Brickley, Tuomie honored

Two Minnesota State players were honored by the WCHA play on Monday for their performances in the weekend's win and tie (and 3-on-3 win) against Lake Superior State.

Sophomore defenseman Daniel Brickley was named Defensive Player of the Week. He had a goal and an assist on Saturday and was +2 and blocked nine shots for the weekend (+3 on Friday and six blocks on Friday). Brickley is eighth in the nation and first in the WCHA in defenseman scoring with 22 points.

Freshman forward Parker Tuomie scored game-winning goals both games (although the second, in 3-on-3 play is not official). He gave MSU a 3-2 lead at 3:07 of the third period on Friday and Saturday gave MSU the extra point for the league standings with his 3-on-3 goal. Tuomie has five goals and five assists this season, which ranks eighth on MSU's scoring chart.

The Mavericks will travel to Alaska Anchorage this week for a league series.

Mavericks 2, Lakers 2 (MSU wins in 3x3 play)

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Late arrival: Minnesota State couldn't get much going for 47 minutes against a defensive-minded Lake Superior State team hellbent on not getting swept Saturday. When the Lakers went up 2-0, it seemed like it might as well have been an 8-0 lead. However, it woke up the Mavericks, who got goals from defensemen Ian Scheid and Daniel Brickley in the third period to tie the game. Scheid's goal came at 7:08, 62 seconds after the Lakers' second goal. Brickely tied it at 10:18. The defensive partners assisted on each other's goal. Coach Mike Hastings said players credited Ryan Schwalbe's work to screen goalie Gordon Defiel on Scheid's goal

2. Extra point is good: For the second week in a row, Parker Tuomie secured an extra point for the Mavericks in the league standings. The freshman forward scored the winning shootout goal last weekend at Michigan Tech, and Saturday, scored in 3-on-3 play. Stats after the first overtime are not official, but the goal was a big one for the Mavericks and for Tuomie, who appears to be heating up. Fellow freshman Marc Michaelis assisted on Brickely's goal and now has 20 assists and 31 points, both of which lead the team and the WCHA. Another rookie, Josh French, also had a solid game, his second straight for the Mavericks.

3. Movin' on up: The extra point slid Minnesota State into sole possession of third place in the league standings, one ahead of Bowling Green, with two games in hand. They also moved 10 points ahead of Lake Superior State and Ferris State, who are now tied for fifth place. "Enormous," Hastings said. "Playing at home, you gotta take advantage of it. It wasn’t six points, but it was pretty close and it wasn’t easy, as it never is in our league right now. … It’s tough to get five or six in a weekend. So we’ll take them, we’ll bank them; we’ve got to get better this week."

Read my game story here.



Around the WCHA: Ferris State 5, Bowling Green 0 ... Michigan Tech 4, Alabama Huntsville 4 (Tech wins in shootout) ... Minnesota 4, Bemidji State 0

Live coverage: MSU vs. Lake Superior State

The Mavericks will go for the series sweep at 7:07 p.m. tonight against the Lakers. Follow the action below tonight's lines:

MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Franklin, 10-Knutson
25-Stepan, 17-Huntebrinker, 19-McClure
6-Tuomie, 26-French, 12-Coatta
23-Rivera, 27-Schwalbe, 7-Cooper

4-Lewis, 5-Foguth
8-Brickley, 18-Scheid
11-Flanagan, 24-Hookenson

34-Huggins
39-Pawloski
29-Nelson

Scratches: Bigelbach, Gerard, Madry, Nelson, Vanko

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE
19-Nellis, 7-Henke, 3-Morgan
21-Humitz, 16-Hults, 11-Gelsinger
29-Torrel, 8-Cuglietta, 13-Correale
26-Nenadal, 15-Hand, 10-McKay

22-Wright, 23-Saccoman
2-Renz, 25-McArdle
4-Bindulis, 12-Chatham

31-Defiel
33-Kossoff

Mavericks 4, Lakers 2

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Seniors lead: As I wrote about in my gamer (link below) Minnesota State didn't panic or suffer any kind of letdown when some adversity went its way. Perhaps part of that was the play of its seniors. Zach Stepan and Sean Flanagan scored goals early in the second period, and Flanagan also assisted on the game-winner for a two-point night. And then there was Cole Huggins, starting in goal for the first time since Dec. 16, getting the nod after six straight games by former third-stringer Aaron Nelson. He stopped 20 shots, including more than a few tricky ones. "He made some timely saves that allowed us to stay at two, allowed us to keep a one-goal lead," coach Mike Hastings said. "And that’s what you need from your goaltender, timely saves, and that’s what he did tonight."

