East/Loyola game last night in which West won 11-0. Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings watched most of the game, and former coach Troy Jutting was also there, watching his sons, Ryan and Tyler, play in the game (Ryan finished with three assists). It was a convenient trip for Jutting, now a Nebraska Omaha assistant, who was travelling to Minneapolis for the red Mavericks' series against Minnesota.

And that's a good transition. Let's go around the WCHA ...

Omaha at Minnesota: For the third-ranked Gophers, this is the start of the meat of their schedule, and coach Don Lucia thinks it's time to see if his team is ready for a tough stretch with 13th-ranked Omaha coming to town. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are being led by a former Minnesota commit, Ryan Walters, who, tired of waiting, decided to go to UNO.

Minnesota Duluth at Michigan Tech: The Bulldogs are getting solid play from freshman defenseman  Andy Welinski, a Duluth native and power-play specialist who benefitted from an extra year of junior hockey. The Huskies, meanwhile, were on bye last week. Prior to that, they swept a series against Bemidji State to break a five-game losing streak.

North Dakota at Colorado College: North Dakota has not swept a weekend yet this year and has been outshot seven games in a row, and coach Dave Hakstol says his team has to get uglier. It's been ugly for the Tigers, meanwhile, as they are winless in their last four games and have allowed 5.5 goals per game in that stretch.

Wisconsin at Denver: Despite having just one win this season and losing two games to MSU last weekend, there's plenty of excitement for Badgers fans this weekend as highly touted freshman Nic Kerdiles will make his debut after a 10-game suspension by the NCAA. The Pioneers, meanwhile, are trying to bounce back from a rough Thanksgiving in which they dropped a pair of nonconference games.

St. Cloud State at Alaska Anchorage: The Huskies are getting solid play from Finnish freshman Kalle Kossila, one of the top-scoring rookies in the WCHA. Kossila was the WCHA rookie of the week when St. Cloud swept MSU. The Huskies have split every series since then. The Seawolves, meanwhile, are on a six-game winless streak but have three ties in that run with senior Alex Gellert becoming a key player.

Be sure to check back later for more coverage of the MSU-BSU series.

Leitner, Williams earn league honors

Minnesota State center Matt Leitner and goaltender Stephon Williams earned WCHA player-of-the-week honors on Tuesday for their performances in the Mavericks' series sweep at Wisconsin over the weekend.

Leitner had a five-point weekend, including a goal in each game and was named Offensive Player of the week.

Williams earned two wins by stopping 65 of 69 shots in the series and was named Rookie of the Week.

Read more here.

Highlights from MSU's sweep over Wisconsin

Courtesy of Minnesota State athletics ...

Mavericks 4, Badgers 2

Freddy's three thoughts of the game (and MSU's first-ever series sweep in Madison) ...

1. Stars come out to sweep: The best players on the ice were Mavericks, and they were the Mavericks who have to be there for this team night in and night out. Eriah Hayes, the senior captain, scored a pair of power-play goals, including a huge goal to make it a two-goal game in the third period. He had three power-play goals in the series. Matt Leitner, who was lights out all weekend – or should it be Leits out? — had a goal and two assists for a five-point series. He now has 15 points in 12 games, which ranks seventh in the WCHA. Jean-Paul LaFontaine had a pair of assists. Coach Mike Hastings has — and should have — high expectations for those players every single night.

2. Enjoy the show: MSU freshman goalie Stephon Williams stopped 33 shots and made 65 saves for two wins on the weekend. He took some punishment from the Badgers, getting plowed into once by John Ramage (no penalty) in the first period and then enduring two more hits that did draw goalie interference calls in the third. Williams showed off his wacky side along the way, which didn't sit well with the Wisconsin fans. After making a how'd-he-do-that glove save on Derek Lee while sprawled out in the crease, Williams got up, skated off to the side and flung the puck down the rink. After getting taken out by Brendan Woods, he lay on the ice for a bit, perhaps milking the hit a bit. And in the final minute of the game, perhaps letting off some steam, he shoved Michael Mersch's head to the ice and was called for roughing. I'm not sure Hastings loved the act — "Let's just put it this way," the coach said, "he's young." — but it was entertaining.

