Minnesota State stays at No. 8

Despite Saturday's 3-1 loss at Minnesota Duluth, USCHO voters kept Minnesota State at No. 8 this week in the rankings. The Mavericks are the only WCHA team in the top 20.

Meanwhile, in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings, the Mavericks fell from ninth to 10th.

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
Minneapolis, Minn./November 27, 2017

   Team             (First Place)    Record   Pts  Last Week
 1 Denver                    (39)    7- 3-2   984     1
 2 St. Cloud State           ( 9)    9- 2-0   946     2
 3 Clarkson                  ( 1)   12- 3-1   862     5
 4 Notre Dame                ( 1)   12- 3-1   860     4
 5 Cornell                           9- 1-0   793     7
 6 North Dakota                      8- 4-4   714     3
 7 Minnesota                         9- 6-1   676     6
 8 Minnesota State                   9- 5-0   568     8
 9 Providence                        8- 5-1   512    10
10 Western Michigan                  9- 5-1   501    11
11 Ohio State                        8- 3-3   465    15
12 Northeastern                      7- 4-1   425    12
13 New Hampshire                     7- 4-1   386    13
14 Wisconsin                         9- 6-2   382     9
15 Boston College                    8- 5-2   375    14
16 Minnesota Duluth                  7- 6-2   300    16
17 Colgate                           8- 4-4   260    18
18 UMass Lowell                      8- 6-0   142    19
19 Union                             8- 6-1   130    NR
20 Omaha                             6- 5-1    65    NR

Others receiving votes: Michigan 48, Boston University 22,
Niagara 19, Michigan State 14, Canisius 11, Penn State 11,
Bemidji State 3, Bowling Green 3, Harvard 3, Holy Cross 3,
Miami 3, Colorado College 2, Massachusetts 1.

Bulldogs 3, Mavericks 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Where'd the scoring go? This was the theme of my gamer (see link below), but Minnesota State scored just one goal for the second game in a row and lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. In what was otherwise an entertaining, up-and-down-the-rink game, the difference came down to the Bulldogs getting to the net to score two rebound goals and the Mavericks not creating second chances despite putting 34 shots on goal. "I'll use a golf analogy," coach Mike Hastings said. "Just get it in the hole, right? It doesn't matter if it goes off a tree and goes in the hole." In other words, goals don't just have to come on pretty plays, even though MSU had a nice stretch of games in which it did make many of those plays. Can the Mavericks get gritty when they have to? We'll see.

2. Big guns go silent: Minnesota State was carried early in the season by the top line of C.J. Suess, Zeb Knutson and Marc Michaelis, along with defenseman Daniel Brickley. They all had quiet nights on Saturday. Suess, who missed a chunk of the game getting a skate repaired, and Knutson had no points. They played with Parker Tuomie as Michaelis moved on a line with Jake Jaremko and Brad McClure. Brickley was minus-3 and Knutson was minus-2. Suess and Knutson, who lead MSU with 16 and 15 points, respectively, each have just one assist in the last three games. Brickley has been held of the scoresheet over that same stretch.

3. Break time: Minnesota State will get its first bye week of the year next week and it probably comes at a good time. The Mavericks have had games in eight straight weekends to start the season. Following the week off, they will play a WCHA series at Lake Superior State and one at home against Alabama Huntsville before getting another break during Christmas week. "We're going to continue to practice and get better," Hastings said. "That's what I'm looking forward to this week. Get our rest when we need our rest. But we've got to go back and tighten some bolts — and then ask a little bit more of the guys that are getting more, whether that's ice time, opportunities. Those are things you really want to ask the guys to earn, and so that's what we'll ask them to do next week."

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Bowling Green 2, Miami 2 (OT) ... Alabama Huntsville 5, Ferris State 3 ... Omaha 4, Northern Michigan 1 ... Michigan Tech at Alaska (late)

Live: Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth

The No. 8 Mavericks and No. 16 Bulldogs will square off for the first time in three years, renewing their in-state rivalry at Amsoil Arena. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. Follow along with the action below tonight's lines:

MINNESOTA STATE

6-Tuomie, 15-Suess, 10-Knutson

20-Michaelis, 5-Jaremko, 19-McClure

23-Rivera, 26-French, 9-Gerard

16-Lutz, 11-Spooner, 12-Coatta

8-Brickley, 2-Mackey

25-Zmolek, 18-Scheid

4-Lewis, 3-McNeely

37-LaCouvee

39-Pawloski

Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Gerads, Hookenson, A. Nelson, Schwalbe, Vanko, Duett

MINNESOTA DULUTH

13-J. Anderson, 25-Krieger, 39-Mackay

27-Tufte, 22-Thomas, 20-Kuhlman

11-Peterson, 19-Richards, 23-Swaney

17-Young, 28-Spurrell, 8-Bender

5-Wolff, 7-Perunovich

4-Samberg, 3-Mi. Anderson

21-Ma. Anderson, 6-Roehl

32-Shepard

37-Deery

36-Patt

Saturday Morning Skate

Coming at you a little late on this holiday weekend, but it is gameday, and the No. 8 Mavericks are on the road for a single game against No. 16 Minnesota Duluth.