2. Fresh blood: I've written a lot about Marc Michaelis and Ian Scheid, the Mavericks' top two freshman scorers, but a couple of other rookies made their presence felt on Friday. Parker Tuomie scored the game-winning goal. He came into the season with much hype and has been overshadowed by his fellow German, Michaelis. However, he has five goals and 10 points now, a good first season. Josh French has been a solid fourth-liner and penalty killer throughout the year. He came into the game with two assists (no goals). He doubled that on Friday, helping set up both third-period goals. He won the faceoff that led directly to Tuomie's goal and then made a veteran-like play on a rush to Brad McClure for MSU's fourth goal.

3. How things stand: Friday's victory was important because Lake Superior State was trailing directly behind fourth-place Minnesota State in the WCHA standings. MSU is now nine points ahead of the Lakers. A Saturday win and series sweep could be huge for the Mavericks. They also kept pace with Bowling Green, which won in overtime to maintain a one-point lead over MSU, which does have two games in hand. "Where we're at in the standings, trying to play for home ice," Hastings said, "big game tonight." The Mavericks have swept just one series since Oct. 14-15 and that was on the road at Alabama Huntsville Jan. 6-7.

Read my game story here.



Around the WCHA: Bowling Green 3, Ferris State 2 (OT) ... Michigan Tech 5, Alabama Huntsville 2 ... St. Cloud State 2, Bemidji State 1

Live coverage: MSU vs. Lake Superior State

The Mavericks and the Lakers face off at 7:07 p.m. tonight. Join the conversation below tonight's lines.

MINNESOTA STATE

25-Stepan, 15-Franklin, 10-Knutson
6-Tuomie, 20-Michaelis, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 17-Huntebrinker, 12-Coatta
7-Cooper, 26-French, 27-Schwalbe

4-Lewis, 5-Foguth
8-Brickley, 18-Scheid
11-Flanagan, 24-Hookenson

34-Huggins
39-Pawloski
29-Nelson

Scratches: Bigelbach, Gerard, Madry, Nelson, Vanko

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE

19-Nellis, 7-Henke, 3-Morgan
21-Humitz, 16-Hultz, 11-Gelsinger
29-Torrel, 15-Hand, 10-McKay
26-Nenadal, 18-Basilico, 6-Roll

22-Wright, 23-Saccoman
2-Renz, 25-McArdle
4-Bindulis, 12-Chatham

31-Defiel
33-Kossoff

Friday Morning Skate

The Mavericks are back home for an important series against Lake Superior State. Minnesota State dropped out of the USCHO top 20 this week and into fourth place in the WCHA standings. It's time to make a late-season surge. If they're to do that, they'll need some improved scoring depth. One player who's capable of helping that is Zeb Knutson, who had a strong start to the season, tapered off a bit and now seems to have found his groove again. Minnesota State is 9-1-1 when he has a point this season.

An aside that didn't make the final edit of that story:

When he was 15 years old, Knutson attended the Sioux City Musketeers' futures camp. The head coach/GM at Sioux City was Todd Knott. Knott met with him afterward and told him he had a chance to play junior and college hockey but would probably have to leave home to develop. Knott hooked him up with coaches in Kansas City, and Knutson played for the Russell Stover program there for three years. After that, Knutson landed a spot with the Sioux Falls Stampede, and who was recruiting him for college? Todd Knott, assistant coach at Minnesota State. "Hasn’t changed a bit," Knutson said. "It’s pretty funny. Knotter's been a supporter since basically Day 1. He’s been a big part of why I’m here and why I’ve gotten to the place I’ve gotten to."

Knutson, next season, will get a chance to play with his cousin, Walker Duehr, an MSU recruit currently with the USHL's Chicago Steel, an opportunity he's excited about. "We lived right next door to each other," Knutson said. "Growing up, knowing him, he's basically like a brother."

Back to this weekend's series, and the skate:

Lake Superior State is unbeaten in five of its last six games, including a home sweep over Alabama Huntsville last weekend and an earlier 3-on-3 win at Northern Michigan. For more on the the Mavericks vs. the Lakers, check out the Free Press' College Hockey Gameday.