3. So what? Wisconsin is hurting. One win in 10 games this season. Missing its best playmaker Mark Zengerle with an injury and missing a potential young superstar in Nic Kerdiles, whose NCAA suspension ended after this series. Add to that a Kohl Center that wasn't exactly Wisconsin-like with a Thanksgiving weekend skeleton crew of a student section and plenty of other empty seats. But, yeah, so what? The Mavericks had to take advantage of those circumstances, and they did. I'm not sure MSU teams from recent years would have done that. Minnesota State got the sweep, got the four points for the WCHA standings and are going back to Mankato for two weekends.

Read The Free Press game story here.

Around the WCHA: Notre Dame 5, North Dakota 2 ... Minnesota 3, Vermont 1 ... Bemidji State 5, Alaska Anchorage 4 ... Nebraska Omaha 8, Alabama Huntsville 0 ... St. Cloud State 5, Minnesota Duluth 1 ... New Hampshire 6, Denver 4 ... Yale 6, Colorado College 5 (OT)

Minnesota State at Wisconsin – Game 2 live blog

The Mavericks are going for the road sweep with the same lineup as Friday's opener. Lines can be found under the live chat ...




MINNESOTA STATE
26) Margonari —18) Leitner — 19) Lehrke
24) Knowles — 12) LaFontaine — 25) Hayes
21) Grant — 23) Blueger — 22) McInnis
9) Gervais — 29) Zuck —8) Gaede

16) Elbrecht — 17) Mosey
7) Palmquist — 4) Buchanan
27) Stern — 28) Jutzi

35) Williams
30) Cook

Extras on trip: Leivermann, Mosey. Back in Kato: Burkemper, Herndon, Knoll, Thauwald

WISCONSIN

25) Mersch — 23) Lee — 7) Barnes
16) LaBate — 21) Woods — 12) Meuer
20) R. Little — 14) Dahl — 18) S.Little
26) Navin — 8) Paape — 13) Hartzog

28) Schulze — 55) Ramage
22) Wittchow — 24) Faust
19) McCabe — 27) Simonelli

33) Rumpel
30) Peterson
31) Miller

Referees: Craig Welker, Don Adam. Linesemen: Dan Carey, Ed Moberg

Mavericks 4, Badgers 2

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. The kids are all right: Minnesota State's young stars shined in the first period tonight, as freshman Dylan Margonari and sophomore Matt Leitner teamed up for a pair of goals that gave MSU leads of 1-0 and 2-1. Important leads in for a team desperately needing WCHA points and playing in a building where it hasn't had much success (more on that in a bit). Meanwhile, rookie goaltender Stephon Williams played his best game of the season and earned his first victory with 32 saves, including 15 in the second period alone. Sophomore defenseman Zach Palmquist assisted on two goals.

2. House of horrors no more: The Mavericks' last win in the Kohl Center came on Feb. 15, 2008, when Mike Zacharias had a 32-save shutout. Friday's victory snapped a seven-game losing streak in Madison. Certainly making it more sweet is the fact that with the conference shakeup coming next summer, this likely will be MSU's final trip here in quite some time. (Given the Badgers 1-6-2 start to the season — and, boy, are they down in the dumps right now — the Mavericks certainly won't be coming back here for the playoffs next March.)

3. Senior salute: A couple of old players sealed the win for the Mavericks. After surviving the second period by allowing just one goal (which came directly off a careless turnover by Jean-Paul LaFontaine),  Minnesota State took the lead on an Eriah Hayes power play goal. It was Hayes' team-leading fifth goal of the season. In the game's final minute, Eli Zuck scored an empty-netter, wisely and carefully making sure he got over the red line before taking the shot so he didn't ice the puck if he missed.

