Friday, January 26, 2018

Friday Morning Skate

Minnesota State will wrap up a rather unconventional week on Saturday night with an exhibition game against the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-18 Team.

The team, which is made up of 2000- and 2001-born players, 19 of whom are already committed to Division I programs, has competed well against college teams this season, beating Ferris State 5-1 on Jan. 2 and losing to now-No. 1 Notre Dame 4-3 back in October.

Mavericks senior defenseman Clint Lewis played for the USNTDP, and the program's website caught up with him this week.

Meanwhile, eight WCHA teams are in action against each other this weekend. Here's a peek:

Northern Michigan at Alaska Anchorage: The Wildcats, who have won four straight and seven of their last eight league games, could jump over the idle Mavericks and into first place in the league with one win against the last-place Seawolves. MSU would have two games in hand, though.

Bowling Green at Lake Superior State: The Falcons could also jump over Minnesota State with a sweep at Lake Superior State. Bowling Green is coming off a home sweep over UAA after getting swept at Northern Michigan before that. They're going back to the U.P. now against a Lakers team that is in danger of missing the WCHA playoffs.

Bemidji State at Alabama Huntsville: With one loss in their last 13 games, the Beavers are red-hot. They have won eight straight games against WCHA opponents to put themselves into fourth place in the league. The Chargers, meanwhile, are trying to hold onto a playoff spot, if not move up into the upper division themselves.

Michigan Tech at Ferris State: With five weeks left in the regular season, the Huskies are two points out of a home-ice spot and hope to make some hay this weekend against a Bulldogs team that has just one win in its last eight games and are trying to fend off competition for one of the last league playoff spots.

Some more coverage of Minnesota State this week from meCollege Hockey News and USCHO.

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