Going around the WCHA:

Bemidji State in North Star Cup: The Beavers will take on St. Cloud State today as the sun sets on this tournament, which is too bad. There have been a lot of obituaries about the North Star Cup this week, stories about why it didn't work and why it never really became Minnesota's version of the Beanpot (here's mine, in case you missed it). The St. Cloud Times' Mick Hatten suggests a new tournament that rotates between Mankato, Bemidji, St. Cloud and Duluth each year. Seems doable, but will it happen? Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth will play tonight's game, and the two losers and two winners will play on Saturday.

Michigan Tech at Alabama Huntsville: After taking four of six points from Minnesota State, the Huskies travel south to play the Chargers. One player who has emerged for Michigan Tech since the holiday break is sophomore defenseman Dane Birks. With a sweep, Tech could really make a race for the MacNaughton Cup, closing within three points of Bemidji State. The Chargers in the bottom-half logjam and would like to get back in contention for home ice.

Bowling Green at Ferris State: Nine points separate the third-place Falcons from the seventh-place Bulldogs, and MSU, Lake Superior State and Alaska sit between them. Bowling Green, which has split its last four league series, is quite aware of its position, coach Chris Bergeron said. What will things look like after the weekend? Ferris State has one win in its last nine games.

Here is this week's WCHA column from USCHO.

Finally, here's a great story from WTRF-TV out of Wheeling, West Virginia, on former Minnesota State player Brett Stern and the special bond he's formed with a young fan of his team, the Wheeling Nailers.

No more North Star

The North Star College Cup will be no more after this weekend.

The all-Minnesota mid-season tournament will take place at the Xcel Energy Center on Friday and Saturday between UMD, Bemidji State, St. Cloud State and Minnesota (this was Minnesota State's year to sit out), and the tournament will be shuttered after that.

"Following discussions between the five institutions, the decision has been made that the North Star College Cup will not continue after this year's upcoming tournament," a statement from the University of Minnesota said. "Our institutions had hoped the tournament would appeal more to fans, however, the interest level has not grown over the last four years as we had hoped. In addition, teams have express interest in rewarding their fans with games at their home venues."

Kevin Buisman, Minnesota State's athletic director said there have been financial and general interest issues from the start. However, officials decided to play out the full rotation of teams in the event.

"Even as we made subtle changes (to the schedule), it just wasn't able to get to the level where we felt it could financially sustain itself," Buisman said.

Both Buisman and Mavericks coach Mike Hastings praised the Xcel Energy Center, and what it did to make the event special for student-athletes. "Hats off to the Xcel Energy Center," Buisman said. "They're a great supporter of hockey at all levels in the state. They were everything we hoped for as a partner."

"I enjoyed it," MSU coach Mike Hastings said. "It was a chance to play in a facility that's one of the best in the United States to watch and play a game. ... Playing in it three years in a row, it was something to look forward to."

Of course, the North Star College Cup will be long be remembered for the play in the video clip above by Mavericks goalie Stephon Williams.

Read more here.

Huskies 4, Mavericks 0

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Out of gas: Mavericks coach Mike Hastings on Friday worried that he overworked some of his team's top players as they rallied from a two-goal deficit, took a two-goal lead and then lost that before tying (and getting the shootout point against) Michigan Tech. On Saturday, MSU indeed looked to be out of gas. The Mavericks fell behind 2-0 in the second period and just couldn't get themselves back in the game. Michigan Tech did a good job defensively to keep goalie Angus Redmond clean, and he ended up with a 22-save shutout.

2. The importance of special teams: The Mavericks lost the special teams battle, allowing one power play goal (after failing to clear the zone three times and then only getting the puck to neutral, not deep enough for a change) while going 0 for 2 on their own chances. The second of those was negated partway through by an MSU penalty. Tech didn't score on its first power play, but did enough to turn the tables on MSU, which, before that point (about midway through the first period) was outshooting the Huskies 7-2. For the series, the Mavericks were 0 for 5 on the power play, and the Huskies were 3 for 7.

3. Fall to fourth: The Mavericks' loss, combined with Bowling Green's overtime win over Alaska, dropped them to fourth place in the WCHA standings, one point behind the Falcons. MSU does have two games in hand, however. Minnesota State now trails second-place Michigan Tech by nine points, a lot of ground to make up. The talk in the press box was that the winner of this weekend's series could very well end up hosting the other in the second round of the league playoffs. Is it too early to reserve another room in Houghton for early March? There are still five weeks left in the regular season.

Read my game story here.