Minnesota State will try to bounce back from last Saturday's home loss and series split with Bowling Green against a tough nonconference opponent.

On thing that's come to be expected from the Mavericks is the impact made by freshmen. There just is no grace period for first-year players, especially ones who spent significant time developing in junior hockey. Jake Jaremko, Jared Spooner and Connor Mackey, for instance, have played in every game this season.

As for the Bulldogs, they have their own impact freshmen, notably defenseman Scott Perunovich, featured here in the Duluth News Tribune. UMD is expected to be healthier tonight with two key players back in the lineup.

Around the WCHA ...

No featured links, just an update on this week's games so far. WCHA teams didn't help their cause nonconference-wise, as Bemidji State fell 4-1 at Princeton on Friday (after winning the series-opener 5-3), Bowling Green lost 6-3 at home to Miami and Northern Michigan was defeated 4-3 at Omaha. That puts the conference's non-league record at 13-30-4, something MSU and other will help try to improve tonight.

In conference play Ferris State won 6-2 at Alabama Huntsville, and Michigan Tech won 5-4 in overtime at Alaska.

With the exception of Bemidji State, all of those teams will be in action again tonight, along with the Mavericks and Lake Superior State, which is hosting the U.S. Under-18 National Team in an exhibition game.

Mavericks slip, stay

Minnesota State slipped from fifth to No. 8 in the USCHO rankings following their series split at home to Bowling Green last weekend. In the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, the Mavericks remained at No. 8. Here is the USCHO poll:

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
Minneapolis, Minn./November 20, 2017

   Team             (First Place)    Record   Pts  Last Week
 1 Denver                    (30)    7- 3-2   976     1
 2 St. Cloud State           (18)    9- 2-0   953     2
 3 North Dakota              ( 2)    8- 3-3   903     3
 4 Notre Dame                       10- 3-1   836     4
 5 Clarkson                         10- 3-1   759     8
 6 Minnesota                         9- 4-1   745     7
 7 Cornell                           7- 1-0   686     6
 8 Minnesota State                   9- 4-0   653     5
 9 Wisconsin                         8- 5-2   572     9
10 Providence                        7- 4-1   531    10
11 Western Michigan                  8- 4-1   489    15
12 Northeastern                      7- 4-1   408    12
13 New Hampshire                     6- 4-1   363    11
14 Boston College                    8- 5-1   333    NR
15 Ohio State                        6- 3-3   272    16
16 Minnesota Duluth                  6- 6-2   257    14
17 Michigan                          6- 4-2   208    17
18 Colgate                           7- 3-4   164    19
19 Boston University                 6- 7-1    80    18
19 UMass Lowell                      8- 6-0    80    NR

Others receiving votes: Harvard 68, Northern Michigan 54,
Bowling Green 43, Michigan State 12, Quinnipiac 11, Holy
Cross 9, Penn State 8, Niagara 7, Union 5, Yale 5, Army 4,
Bemidji State 3, RIT 2, Colorado College 1.

Falcons 4, Mavericks 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Don't go back to Splitsville: Well, they did it again. The Mavericks and Falcons split yet another WCHA series. As it's been well-chronicled now, the WCHA's top two teams currently have never swept each other in league play. They've played four games against each other this season with Minnesota State winning the opener of both series and Bowling Green returning the favor in the closer. The Mavericks certainly would have liked to get that first sweep over the Falcons in their home rink. An announced crowd of 4,256 got taken out of the game early by some excellent defensive play by Bowling Green that kept MSU from making the pretty plays they made on Friday.

2. Penalties plague Mavericks: Sure, there were some questionable calls, but Minnesota State put itself in too many tough spots on Saturday. The result was three 5-on-3 power plays goals for the Falcons. One came with 19 seconds left in the second period and another came 54 seconds into the third. Backbreakers. Add to that an interference penalty by Daniel Brickley that wiped out an MSU power play and 5-minute major by the star defenseman with about 7 minutes to play, and any chance for a comeback was crippled. Ironically, coach Mike Hastings said he scratched Nick Rivera because of his two penalties on Friday. That message didn't register with the rest of the team on Saturday. MSU's eight penalties all came in the game's final 21 minutes.

3. Jaremko breaks out: Freshman center Jake Jaremko scored the Mavericks' lone goal, a power-play tally in the final minute of the first period. That gave him four points for the weekend after his one-goal, two-assist game on Friday. He now has three goals and nine assist for 12 points. "Jake Jaremko has taken some big steps; he really has," Hastings said. "I like the direction that he's moving. He's playing with pace and playing with poise. He's making plays. He's making the players around him better."

