The Mavericks are back in Mankato for the first time in nearly a month and will host Michigan Tech in a WCHA series. Minnesota State will try to stop the bleeding from a four-game winless streak and get a win or two while coach Mike Hastings is still away (by the way, the U.S. and Russia will play in the World Junior Championships semifinals at 3 p.m. today).
One player who's come on strong over the last 10 games is Josh French. He's always been a good defensive forward with speed, but he's finally starting to score goals. After tallying just one in his first 81 college games, he has six in his last 10.
"So, my first season, I don’t even score a goal, but I’m working hard every game," French said. "You just don’t quite get the reward of maybe a first star that everybody sees. But in the locker room, guys respect you and know that. So I’ve always felt that from the guys on the team. But now you get that outside bonus, that extra reward, that extra incentive."
The Mavericks will still be without one of their top scorers, Parker Tuomie (lower body), so the lines will look a bit different from the last time they were home. For more on the series, check out my College Hockey Gameday. Also, this weekend could be the first look MSU fans get of freshman Chris Van Os-Shaw. MSU is still easing him in, although he's getting more comfortable since joining the team a little over a week ago.
Michigan Tech, meanwhile, comes to Mankato on short rest, having played Sunday and Monday in the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit.
Going around the WCHA ...
Bemidji State at Bowling Green: This series started Thursday night with the visiting Beavers winning the opening game 3-2 and snapping the Falcons' seven-game unbeaten streak.
Ferris State at Alabama Huntsville: The Bulldogs broke an 11-game winless streak last weekend at Minnesota and will try to start a winning streak against the Chargers, who have been playing better hockey over the last month.
Lake Superior State at Alaska Anchorage: Fresh off their GLI championship, the Lakers will take their four-game winning streak to Alaska. The Seawolves have just one win in their last 16 games and have been shut out eight times, tying a single-season record. UAA is also playing at home for the first time since Nov. 10. Ten straight road games? What a ridiculous schedule.
Northern Michigan at Alaska: The Wildcats started the season 3-7-0 but are 6-3 since, perhaps starting to meet those high preseason expectations. Ryan Steig profiles Troy "Danger Zone" Loggins for The Mining Journal. The Nanooks, meanwhile, haven't played a game in nearly a month.
1 comment:
Shane,
I would like your thoughts on this quote concerning the officiating when Tech plays at MSU.
“When you’re in Mankato, you’re going to take penalties,” said Shawhan. “That’s just just the way that officiating in Mankato has always been, much different then anywhere else in the league. Regardless of what happens, we have to play above (that). Our style of play, effort and execution has to become (our goal) this weekend.”
I would like to believe he is implying the Mavericks like to play fast, especially at home which makes teams take penalties. Looking at the box scores from the 5 games they played last year at the Verizon Center, it didn't seem MSU had a big advantage in PP opportunities.
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