Around the WCHA: Bowling Green 2, Alaska 1 (OT) ... Lake Superior State 4, Alabama Huntsville 1 ... Northern Michigan 4, Alaska Anchorage 0 ... Bemidji State 5, Ferris State 1

Live coverage: MSU at Michigan Tech

The Mavericks and Huskies will go back at it at 6:07 p.m. CST tonight. Follow along below tonight's lines.

MINNESOTA STATE
6-Tuomie, 15-Franklin, 10-Knutson
25-Stepan, 20-Michaelis, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 26-French, 12-Coatta
17-Huntebrinker, 27-Schwalbe, 9-Gerard

8-Brickley, 5-Foguth
11-Flanagan, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 21-Vanko

29-Nelson
34-Huggins

Scratches on trip: J. Nelson, Hookenson

MICHIGAN TECH
10-Jackson, 25-Neville, 7-Sturos
27-Heinonen, 15-Lucchini, 19-Gerrie
9-Gillies, 20-Smith, 13-Beretta
14-Gould, 16-Blacklock, 11-L'Esperance

22-Hanna, 5-Reinke
2-Watson, 6-Leibinger
12-Auk, 4-Birks

37-Redmond
31-Kero
35-Wintjes

Mavericks 4, Huskies 4

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Comeback, kind of: For the second game in a row, the Mavericks trailed by two goals in the second period and mounted a comeback. They scored four in a row — three in the third period — to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead. However, the Huskies also had some left, and they scored twice to tie the game with nearly half the third period left to play. "It was up and down," said junior forward Zeb Knutson, who scored twice in a span of 1:26 in the third. "I thought we did well to get ourselves in a position to get the lead. We didn't really back down. We had our chances and tried to finish them." Tech scored its two third-period goals in a span of 1:17. The teams scored five times in the period's first 10:33.

2. Switching things up: Coach Mike Hastings made some line adjustments heading into Friday's game, putting C.J. Franklin (one goal) with Knutson and Parker Tuomie. Marc Michaelis (two assists) moved from wing to second-line center with Brad McClure (one goal, one assist) and Zach Stepan (on assist). "We need to be deeper offensively so we split up Franklin, Michaelis and McClure," coach Mike Hastings said. "Throughout our league — throughout college hockey — we’re trying to find ways to score goals. It’s amazing; as the season goes on the opportunities on the power play seem to go away. I don’t know what that is. That’s just the way it is. You better be able to generate 5 on 5. We’re still in search of trying to become better at that."

3. Extra point is good: Parker Tuomie scored in the third round of the sudden-death shootout to give Minnesota State the extra point for the standings. That could prove huge later, especially since MSU wasn't able to get the extra point in two previous league ties this season. "It's going to come down to the wire," said Knutson, whose first-round shot, like all five previous to Tuomie's, was saved by the goalie. "There are nine games left in the season so we're trying to get every point we can get and see what happens from there." Both teams were gassed in 3-on-3 and even the shootout after the wild third period.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Ferris State 5, Bemidji State 2 ... Alaska 3, Bowling Green 2 ... Northern Michigan 6, Alaska Anchorage 1 ... Lake Superior State 5, Alabama Huntsville 4

Live coverage: MSU at Michigan Tech

The No. 20 Mavericks are in the U.P., taking on Michigan Tech in what could be a pivotal WCHA series. Minnesota State is tied for third in the league, seven points behind the Huskies. Live blog can be found below tonight's lines (which have a different look than recent games).

MINNESOTA STATE
6-Tuomie, 15-Franklin, 10-Knutson
25-Stepan, 20-Michaelis, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 16-Nelson, 12-Coatta
17-Huntebrinker, 26-French, 9-Gerard

8-Brickley, 5-Foguth
11-Flanagan, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 27-Schwalbe

29-Nelson
34-Huggins

Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Hookenson*, Madry, Pawloski, Vanko*
* also on trip

MICHIGAN TECH
10-Jackson, 25-Neville, 7-Sturos
27-Heinonen, 15-Lucchini, 9-Gerrie
9-Gillies, 20-Smith, 13-Beretta
23-Brice, 16-Blacklock, 14-Gould

22-Hanna, 5-Reinke
2-Watson, 6-Leibinger
12-Auk, 4-Birks

37-Redmond
31-Kero
35-Wintjes

Friday Morning Skate

Posting this Thursday night, as I'll be leaving bright and early for Houghton in the morning ...

It's a big series between the Mavericks and the Huskies of Michigan Tech, one that could have major playoff implications, considering we're six weeks from the end of the regular season. Will it have Pairwise implications? Probably not, but that doesn't really matter for WCHA teams.