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Michigan State 3, Ferris State 1 ... Alabama Huntsville 5, Lake Superior State 3 ... Michigan Tech at Alaska Anchorage (late) ... Northern Michigan at Alaska (late)

Live: MSU vs. Bowling Green, Game 2

Minnesota State has never swept Bowling Green since the two became WCHA foes (and the Falcons have never swept the Mavericks over that time). MSU will try to do just that tonight when the two teams square off at the Verizon Center at 7:07 p.m. The fifth-ranked Mavericks won Friday's game 6-1.

To follow the action, check out the live chat below the lines:

MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Suess, 10-Knutson
16-Lutz, 5-Jaremko, 12-Coatta
6-Tuomie, 26-French, 19-McClure
22-Gerads, 11-Spooner, 17-Duehr

8-Brickley, 3-McNeely
2-Mackey, 18-Scheid
25-Zmolek, 24-Hookenson

37-LaCouvee
39-Pawloski
29-Nelson

Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Gerard, Lewis, Rivera, Schwalbe, Vanko

BOWLING GREEN
22-L. Craggs, 6-McLain, 29-Schilling
25-S. Craggs, 18-D'Andrea, 26-Meier
13-Baylis, 20-Ford, 8-LeTourneau
28-Kruse, 10-Johnson, 16-Wright

23-Rauhauser, 4-McDonald
5-Smith, 3-Musser
14-Wells, 24-Coffman

35-Bednard
31-Dop

Mavericks 6, Falcons 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Early survival: I focused mainly on the scoring for my game story (linked below), but it's worth noting the the first couple minutes of the game were all Bowling Green. They had the Mavericks pinned in their own end for a long while, and it seemed it might be a long night for the home team. Add to that a stretch of four penalty kills in a row, and it seemed, as coach Mike Hastings said, "You get concerned your burning the tank." While those moments might have taken their toll on the top line and a couple of defensemen, others came through in the clutch. Brad McClure, who's been a bit snakebite, scored the first goal, and he could have had more, putting six pucks on goal.

2. Still winning: Another player who came through early for Minnesota State was goalie Connor LaCouvee. That might not be something you think of too much in a 6-1 game. However, he stopped 24 of 25 shots, including 11 of 11 in the first period and 5 of 6 on the penalty kill. The senior/grad transfer is now 7-0-0 as a Maverick. "Connor was good," Hastings said. "He gave us an opportunity to get our feet underneath us."

3. Power hungry: Minnesota State finished 3 for 5 on the power play, scoring on their first three times with the man advantage. Two of the goals were momentum-turners, with McClure's staring the scoring at 3:57 after that early energy by the Falcons, and the first of two Ian Scheid PPGs coming after Bowling Green made it 2-1 midway through the second period. Scheid's first goal was a beauty of a shot. He picked the upper-right corner from the high slot. The second was a tap-in off a nice feed from Zeb Knutson. "He’s got a real good hockey head," Hastings said of Scheid, a sophomore defenseman. "He donesn’t panic. That poise, I wish that was something you could go buy off a shelf and give to people, but you can’t."

Read my gamer here.

Around the WCHA: Michigan State 3, Ferris State 2 (OT) ... Lake Superior State 3, Alabama Huntsville 1 ... Alaska Anchorage 1, Michigan Tech 1 (UAA wins shootout) ... Northern Michigan 5, Alaska 3

Live: Minnesota State vs. Bowling Green

The No. 5 Mavericks host Bowling Green in what should be an entertaining series between the top two teams in the WCHA. Live updates/chat can be found below tonight's lines.

MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Suess, 10-Knutson
16-Lutz, 5-Jaremko, 12-Coatta
6-Tuomie, 26-French, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 11-Spooner, 17-Duehr

8-Brickley, 3-McNeely
2-Mackey, 18-Scheid
25-Zmolek, 24-Hookenson

37-LaCouvee
39-Pawloski
29-Nelson

Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Gerads, Gerard, Lewis, Schwalbe, Vanko

BOWLING GREEN
22-L. Craggs, 6-McLain, 29-Schilling
28-Kruse, 10-Johnson, 27-McKeown
25-S. Craggs, 18-D'Andrea, 26-Meier
13-Baylis, 20-Ford, 16-Wright

23-Rauhauser, 4-McDonald
5-Smith, 3-Musser
14-Wells, 24-Coffman

31-Dop
35-Bednard

Friday Morning Skate

The well-traveled Mavericks are back home after another two weeks on the road, and it's another big series at the Verizon Center. Minnesota State, ranked No. 5 and in first place in the WCHA, will take on unranked (but receiving votes) and second-place Bowling Green tonight and Saturday night.