Deep thought: The Mavericks had to like playing in a not-so-hostile Kohl Center. Thanksgiving weekend. Few students. Crowd generously announced at 9,118. I probably said this last year in Mankato, but it's too bad that the WCHA schedules league games on a holiday weekend like this. Nonconference? Sure. Tournament? OK. Trip East? Cool. Off weekend? Even better. The WCHA prides itself on big rivalries in crowded buildings with great atmosphere. Maybe I'm just lamenting that the last games I'm covering in this building (most likely) are when it's a half-empty, quiet cave. Too bad.

Read my Free Press gamer here.

Around the WCHA: Minnesota 5, Vermont 1 ... North Dakota 2, Notre Dame 1 ... Alaska Anchorage 2, Bemidji State 2 (OT) ... Nebraska Omaha 3, Alabama Huntsville 2 ... Minnesota Duluth 2, St. Cloud State 1 ... Yale 2, Denver 1 (OT) ... New Hampshire 4, Colorado College 4 (OT)

Minnesota State at Wisconsin — Game 1 live blog

Lines will be posted when I get to the Kohl Center ...



MINNESOTA STATE
26) Margonari —18) Leitner — 19) Lehrke
24) Knowles — 12) LaFontaine — 25) Hayes
21) Grant — 23) Blueger — 22) McInnis
9) Gervais — 29) Zuck —8) Gaede

16) Elbrecht — 2) Nelson
7) Palmquist — 4) Buchanan
27) Stern — 28) Jutzi

35) Williams
30) Cook

Extras on trip: Leivermann, Mosey. Back in Kato: Burkemper, Herndon, Knoll, Thauwald

WISCONSIN
25) Mersch — 23) Lee — 12) Meuer
16) LaBate — 21) Woods — 7) Barnes
20) R. Little — 14) Dahl — 18) S.Little
26) Navin — 8) Paape — 13) Hartzog

28) Schulze — 55) Ramage
5) Drake — 24) Faust
19) McCabe — 27) Simonelli

30) Peterson
33) Rumpel
31) Miller

Referees: Craig Welker, Don Adam. Linesemen: Dan Carey, Ed Moberg

Friday Morning Skate

Greetings from snowy northern Wisconsin. Yes, I know I'm due in the southern part of the state by the end of the day, so I'll get an early start on this morning.

The Mavericks and the Badgers are both desperate for WCHA wins, as each has just one so far (Wisconsin has just one overall).

Minnesota State had last week off, but coach Mike Hastings didn't give his team a lot of time away from the rink. In some ways, he had more time with his team before this series than he did before the season opener.

A few notes ...

Opponents have outscored MSU 32-27 this season, including a 12-10 edge on special teams (the Mavs have eight power-play goals and two shorties). In third periods, MSU has a 14-11 scoring edge, but it's been outscored 21-12 in the first 40 minutes of games.

The Mavericks are 1-3-1 on the road this season with the lone win coming in the season-opener at Alabama Huntsville. Going back to last season, MSU has lost seven straight WCHA games on the road, with their last one coming on Feb. 1 at Alaska Anchorage. That was also the Mavericks' final win of last season. They went 4-10-0 on the road in league play last year.

As for the Badgers, their best forward, Mark Zengerle, remains out with a broken finger, while these games will be the final two of freshman phenom Nic Kerdiles' NCAA suspension. Wisconsin also lost assistant coach Bill Butters a couple of weeks ago, as he resigned from his post and the search is on for his replacement.

For this weekend, Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves has juggled his lineup in hopes of improving the offense. Read more about the series here.

Here are the other series/games in the WCHA this weekend (sorry, no links this week, as I'll be on the road early) ...