The two teams met back on MSU's opening weekend, and the Mavericks swept the series. They're not playing the same team they saw then, coach Mike Hastings said in this week's College Hockey Gameday.

Earlier in the week, Minnesota State's C.J. Franklin was named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. That and other notes in Thursday's Hockey Notebook.

As for Michigan Tech, it is looking for a spark after a pair of ties at home to Alaska Anchorage last week. Each team got an extra tiebreaker point int he series.

Every WCHA team is in league action this weekend. So it should be an interesting weekend.

Ferris State at Bemidji State: The Beavers are sitting pretty atop the WCHA standings. Can they keep things rolling as they approach the home stretch? The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are hoping to snap a seven-game winless streak.

Alabama Huntsville at Lake Superior State: The Lakers suffered a big blow on Thursday when the WCHA's fifth-leading scorer among defensemen, Owen Headrick, announced he was leaving the team to play major junior. The Chargers were off last week after getting swept at home by MSU.

Alaska at Bowling Green: The Nanooks have moved into fifth place in the standings and would love to make their way up to where the Falcons (and Mavericks) are sitting. Eight points currently separate third from fifth.

Alaska Anchorage at Northern Michigan: These are the two bottom teams in the league and are at risk of missing the playoffs. The Seawolves are six points ahead of the Wildcats and three out of eighth place. NMU hopes that it has a turnaround left in its season.

Going outside of college hockey, there were two high school games at Mankato's Verizon Center on Thursday night as the Mankato West and Mankato East/Loyola boys and girls teams played each other. I covered those games, with the East girls and the West boys winning.

Mavericks 5, Falcons 3

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. C.J. takes over: There's a lot in my game story (link below) on the night C.J. Franklin had as he led the Mavericks' come-from-behind victory. He had two goals as MSU scored four unanswered to beat Bowling Green. Here's a little more about him from coach Mike Hastings that missed the cut in the story: "I think he can be a dominant player in any game we play whether we’re playing in league or nonconference, just because he has a unique package as far as being able to play any type of game. If you want to play a fast game and get up and down the rink. He’s got the skating ability and the talent to be able to make plays. If you get into some games that are very physical ... tonight, he put a body on a guy, stole the puck and took it right to the hole." Franklin's three-point game gives him 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists).

2. Upper class: After Friday's overtime loss to Bowling Green, Hastings talked about needing more from his upperclassmen. He got that from Franklin and others on Saturday. Zeb Knutson had a goal and an assist, and Zach Stepan assisted on two goals. "Obviously it wasn’t our best effort through two (periods)," said Hastings, who said he singled out Stepan in the locker room after the game because of his solid play over the last two weekends. "We faced some adversity. ... Our leadership group really stepped up there in the third period, which we needed them to do."

3. Full Nelson: Goaltender Aaron Nelson got his fourth consecutive start since being promoted from the No. 3 job, and he bounced back from Friday's overtime loss, too. Nelson, who stopped 22 of 25 shots, picked up his third victory. "Just tried to have fun and get back to what made us successful last weekend (at Alabama Huntsville)," he said. "When we're good, we're good." There was quite a contrast in goalies on Saturday. Nelson is listed at 5-foot-9, 165 pounds. At the other end of the ice, Bowling Green went with freshman Ryan Bednard, who is 6-5, 205.

Read my game story here.



Around the WCHA: Alaska 2, Ferris State 1 (OT) ... Northern Michigan 1, Lake Superior State 1 (NMU wins in shootout) ... Michigan Tech 1, Alaska Anchorage 1 (MTU wins in shootout)

Live coverage: MSU vs. Bowling Green

Minnesota State will try to bounce back from Friday's overtime loss. Follow along or join the conversation in the blog below tonight's lines.

MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Franklin, 19-McClure
25-Stepan, 17-Huntebrinker, 10-Knutson
23-Rivera, 16-Nelson, 12-Coatta
6-Tuomie, 26-French, 9-Gerard

8-Brickley, 5-Foguth
11-Flanagan, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 27-Schwalbe

29-Nelson
39-Pawloski
34-Huggins

Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Hookenson, Madry, Vanko

BOWLING GREEN
22-Craggs, 6-McLain, 29-Schilling
10-Dufour, 7-Spezia, 20-Pohlkamp
13-Baylis, 18-D'Andrea, 8-Letourneau
17-Linkenheld, 2-Mercier, 27-McKeown

23-Rauhauser, 28-Walker
14-Friedman, 21-Dalton
12-Pohlkamp, 4-McDonald

35-Bednard
33-Nell

Falcons 3, Mavericks 2 (OT)