The Mavericks played one of their most-exciting games in recent memory on Saturday at Bemidji State, and sophomore forward Marc Michaelis was the star of the weekend. Read more about him (and one of his most stunning plays of the series) here. I'm sure Mankato fans are hoping he'll put on a similar show this weekend.

This is your regular reminder that Minnesota State and Bowling Green have never swept each other in conference play, so a betting person would predict yet another split. Looking for for more information before making your prediction, check out the College Hockey Gameday.

Including their win over MSU on Oct. 21, the Falcons have not lost (other than in a shootout) in their last seven games, going 4-0-3. The three ties include two shootout wins and one loss. One impressive thing about Bowling Green this season has been the play of their freshmen, who are featured in a WCHA story here.

Read more previews from the Toledo blade here and BGSUHockey.com here.

Going around the WCHA ...

Michigan Tech at Alaska Anchorage: The Huskies begin a two-weekend trip to Alaska with a series against the Seawolves. Tech has just one win in its last seven games and needs some success on this trip to keep its position in the upper half of the standings. UAA has just one win this season but got two points with a tie/shootout win its last game at Alabama Huntsville. The Seawolves are eager to be back home after five games away.

Northern Michigan at Alaska: The No. 20 Wildcats are also in Alaska, just for one weekend though, to play the Nanooks. NMU is feeling good after splits the last two weekends with Minnesota State and rival Michigan Tech. Alaska is also glad to be home for a couple of weeks after getting swept at Ferris State last week.

Lake Superior State at Alabama Huntsville: The Lakers are ending a tough stretch of their schedule that features eight of 10 games on the road with a trip to face the Chargers. They're also looking for their first road win of the season. UAH, meanwhile, started the year with eight road games and began a six-game homestead last week, getting four points against Anchorage.

Ferris State and Michigan State will play a home and home nonconference series starting tonight at East Lansing. The Bulldogs have won three straight, including a game at Michigan. Some more out-of-league victories could be a great help — to everyone in the conference.

Read USCHO's weekly WCHA column here. More notes on the WCHA weekend can be found here.

And finally, ICYMI, here's a hilarious video of former NHL player Ryan Whitney talking about a rather one-sided fight he was on the wrong end of with Mavericks alum and current student-assistant Tim Jackman. WARNING: NSFW due to language!

Michaelis, Brickley earn WCHA honors

As expected, Minnesota State sophomore forward Marc Michaelis earned the WCHA's Offensive Player of the Week Award after his six-point weekend at Bemidji State. Teammate Daniel Brickley was also honored by the league, as the junior defenseman was named Defensive Player of the Week.

Michaelis had five goals and an assist in the series, including a hat trick on Friday. He had two short-handed goals and both game-winners. His six points doubled his total from MSU's first nine games. He now has 12 points (7-5).

Brickley had a goal and two assists and was plus-4 on Saturday. On Friday his plus-minus was even and he had no points. In the series he had six shots on goal and blocked four shots. He now has 11 points this season.

The WCHA's other players of the week were Ferris State goalie Justin Kapelmaster (goaltender of the week), who won two games against Alaska, stopping 53 of 57 shots, and Bowling Green freshman forward Max Johnson (rookie of the week), who had two goals and an assist in a five-point weekend over Lake Superior State.

Mavericks move up to 5th

Following its sweep at Bemidji State over the weekend, a series in which it scored 13 goals (and gave up eight), Minnesota State moved up to No. 5 in the newest U.S. College Hockey Online poll. The Mavericks had been No. 10. They will host unranked-but-receiving-votes Bowling Green on Friday and Saturday. In the USA Today/USA Hockey rankings, Minnesota State moved up to No. 8 from No. 11.

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
Minneapolis, Minn./November 13, 2017

   Team             (First Place)    Record   Pts  Last Week
 1 Denver                    (43)    6- 2-2   992     3
 2 St. Cloud State           ( 1)    7- 2-0   914     1
 3 North Dakota              ( 2)    7- 2-3   913     2
 4 Notre Dame                        8- 3-1   809     6
 5 Minnesota State                   8- 3-0   710    10
 6 Cornell                   ( 4)    6- 0-0   709    14
 7 Minnesota                         7- 4-1   699     4
 8 Clarkson                          8- 3-1   670    11
 9 Wisconsin                         7- 5-1   542     7
10 Providence                        6- 4-0   507     8
11 New Hampshire                     6- 3-1   434     9
12 Northeastern                      6- 3-1   432    13
13 Harvard                           2- 3-0   422     5
14 Minnesota Duluth                  5- 5-2   327    12
15 Western Michigan                  6- 4-1   259    18
16 Ohio State                        6- 3-3   256    17
17 Michigan                          6- 3-1   230    NR
18 Boston University                 5- 6-1   208    15
19 Colgate                           6- 2-4   165    NR
20 Northern Michigan                 6- 4-0    74    20

Others receiving votes: Boston College 61, Colorado College
49, Omaha 28, UMass Lowell 19, Bowling Green 17, Army 12,
Penn State 10, Quinnipiac 10, Union 7, Yale 6, Niagara 4,
Bemidji State 2, RIT 2, Princeton 1.

