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!