Friday Morning Skate

The Mavericks are back in action today as they take on Minnesota Duluth in the opening game of Arizona State's Desert Hockey Classic.

Minnesota State will look a little different today as it likely will have highly touted recruit Chris Van Os-Shaw in the lineup. That's the good news. The bad news is leading scorer Parker Tuomie and Jake Jaremko are out this weekend with injuries. For more on the tournament, check out the Freep's College Hockey Gameday.

Like MSU, UMD is without its head coach as Scott Sandelin is one of Mike Hastings' assistant coaches at the World Junior Championships. The Duluth News-Tribune takes a look at the Bulldogs' associate head coach, Jason Herter, who is in charge this weekend. Matt Wellens also writes about UMD's defensive corps and the fact that the Dogs are healthier than they were their last time out.

The tournament features four ranked teams, an impressive field that includes the host Sun Devils, who are one of the big surprises in college hockey this season. The Arizona Republic features one ASU player with pretty famous father.

Not in Arizona (like me!) and hoping to watch the game. Arizona State says the games will be streamed online here. Minnesota State's website might also have a link later today.

Going around the WCHA, several teams are in action this weekend. Here's a look at who's playing:

Ferris State at Minnesota: The Bulldogs will take on the Gophers in a nonconference series in which they hope to snap out of their 10-game winless streak. Minnesota also announced that its holiday tournament, the Mariucci Classic will return next year, and it will be an all-Minnesota field with Minnesota, Minnesota State, Bemidji State and St. Cloud State.

Alabama Huntsville at Catamount Cup: The Chargers head to the northeast to play host Vermont today and Northeastern on Saturday.

Bemidji State at Air Force: This isn't a tournament, but the Saturday-Sunday series could be called the Serratore Cup as brothers Tom (BSU's coach) and Frank (Air Force's) square off. Also, the Falcons' captain, Matt Serratore, is Tom's son, although he's played just three games this season due to injury. Also of note, Air Force has Mankato native Tyler Jutting, a freshman defenseman, on the roster. He has played nine games and has no points.

Alaska Anchorage at Omaha: The Seawolves and red Mavericks will play Saturday and Monday in a nonconference series. UAA snapped a 13-game winless streak its last time out at Bemidji State. Omaha will try to break its own four-game slump this weekend.

Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State in Great Lakes Invitational: On Sunday and Monday, the GLI will take place in Detroit. It will be an all-Michigan field with Tech taking on Michigan and Lake State taking on Michigan State in the first round. The two winners and two losers will play the next day.

Finally, Mike Hastings and Team USA will play their second game of the WJC at 9:30 p.m. today against Kazakhstan. The game is on NHL Network.