Mavericks 8, Beavers 6

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Fourteen goals?!?!? Minnesota State and Bemidji State played each other four times last year and scored a total of 11 goals in those games, which included a 1-1 tie and three 2-1 finals. On Saturday night, the rivals scored and scored and scored, compiling 14 goals. "Fourteen goals? We're in an ear era where the first to three goals usually wins," Beavers coach Tom Serratore said. The teams combined for six goals in the second period alone. Minnesota State had two stretches where it scored three goals in a row (including three unanswered in the third period), and Bemidji State had one. "It was a fun game for the fans and a fun game for the players," Serratore said.

2. Many hats: Each team had a hat trick in the game, as MSU's Max Coatta got his first three-goal game, and BSU's Jay Dickman had three. On Friday, Marc Michaelis had a hat trick for the Mavericks; he had two goals and an assist on Saturday for a six-point weekend, doubling his total points going into the weekend. The WCHA might as well send him its Offensive Player of the Week Award now. The Mavericks' Daniel Brickley (1G, 2A) and C.J. Suess (3A) also had three-point games, as did the Beavers' Kyle Bauman (3A).

3. Down but not out: Minnesota State was up 4-2 in the second period and then allowed three goals to fall behind 5-4 and have starting goalie Jason Pawloski chased from the game. Zeb Knutson's goal with 2.2 seconds left in the second salvaged the period (BSU iced the puck with 6 seconds left, putting the faceoff in MSU's offensive zone. Suess won the draw cleanly back to Brickley who fired a shot that Knutson tipped in.) The Beavers got momentum back with Dickman's hat trick goal early in the third, but that didn't knock out the Mavericks, who then got goals from Coatta, Michaelis and Jaremko to close out the game. "Proud that the guys found a way to get it done in a very difficult building," Hastings said.

Read my gamer here.

Around the WCHA: Bowling Green 5, Lake Superior State 2 ... Ferris State 5, Alaska 3 ... Northern Michigan 4, Michigan Tech 0 ... Alaska Anchorage 3, Alabama Huntsville 3 (UAA wins shootout)

Live: Minnesota State at Bemidji State

The No. 10 Mavericks will go for the series sweep against the Beavers starting at 7:07 p.m. at the Sanford Center. Follow along on the live chat below tonight's lines:

MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Suess, 10-Knutson
16-Lutz, 5-Jaremko, 12-Coatta
6-Tuomie, 26-French, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 11-Spooner, 17-Duehr

8-Brickley, 2-Mackey

25-Zmolek, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 24-Hookenson

39-Pawloski
37-LaCouvee

Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Gerads, Gerard*, McNeely*, Nelson, Schwalbe, Vanko ... * = on the trip

BEMIDJI STATE
27-Brady, 21-G. Fitzgerald, 11-Combs
6-Dickman, 14-Buaman, 23-Sjodahl
13-Soucier, 7-Roo, 15-Heller
9-Somoza, 28-Brown-Maloski, 16-Miller

20-Eichstadt, 29-Baudry
3-Muck, 2-Billett
4-Struthers, 5-Janco

1-Bitzer
30-Burgart
35-Johnson

Mavericks 5, Beavers 2

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Friday night's all right: Minnesota State stayed perfect in series openers (5-0-0) with the victory over the Beavers. Marc Michaelis' second career hat trick (read more about him in the game story linked below), along with Connor LaCouvee's 30-save effort in goal made the difference against the tough-at-home Beavers. "We've got to be ready for their push tomorrow night," Michaelis said as MSU will seek its first road sweep since taking two games from Boston University a month ago. They lost their last two Saturday night games on the road, last weekend at Northern Michigan and Oct. 21 at Bowling Green.

2. The Hook brings you back: Sophomore defenseman Edwin Hookenson scored his first career goal to give MSU a 1-0 lead. Hookenson has played in six of 10 games this season and even got the nod over senior Clint Lewis on Friday with the return of freshman Riese Zmolek to the lineup. "Hook’s been playing well for us; it was good to see him get rewarded," coach Mike Hastings said. He was plus-2 in the game and also helped the Mavericks kill off three Bemidji State power plays. "I've been playing some penalty kill more," Hookenson said. "Our penalty kill's been getting better. I'm happy to be playing this much; I hope they keep letting me."