Minnesota at Vermont
North Dakota at Notre Dame
Alaska Anchorage at Bemidji State
Alabama Huntsville at Nebraska Omaha
St. Cloud State at Minnesota Duluth
New Hampshire at Colorado College (Fri.), Denver (Sat.)
Yale at Denver (Friday), Colorado College (Sat.)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I'm already in Wisconsin but not near Madison yet. I'll be headed there for this weekend's Mavericks-Badgers series on Friday morning. There may be an abbreviated Friday Morning Skate posted before I go for what looks like an important series for both teams.

As for the Mavericks, they're spending Thanksgiving together, traveling to Madison and trying to treat it like a normal travel day. Holiday? What holiday? This is a Division I sport!

Upon last check, the Mavericks' lineup appears to have stayed the same as it was during the Denver series. However, I'll post the official lines when they're available on Friday, possibly on Twitter first.

Meanwhile, here's an interesting story out of Wisconsin, which had a players-only meeting this week to figure out its one-win situation..

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Friday morning skate, bye week edition

The Mavericks are off this weekend and will return to play Thanksgiving weekend at Wisconsin. Locally, the MSU women play at No. 1 Minnesota, while the Gustavus teams will play St. Thomas

The MSU men have practiced all week, following their two losses to Denver, and it should be interesting to see how they come out of the bye. Between now and Christmas they will play at Wisconsin, home against Bemidji State, home against Anchorage and at Nebraska Omaha. Based on the old sweep-at-home, split-on-the-road mantra, a 6-2 record in that stretch would be ideal. Can it be done?

As for this weekend, eight WCHA teams are in action. Here's a look:

Wisconsin at Minnesota: The Badgers are reeling a bit with the injury to Mark Zengerle and the unexpected departure of assistant coach Bill Butters, so they're retooling their lineup this week against their Big Ten rival. Beat writer Andy Baggot points out that another problem the Badgers have is their failure to close out games. ... As for the Gophers, star forward Erik Haula may be a native of Finland, but he's all Minnesota. Minnesota also has a blossoming star from Wisconsin in Nate Condon.

Minnesota Duluth at North Dakota: The Bulldogs are looking for a little chemistry from some freshmen after a slow start that has included a five-game winless streak. Ending that run will be no easy task at The Ralph. For UND, Dillon Simpson is emerging as a top defenseman after playing alongside some pretty good blueliners in his first two years of college hockey. Also in Grand Forks, they're thinking of another rivalry, that with Minnesota, which will not take place next year due to the upcoming conference shakeup.

Michigan Tech at Bemidji State: Remember when the Huskies beat Minnesota and were 2-1-0? Five losses in a row later, and coach Mel Pearson is calling his team desperate. To be fair, he's saying the same of the Beavers, who were swept last weekend at Colorado College. Bemidji State is hoping to get things rolling now that Jordan George appears to be heating up.

Denver vs. Colorado College (home and home): The Gold Pan rivalry begins tonight in Colorado Springs where two of the hottest teams in college hockey, the No. 14 Tigers and the No. 2 Pioneers will square off. The Pios are finding much success by recruiting in-state talent. There are seven Coloradans on this year's team.

Read the USCHO weekly WCHA notebook here.

Just a thought ... While the bye week may come at a good time for MSU, the Mavericks, Anchorage, Omaha and St. Cloud State are all idle this weekend. Three of those teams (MSU, UAA, SCSU) will play league series over Thanksgiving weekend, while UNO will play nonconference games, as will four other WCHA teams. Seems like this would be a good weekend to play league games while giving Thanksgiving weekend as an option for a bye week or tournaments or nonconference games. There are too few weekends in which all 12 WCHA teams are in action against each other, and the league is better served when that happens. The fewer "games in hand" fans have to calculate late in the season when trying to follow the race for the McNaughton Cup or home ice, the better.