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Missed opportunities: As I write about in my gamer (link below), the Mavericks failed to cash in on a power play in overtime (they were 0 for 4 with the man advantage) and ended up falling later in the extra frame. They were the only WCHA team that did not secure at least one point for the standings on Friday as the other three games were decided in 3-on-3 play. Minnesota State also had one goal in the first period despite a 15-6 shot advantage and a whole lot of time spent in the Bowling Green zone. They missed nets, too. Brad McClure had a rock-solid six shots on goal and played well, but missed the net on some good chances, too — shots that looked as if they had goalie Chris Nell beat.

2. All in on Nelson: Junior goalie Aaron Nelson started his third game in a row (his third-ever game) and made 23 saves. There was little he could have done about any of the Falcons' goals, which came from two of their best snipers, Kevin Dufour (two goals) and Mitch McLain (the OT winner and league-leading 15th of the season). "I've got no blame for (Nelson)," coach Mike Hastings said. "He gave us an opportunity to win a hockey game. That's all you can ask out of your goaltender. ... Competitor."

3. Step forward: Senior forward Zach Stepan gave Minnesota State a 2-1 lead late in the second period, putting back the rebound of a Jordan Nelson shot. It was Stepan's third goal of the season and third in the last two games. Playing with Michael Huntebrinker and Zeb Knutson, Stepan had five shots on goal and looked like an impact player. It's taken awhile for him to get to that spot this year after starting the season on the injured list. "Coming off the injury with us starting out so hot, it was a hard lineup to crack," he said. "I got a shot last week; I just had to make sure I was ready for it." That secondary scoring could be a key down the stretch; but the top line can't be blanked.

Read my game story here.



Around the WCHA: Alaska Anchorage 3, Michigan Tech 3 (UAA wins in 3x3 OT) ... Alaska 3, Ferris State 3 (UAF wins in 3x3 OT) ... Lake Superior State 1, Northern Michigan 1 (LSSU wins in 3x3 OT)

Live coverage: Minnesota State vs. Bowling Green

Looks like it's Aaron Nelson in goal again for the No. 18 Mavericks tonight against the Falcons. The live blog can be found below tonight's lines:

MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Franklin, 19-McClure
25-Stepan, 17-Huntebrinker, 10-Knutson
23-Rivera, 16-Nelson, 12-Coatta
6-Tuomie, 26-French, 9-Gerard

8-Brickley, 5-Foguth
11-Flanagan, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 27-Schwalbe

29-Nelson
39-Pawloski
34-Huggins

Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Hookenson, Madry, Vanko

BOWLING GREEN
22-Craggs, 6-McLain, 29-Schilling
10-Dufour, 7-Spezia, 20-Pohlkamp
13-Baylis, 18-D'Andrea, 8-Letourneau
2-Merier, 11-Bednard, 27-McKeown

23-Rauhauser, 28-Walker
14-Friedman, 4-McDonald
5-Smith, 12-Pohlkamp

33-Nell
35-Bednard

Friday Morning Skate

The Mavericks are back home after more than a month off and will host Bowling Green in a series that certainly some fans circled way back when the schedule was first released. The two teams are tied for third in the WCHA standings currently, although MSU has two games in hand. The Falcons were the preseason pick to win the league this season.

It will be interesting to see who Minnesota State starts in goal. Aaron Nelson is in the mix now after his two victories last weekend at Alabama Huntsville. Nelson has proven that patience pays off for players, as difficult as that might be for 2 1/2 years.

For more about the Bowling Green series, read The Free Press' College Hockey Gameday.

For the Falcons, they have had some issues in goal, too, but sophomore Chris Nell, the first-team All-WCHA goalie last year, appears to be returning to form after a tough start, even as he's been splitting time lately. The Falcons expect this weekend to be a challenge. The last time the two teams met was in the semifinals of the WCHA Final Five last March when MSU won 2-1.

Read more about Bowling Green here.

Going around the WCHA ...

Alaska at Ferris State: Sixth place hosts seventh place in this series. The visiting Nanooks had a week off to think about its two shutout losses to Notre Dame. The Bulldogs are winless in five straight, although they got the extra shootout point at Alaska Anchorage on Saturday.

Alaska Anchorage at Michigan Tech: After a 1-11-2 start, the Seawolves are an improved 4-3-1 in their last eight games. Eight of their next 10 games, however, are on the road, starting this weekend in Houghton. The second-place Huskies are coming off a split with Notre Dame but have lost just one league game since getting swept by MSU in October.