3. Welcome to Bemidji: The Mavericks had seven freshmen in the lineup, including three defensemen (Zmolek, Connor Mackey and Jack McNeely). Up front, Jake Jaremko had an assist, his fifth of the season, and Reggie Lutz, Jared Spooner and Walker Duehr also played. “We had some young defensemen back there learning what it’s like to have to play in this building," Hastings said. "At times they were good and at times they struggled a little bit. Hopefully we can look at that and learn from it and be better tomorrow." Mackey had an assist, making up for a couple tough plays early. Zmolek, who took a late penalty, ended up plus-3. McNeely was minus-1.

Read my gamer here.

Around the WCHA: Ferris State 3, Alaska 1 ... Michigan Tech 4, Northern Michigan 1 ... Bowling Green 2, Lake Superior State 2 (BG wins shootout) ... Alabama Huntsville 5, Alaska Anchorage 1

Live: Minnesota State at Bemidji State

The WCHA's two Minnesota teams will play each other at 7:07 p.m. tonight at the Sanford Center in Bemidji. Should be a good series. Join the conversation below the lineups:

MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Suss, 10-Knutson
16-Lutz, 5-Jaremko, 12-Coatta
6-Tuomie, 26-French, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 11-Spooner, 17-Duehr

8-Brickley, 3-McNeely
2-Mackey, 18-Scheid
25-Zmolek, 24-Hookenson

37-LaCouvee
39-Pawloski

Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Gerads, Gerard*, Lewis*, Nelson, Schwalbe, Vanko ... * = on the trip

BEMIDJI STATE
23-Sjodahl, 21-G. Fitzgerald, 26-M. Fitzgerald
6-Dickman, 14-Buaman, 15-Heller
27-Brady, 8-Harris, 11-Combs
13-Soucier, 7-Roo, 16-Miller

20-Eichstadt, 29-Baudry
3-Muck, 2-Billett
22-Vold, 5-Janco

1-Bitzer,
30-Burgart
35-Johnson

Friday Morning Skate

The Mavericks are on the road — again — as they face their biggest WCHA rival, Bemidji State. This will be the fourth time in five weeks that Minnesota State is playing on the road, and the team has really racked up the miles already this season. And that's before it's gone to Lake Superior State, Alaska Anchorage, Alaska and Alabama Huntsville.

And the stops so far haven't been easy. Minnesota State has played the country's sixth toughest schedule.

They'll be playing a Beavers team that is just getting back from Alaska. However, they've also played most of their games at home so far this season.

Read more about the matchup in The Free Press' College Hockey Gameday feature.

The Beavers will be without sophomore defenseman Zach Whitecloud, who is competing for Team Canada in the Karjala Cup tournament in Switzerland and Finland.

All 10 WCHA teams are in action against each other this weekend. The other matchups are:

Northern Michigan vs. Michigan Tech: Another big rivalry will take place in the UP with this home-and-home series. The crowds weren't very big in Marquette last weekend when MSU was there, but it's expected to be packed on Saturday when this series moves there.

Alaska at Ferris State: The Bulldogs got a nice overtime win last week against Michigan but are still looking for their first WCHA victory, starting 0-3-1 in league play. The Nanooks are making their third trip to the Lower 48 already.

Lake Superior State at Bowling Green: The Falcons are tied with the Mavericks for first place in the WCHA and will host the Lakers, their oldest rival. LSSU has one win in its last nine games.

Alaska Anchorage at Alabama Huntsville: The Chargers are making their home debut after starting the season with eight games on the road. They're 2-6-0 and will play their next six games at home. The Seawolves won their first game of the season last Saturday at Lake Superior State.

In the post below this you can read about Minnesota State's early recruiting signees. The MSU women announced a class of six on Wednesday.

ICYMI: my column from earlier this week on how, so far, seniors have ruled in the WCHA.

More on the WCHA from USCHO.

Mavericks ink five recruits

The early signing period for recruits opened on Wednesday, and Minnesota State announced five signees for the 2018 rookie class.

The group includes two forwards, two defensemen and a goaltender, all currently playing junior in the USHL.

They are forwards Julian Napravnik and Nathan Smith, defensemen Wyatt Aamodt and Andy Carrol and goaltender Dryden McKay.

“That group has a wealth of junior experience,” coach Mike Hastings said, “and we expect them to come in and contribute immediately. … They have a mix of abilities, different guys bringing different things to the table. ...

“We recruit for specific needs, and I think they will fill some specific needs. Anytime you can improve your overall skill level, you try to do that. I think this group does that.”

Napravnik is a native of Germany currently with the Des Moines Buccanners where he had 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points last season. He has also played on German national teams at various international events.

Smith, from Hudson, Florida, is in his first season with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and is second on the team with nine points in nine games. 

Aamodt, a Hermantown native playing for the Chicago Steel was the 2016 Reed Larson Award winner as Minnesota's top high school defenseman. He helped lead the Hawks to a state championship in 2016. He had 19 points in 53 games last season for the Steel.