Recruits sign with Mavericks

Four recruits signed their letters of intent to play at Minnesota State on Wednesday afternoon. The group includes one forward, two defensemen and a goaltender. Here's a look at the group:

Mike Huntebrinker, F, Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL): The 5-11, 187-pound forward missed the start of the USHL season after undergoing offseason wrist surgery, but he's made a big impact since getting healthy, scoring three goals and assisting on four others in just four games. Mike Hastings' first recruit (he committed less than two months after the coach took the MSU job), Huntebrinker had 17 goals and 17 assists last season, including a strong late-season surge that carried over to the Clark Cup playoffs, in which he had 10 points in 13 games. “I think Mike can come in and contribute offensively right away,” Hastings said.

Cole Huggins, G, Coquitlam Express (BCHL): The 6-0, 180-pound netminder is off to a great start this season.  He currently ranks as the BCHL’s leader in save percentage at .938 through 18 games. The 20-year-old Colorado native has a 10-5-1 record with a 2.25 goals-against average. “I really like his demeanor in the net,” Hastings said. “I like what he brings, and I think he can help us between the posts.”

Sean Flanagan, D, Penticton Vees (BCHL): The 6-1, 170-pounder was traded to the Vees from the Salmon Arm SilverBacks on Wednesday. A puck-moving defenseman who could be a future power play presence, he has three goals and five assists in 20 games this season. He had 31 points in 60 games with Salmon Arm last year. He was an alternate captain with the SilverBacks before the trade.

Carter Foguth, D, Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL): More of a physical, defensive defenseman a la Tyler Elbrecht, the 6-2, 210-pound Foguth is in his third season in the USHL and a two-year captain with the Lumberjacks. He has one goal and one assist through 14 games this season. In 97 career games, he has 12 points and 233 penalty minutes.

“We’re losing two senior defensemen (Elbrecht and Evan Mosey), and I think it’s a good mix,” Hastings said of Flanagan and Foguth. "We need to get a little better on the blue line."

Read The Free Press' story here.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota State women's team signed two defensemen on Wednesday, including Mankato's own Savannah Quandt. Quandt, a senior at Mankato East and standout for East/Loyola, was a forward when she committed to MSU as a sophomore, but after getting moved to D, she has shined, and Mavericks coach Eric Means says he'll likely keep her there. The other player is Stillwater's Sara Bustad. Read more here.

Pioneers 3, Mavericks 2

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. No moral victory: Clearly, Mike Hastings isn't interested in a lengthy rebuilding project here. And when his team outplayed No. 3 Denver for much of the weekend, only to get itself in early deficits each night (on Saturday it was 2-0) and get below-par goaltending on top of that, he shouldn't be. Denver will be flying back home on Sunday feeling like it stole two, maybe four points in Mankato. The difference in each game came down to the goalies. On Saturday, Juho Olkinuora (30 saves) outplayed Stephon Williams (20 saves, including a big one on Jarrod Mermis' breakaway early in the second period). "Their goalie made one more save than ours did — actually, more than one," Hastings said.

2. What went right: There were some good things that happened for the Mavericks, just not enough to  put them in the "points for" category, Hastings said. They limited Denver to just 23 shots (43 for the weekend) and went 2 for 9 on the power play, getting goals from Eriah Hayes and Josh Nelson. They also took just two penalties and killed off both of the Pioneers' power plays. Jean-Paul LaFontaine assisted on Hayes' goal, giving him a four-point series

3. Freshman fun: A couple of highlights from Minnesota State's rookies on Saturday: Teddy Blueger assisted on Nelson's goal, giving him five points so far this season. ... Dylan Margonari also assisted on that goal and continued playing with the confidence of a veteran, it seemed. ... Brett Knowles and Jon Jutzi both had big hits in the third period when the game was still tied 2-2. Knowles was impressive on the penalty kill as well.

Deep thought 1: Saturday's announced crowd was 3,499, a big improvement from Friday's opener and definitely late-arriving, probably due to the unseasonably warm weather. The pep band makes a big difference to the atmosphere in the building, especially in what ended up being another close game.

Deep thought 2: Nice to see MSU honor the 11-0, NSIC-champion Maverick football team by bringing the entire squad out on the ice during the first intermission. Minnesota State closed out its regular season on Saturday with a 70-7 home win over Upper Iowa.