Lake Superior State at/vs. Northern Michigan: The Lakers and the Wildcats split their home-and-home series last weekend and will be back at it again this weekend, starting tonight in Marquette. Northern Michigan's Dominik Shine has been heating up as of late.

Michigan Tech is the focus of this week's USCHO column.

In other hockey coverage, the Minnesota State women also return home this weekend to face North Dakota. The Mavericks have become a much different team over their last two months, and Minnesota Hockey Magazine has taken notice.

Fargo forward commits to MSU

Fargo Force forward Shane McMahan this week announced that he has committed to play for Minnesota State following his United States Hockey League Career.

McMahan, 20, a native of Irvine, Calif., is in his third season with the Force. He has 15 points, including eight goals, in 21 games and is plus-4. Last season, he played in 59 of 60 games and had 14 points.

“Mankato is a great program,” the 5-foot-11, 205-pound McMahan said in a Fargo press release. “They are a contender every year, and I fit in well with their system and style of play.”

Nelson receives WCHA honor

Minnesota State junior goaltender Aaron Nelson was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Mavericks' sweep over Alabama Huntsville over the weekend.

Making his long-awaited collegiate debut, Nelson had an 18-save shutout on Friday and stopped 29 of 31 shots on Saturday for a .959 save percentage. The Mavericks won 3-0 and 3-2, breaking a fourth-place tie in the league standings with UAH.

The Bismarck, N.D. native hoped hold the Chargers scoreless on eight power-play chances over the weekend, including a 5-minute major in the third period on Saturday with his team up by one goal.

With the wins, Minnesota State moved up to No. 18 in the latest USCHO poll.

Nelson's debut performance was another memorable one for a former third-string MSU goalie. 

Chris Clark famously came in to play in the Mavericks' 8-7 come-from-behind victory over Denver in 2003. Starter Jon Volp and backup Kyle Nixon were both yanked, and Clark, a freshman, came in with the score 7-1 in favor of the Pioneers. He got the win and the "Hollywood" legend was born.

In 2009, freshman Phil Cook seemed to be the third guy behind sophomore Austin Lee and freshman Kevin Murdock. Still, he got some mop-up duty time early in the season and then was given a surprising start at Bemidji State. He stopped 30 shots in a 5-1 win and ended up starting 15 more games that season. Murdock transferred, and Cook and Lee split time for the next two seasons. Cook ended up losing the No. 1 job as a senior, however, to Stephon Williams.

Mavericks 3, Chargers 2

The Minnesota State men’s hockey scored its first sweep since mid-October, defeating Alabama Huntsville 3-2 in a WCHA series finale on Saturday night.

It was the third win in a row for the No. 19 Mavericks.

Senior forward Zach Stepan scored two of MSU’s three power-play goals. Freshman defenseman Ian Scheid also had a goal, and Michael Huntebrinker finished with two assists.

Junior goaltender Aaron Nelson, who made his collegiate debut in Friday’s 3-0 victory, got the win, stopping 29 of 31 shots.

Nelson strung together five consecutive shutout periods before the Chargers scored a pair of goals 52 seconds apart in the third period to make it a 3-2 game.

The Mavericks scored twice in the first period during a five-minute major on UAH’s Cody Marooney. Scheid and Stepan had the goals 2:22 apart.

Stepan made it 3-0 with 3:23 remaining in the second period.

The goals were the first two of the season for Stepan. Prior to Saturday, he hadn't scored since Feb. 12, 2016 in a 3-3 with UAH.

After Huntsville scored its two goals, the Mavericks had to kill off their own five minute major, a checking-from-behind penalty on Clint Lewis, as well as a minor on Carter Foguth in game’s the final minute.

Minnesota State (13-7-2, 9-5-2 in WCHA) is now in a tie for third place in the conference standings with Bowling Green, whom it will host in Mankato on Friday and Saturday.

A more detailed version of this story that includes comments from coach Mike Hastings can be found here.

Mavericks 3, Chargers 0

Junior goaltender Aaron Nelson made his long-awaited collegiate debut on Friday night for the Minnesota State men's hockey team, and made it count.

Nelson, who has served as a third-string goalie for 2 1/2 seasons, stopped all 18 shots he faced in his first regular-season action, shutting out Alabama Huntsville 3-0 in a WCHA game in Huntsville, Alabama.

Brad McClure scored two goals for the No. 19 Mavericks, who outshot the Chargers 33-18.

