Minnesota State is hosting rival Bemidji State today and Saturday, and, while it's wrapped up the MacNaughton Cup and the top seed for next week's playoffs, it's still an important series.
"It’s no different, just because we’ve got the regular season wrapped up trophy-wise. That doesn’t change our mindset," said senior Max Coatta, who's expecting to return for the games after missing the last nine with injury. "This is a huge weekend for us. We know we need to play our best hockey going into the playoffs, and this weekend’s it’s an opportunity to get there. Also … the Pairwise stipulations, these are important games for that."
The Mavericks are fifth in the Pairwise going into the weekend. Here are a few more things to know about the series.
As for the Beavers, they have plenty to play for, as they can still land a top-four finish and home ice for the first round of the league tournament.
There could be a lot of movement in the league standings yet, as MSU and seventh-place Alaska are the only teams that have locked down their final position. Here's a look at the other matchups this weekend:
Alabama Huntsville at Bowling Green: Huntsville has a four-point lead for the final playoff spot and will be in Mankato next week if it can hold on. The Chargers are on the road to play the Falcons, who are assured of home ice but would like to hold on to second place. Bowling Green is also trying to move up in the Pairwise it's No. 15 right now.
Ferris State at Lake Superior State: The Bulldogs are on the outside looking in, but a strong finish and some help from BG could get them in. The host Lakers, meanwhile, are currently in a home-ice spot at fourth place and don't want to see that slip away. No. 20 in the Pairwise, they had lost just 2 of 16 games before getting swept last weekend at Northern Michigan.
Northern Michigan at/vs. Michigan Tech: The third-place Wildcats and sixth-place Huskies play a home-and-home series this weekend. Northern Michigan can clinch home ice with a win tonight, while Tech has a slim but outside shot at a top-four finish. There's seems to be a good chance these two teams will be playing each other again next weekend.
Alaska at Alaska Anchorage: The Governor's Cup is all that's on the line for the Nanooks and Seawolves this weekend. Alaska is only wondering where it will go for the first round next week, while these are the last games of the season for three-win Anchorage. The hope is that the games' aren't the last ever for the Seawolves, as big budget cuts could be coming to Alaska's university system.
The WCHA women's playoffs begin this weekend, and Minnesota State is at Ohio State for a best-of-three series, a matchup the Mavericks like after avoiding a last-place finish for the first time in five years.
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