Read my Free Press game story here.

Around the WCHA: Nebraska Omaha 3, Minnesota Duluth 2 ... St. Cloud State 5, North Dakota 2 ... Colorado College 6, Bemidji State 3 ... Minnesota at Alaska Anchorage (late, Gophers won Friday's game 4-0)

Minnesota State vs. Denver — Game 2

Lines are posted below the live blog. A couple of juggles on the chart. Stephon Williams will start in goal for MSU.



MINNESOTA STATE
24-Knowles      29-LaFontaine    25-Hayes
26-Margonari    18-Leitner           19-Lehrke
21-Grant           23-Blueger          22-McInnis
9-Gervais          29-Zuck              8-Gaede

16-Elbrecht       2-Nelson
7-Palmquist       4-Buchanan
27-Stern            28-Jutzi

35-Williams
30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Burkemper (inj.), Herndon, Knoll (inj.), Leivermann, Mosey, Thauwald

DENVER
22-Mermis        27-Q.Shore      25-Tabrum
16-Larraza        26-Ostrow       19-Doremus
11-Knowlton    23-N.Shore      12-Loney
17-Allen           9-Levin            39-Arnold        

21-LaLeggia     4-Didier
7-Phillips          2-Mayfield
10-Makowski   6-Mermis

31-Olkinuora
1-Brittain

Referees: Scott Bokal, Jarod Moen. Linesmen: Dan Dineen, Matt Anderson

Pioneers 4, Mavericks 3

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Big hole: Blame a lax start, the goaltending or the penalties. Either way, the Mavericks put themselves into too big of a deficit — 3-0 — early against the third-ranked Pioneers before finally waking up and doing something about it. First the penalties ... Three penalties in the first 10 minutes of the game got MSU out of its rhythm, even as it killed them all off (Denver was 0 for 6 on the power play). "I think we've gotten better at killing penalties," coach Mike Hastings said. "But I'm OK if we don't keep practicing it on Fridays and Saturdays." The Mavericks were called for 12 penalties totaling 35 minutes.  With just under two minutes left in the game, Jean-Paul LaFontaine's major for checking from behind, all but quelled MSU's comeback attempt.

2. Goaltending issues: On to the goaltending ... Denver's Sam Brittain stopped 33 of 36 shots, and coach George Gwozdecky called him his team's best player. Still, Juho Olkinuora is slated to start Saturday's game, while back in Colorado, Adam Murray is nursing an injury. Three top-flight goaltenders. Not a bad problem for  Gwozdecky. As for the Mavericks, they're looking for one. Starter Phil Cook allowed three goals on 12 shots before being lifted for freshman Stephon Williams at 3:28 of the second period. Williams stopped seven shots in the second and saw only one in the third, which Daniel Doremus ripped over his shoulder from the high slot and ended up as the game-winning goal. Combined, Cook and Williams have a .884 save percentage and a 3.16 goals-against average this season.

3. LaFontaine heats up: Prior to the bad penalty at the end of the game, Jean-Paul LaFontaine showed the spark he had most of last season. Perhaps the empty-net goal against the Gophers a week ago got him going. The sophomore finished Friday's game with two goals and an assist, which moved him up to second place on the Mavericks' scoring list behind Matt Leitner, who had a picture-perfect assist on LaFontaine's second goal, which came with an extra attacker on the ice and made it 4-3 with just under two minutes to play. LaFontaine has three goals and four assists so far and continues to lead the team in shots on goal.

Deep thought: Friday's attendance at The Cell was 3,184, nearly 1,700 fewer than the number who came for last Saturday's game against Minnesota. That's disappointing and puzzling, considering the buzz created by that win over the Gophers and the fact that another top team and national power, No. 3 Denver, was coming in.

Around the WCHA: North Dakota 3, St. Cloud State 0 ... Colorado College 3, Bemidji State 2 ... Minnesota at Alaska Anchorage (late)