Minnesota State came into the weekend tied for fourth place in the league standings with Huntsville. With senior Cole Huggins and sophomore Jason Pawloski combining for a .860 save percentage in the Mavericks' last six games — they went 3-3-0 in that stretch — coach Mike Hastings opted to finally give Nelson a shot between the posts.

Nelson was busiest in second period when he stopped nine shots.

The Mavericks took a 1-0 lead at 6:11 of the first period on a goal by McClure. The team's and conference's scorer, freshman Marc Michaelis, picked up his 17th assist and 27th point of the season on the play, and C.J. Franklin also assisted.

Minnesota State clung to the slim lead until 3:27 remained in the second period when freshman Parker Tuomie scored from Max Coatta. It was Tuomie's fourth goal of the year.

McClure sealed the victory with 2:18 remaining in the game, scoring his 10th goal of the season in an empty net.

A more detailed version of this story, including comments from coach Mike Hastings can be found here.

Friday Morning Skate

The Skate is back ... finally!

It's been three weeks, but Minnesota State will be back in action tonight when it faces Alabama Huntsville to kick off the second half of its league schedule. These will be the fifth and sixth consecutive road games for the Mavericks. They have split every road series so far this season.

At fourth place in the WCHA and in the 28th spot in the Pairwise Rankings (but who's really counting? ... well, everybody), Minnesota State is hoping to make a strong second-half push, as they've done so often over the last four seasons under coach Mike Hastings.

In order to do that, MSU will have to become a more consistent team. They went 3-3-0 in December, but it was a roller coaster ride. Freshman forward Marc Michaelis had a fabulous month, but the Mavericks' goaltenders did not. Their .860 save percentage over that time could mean third-stringer Aaron Nelson is closer to making his long-awaited debut? Could it happen this weekend? He is on the trip.

The Mavericks, who skated on Thursday at the Predators' practice facility in Nashville (the cities are about two hours apart) are in better shape post-break than they were pre-break, especially on defense where senior Carter Foguth is expected to be back. He missed the Mavericks last two games and five of the last nine with a lower-body injury.

Read more about the series in the College Hockey Gameday.

Going around the WCHA ...

Bemidji State's road trip is off to a good start. After splitting a series last week a Alaska Anchorage, the first-place Beavers won Thursday at Bowling Green. They'll try to make it 3 out of 4 on the road tonight against the Falcons, who are facing a tough schedule to start January (they'll be in Mankato next week).

In the U.P., Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State will play each other in the first of back-to-back, home-and-home series. It's an odd schedule, one that came as a result of some adjustments to accommodate the WCHA's new playoff format. Since Nov. 5, the two teams have a combined three wins, two ties and a whole lot of losses.

In the other league series, Ferris State goes to Alaska Anchorage where the Seawolves are showing some improvement, thanks to goaltender Olivier Mantha. Bulldogs goalie Justin Kapelmaster is coming off an impressive 58-save performance in a 1-1 tie with Boston College.

Michigan Tech will try to improve on the WCHA's rough nonconference record when it plays at Notre Dame. The Huskies have lost twice since Nov. 5, once was last weekend in the finals of the Great Lakes Invitational.

Read more about the WCHA in this week's USCHO column.

More awards for Michaelis, Mavericks

Marc Michaelis, Minnesota State's fantastic rookie forward, received more honors for his outstanding play in December, getting named the national rookie of the month by the Hockey Commissioners Association. The award is given to one of the rookies of the month from each of college hockey's six conferences (WCHA, NCHC, Big Ten, Hockey East, ECAC, Atlantic Hockey).

Down the hall from Michaelis and the MSU men's team, Minnesota State women's player Megan Hinze was named the WCHA's defensive player of the month for her December performance. The sophomore defenseman. She had the game-tying and game-winning goals in the Mavericks' 2-1 upset over third-ranked Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 10. She also blocked 13 shots in six games and was plus-1.

Michaelis had quite a month

Minnesota State freshman forward Marc Michaelis was named the WCHA's rookie of the month for December.

Michaelis, who leads the Mavericks and the conference in scoring, had five goals and seven assists for 12 points in six games in the final month of 2016. Michaelis was named WCHA rookie of the week twice in that stretch.

Overall, he has 10 goals and 16 assist for 26 points this season. He ranks second nationally among freshmen in goals, assists and points.

Bowling Green's Mitch McLain, who had five of his league-leading 12 goals in December was named the WCHA's player of the month.