Carroll, a Northfield native currently with the Green Bay Gamblers had 40 points in 55 games for Aberdeen of the NAHL last season. In 2015-16, he had 56 points in 58 games for the Sioux Falls Stampede's U18 team coached by former Maverick Rylan Galiardi. His dad, Todd Carroll, was the first MSU women's hockey coach.

McKay, a Downers Grove, Illinois, native in his second season with the Madison Capitols was the USHL's goalie of the week on Oct. 29 after stopping 49 of 50 shots in win over Waterloo. In 39 games las season, he was 18-17-3 with a .917 SV% and a 2.47 GAA.

Mavericks dip to 10th

Minnesota State slipped from ninth to 10th in the latest U.S. College Hockey Online rankings Monday and ninth to 11th in the newest USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. Northern Michigan, with whom Minnesota State split a series in Marquette this past weekend, moved into the top 20 at No. 20.

All of MSU's opponents so far this season are ranked or are receiving votes: No. 1 St. Cloud State, No. 15 Boston University, Bowling Green (RV), Michigan Tech (RV) and No. 20 Northern Michigan.

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
Minneapolis, Minn./November 06, 2017

   Team             (First Place)    Record   Pts  Last Week
 1 St. Cloud State           (50)    7- 0-0  1000     2
 2 North Dakota                      6- 2-2   913     4
 3 Denver                            4- 2-2   870     1
 4 Minnesota                         7- 3-0   847     5
 5 Harvard                           2- 1-0   806     3
 6 Notre Dame                        6- 3-1   660    10
 7 Wisconsin                         6- 4-1   605     7
 8 Providence                        5- 3-0   602     6
 9 New Hampshire                     6- 1-1   552    13
10 Minnesota State                   6- 3-0   547     9
11 Clarkson                          6- 3-1   541    13
12 Minnesota Duluth                  4- 4-2   442     8
13 Northeastern                      5- 2-1   433    15
14 Cornell                           4- 0-0   419    18
15 Boston University                 4- 5-1   306    12
16 Quinnipiac                        3- 3-1   214    11
17 Ohio State                        5- 3-2   155    16
18 Western Michigan                  5- 3-1   113    NR
19 Penn State                        5- 5-0    79    17
20 Northern Michigan                 5- 3-0    61    NR

Others receiving votes: Michigan 55, Colorado College 53,
Omaha 52, Colgate 45, Bemidji State 41, Michigan Tech 18,
Air Force 17, Army 17, Boston College 12, Bowling Green 7,
Niagara 6, Yale 5, UMass Lowell 4, Miami 3.

Wildcats 4, Mavericks 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Kill shot: Minnesota State's penalty kill has been stellar over the last couple of weeks, but the penalties finally caught up to the Mavericks on Saturday (read more in my gamer linked below). In all, MSU took nine penalties for 29 minutes. The more important number was that it put the Wildcats on the power play six times again. The Mavericks shut them down on Friday but allowed two goals on Saturday, and that was the difference. Northern Michigan scored three goals in the second period to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead. The other goal was penalty-related, too. It was short-handed and came during a delayed penalty on MSU.

2. Points on the road: The Mavericks left Marquette with a split, meaning three points for the WCHA standings. This has rarely been an easy place for the Mavericks to play. Since the two became  WCHA mates, Minnesota State has never swept at the Berry. However, it's always come away with points. Including this weekend, they are 3-2-3 here. Mike Hastings complimented both current NMU coach Grant Potulny and previous coach Walt Kyle for how the Wildcats played. "If you ever got one out of here, like we did last night, you knew the second night was going to be incredibly difficult, just like it was tonight."

3. Northern going up: Jumping off the previous thought, this Northern Michigan team looks good. It's 5-3-0 now, with wins against Minnesota State, Wisconsin and a sweep at Ferris State. Potulny definitely inherited a team in which the cupboard was not bare. Robbie Payne (1 goal, 1 assist) and Troy Loggins (2 goals, 1 assist) were excellent on Saturday, as was Mathias Israelsson in goal, a pretty good backup to the excellent Atte Tolvanen.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Alaska Anchorage 4, Lake Superior State 1 ... Bowling Green 2, Michigan Tech 2 (BG wins in shootout) ... Alabama Huntsville at Arizona State (late) ... Bemidji State at Alaska (late

Live: Minnesota State at Northern Michigan

The Mavericks will go for the series sweep tonight against the Wildcats. Live chat can be found below tonight's lines:

MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Suess, 10-Knutson
16-Lutz, 26-French, 9-Gerard
6-Tuomie, 5-Jaremko, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 11-Spooner, 12-Coatta

8-Brickley, 3-McNeely
2-Mackey, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 24-Hookenson

39-Pawloski
37-LaCouvee

Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Duehr, Gerads*, Nelson, Schwalbe, Vanko*, Zmolek

* = also on trip

NORTHERN MICHIGAN
9-Loggins, 18-Nardi, 11-Rockwood,
29-Payne, 13-Voltin, 37-Craighead
12-Heikkila, 24-Diamantoni, 8-Pierce
19-Starzynski, 21-Paskaruk, 23-Slattery

40-Klimek, 27-Roeder
2-Vermeulen, 25-Beaulieu
44-Black, 3-Fosdick

32-Israelsson
41-Tolvanen

Mavericks 3, Wildcats 0

Freddy's three thought of the game ...

1. Good goalie problem: You can read more about this in my gamer (link below), but any thoughts of the Mavericks having a set No. 1 goalie after Connor LaCouvee's two wins last weekend at home against Michigan Tech can be tempered. Jason Pawloski got the start on Friday and recorded his second shutout of the season (his first came in the second game at Boston University). It looked like it was going to be an easy night for him after one period. MSU led 1-0 and he saw just four shots on goal. But the second period turned his way, and he was up to the task, stopping 12 shots and helping the Mavericks kill three penalties. In all, he stopped 26 shots. The Mavericks had 27 shots on goal.

2. Killing time: Minnesota State was called for six penalties, and coach Mike Hastings has talked since that BU series. of trying to be better about going to the box. The bad news is that the Mavericks are still taking penalties; the good news is they're still doing a good job of killing them off. Said Hastings: "Gotta find a way to not to go to the box five or more times, but the guys are doing the job that way and it’s making the difference in games." Twelve of Northern Michigan's shots came during the power play.

3. Forwards, Line 4: Defenseman Ian Scheid got the scoring started for the Mavericks, and Brad McClure scored the third goal. The second, an important insurance marker, came at 8:09 of the third period, and it came from the fourth line. Max Coatta scored it, getting an assist from Jared Spooner. Nick Rivera is the other forward in that group, which was good from the opening faceoff tonight. The trio had six of MSU's shots and played with speed an energy — especially after power plays and penalty kills — that Northern Michigan didn't seem to have the depth to match.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Lake Superior State 3, Alaska Anchorage 2 (OT) ... Bowling Green 2, Michigan Tech 1 ... Ferris State 3, Michigan 2 (OT) ... Arizona State 3, Alabama Huntsville 2 ... Alaska 4, Bemidji State 3 (OT)

Live: Minnesota State at Northern Michigan

Minnesota State and Northern Michigan will square off at 6:07 p.m. Follow along with the action on the live chat below the lines:

MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Suess, 10-Knutson
16-Lutz, 26-French, 9-Gerard
6-Tuomie, 5-Jaremko, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 11-Spooner, 12-Coatta

8-Brickley, 3-McNeely
2-Mackey, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 24-Hookenson

39-Pawloski
37-LaCouvee

Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Duehr, Gerads*, Nelson, Schwalbe, Vanko*, Zmolek

* = also on trip

NORTHERN MICHIGAN
29-Payne, 24-Diamantoni, 37-Craighead
9-Loggins, 11-Rockwood, 23-Slattery
13-Voltin, 18-Nardi, 8-Pierce
12-Heikkila, 21-Paskaruk, 15-Schroer

40-Klimek, 27-Roeder
2-Vermeulen, 25-Beaulieu
44-Black, 6-Yarmeko

41-Tolvanen
32-Israelsson

Friday Morning Skate

Good morning from the road to Marquette ...

No. 9 Minnesota State is in the U.P. to take on Northern Michigan in a WCHA series. Through seven games, the Mavericks appear to be back to their ways of dominating puck possession, outshooting teams by an average of 10 shots per game. Much of that starts on the defensive end. Flying under the radar in the D-corps a bit is Clint Lewis, who had a solid junior season and is off to a good start as a senior. Lewis had 15 points and was +11 last season. He has two assists and is +3 this year.

Read more about the Mavericks' series with the Wildcats in The Free Press' College Hockey Gameday.

As for NMU, the Wildcats were off last weekend and have been preparing for a tough home matchup against MSU.

Going around the WCHA ...

Ferris State at Michigan: This is the second game of a two-game series. On Thursday, the Wolverines pounded the Bulldogs 7-2.

Alaska Anchorage at Lake Superior State: These two teams have one win between them, and that was the Lakers' win over Northern Michigan on Oct. 6. Something's got to give.

Bowling Green at Michigan Tech: This should be a good series in Houghton between Minnesota State's last two opponents. The Huskies are glad to be back home after the road trip to Mankato.

Bemidji State at Alaska: This will be the first long road trip for the Beavers, who have played just one game away from Bemidji so far. It will the first WCHA series in Fairbanks this season.

Alabama Huntsville at Arizona State: These will be the final two games of an eight-game road swing to start the season for the one-win Chargers.