Friday Morning Skate

The Mavericks slipped to No. 3 nationally following their loss and win at the Mariucci Classic last weekend. After a short week, they're back home to face Alaska in a WCHA series. It will be conference games from here on out over the rest of the regular season for Minnesota State.

One player who's had a nice first half has been Reggie Lutz. He's a shoot-first player, who is tied for third on the team with seven goals.

@Reggie_Lutz extended the lead to 2-0 earlier in the first period with this little spin-o-rama #HornsUp😈 pic.twitter.com/UPZxJrpR6M

— Minnesota State Hockey (@MavHockey) December 29, 2019

The Mavericks are looking for win No. 200 in the Mike Hastings era but face a tough challenge from the Nanooks, who haven't been swept since opening weekend. The Mavericks looked more like themselves in a 2-0 victory over Bemidji State on Sunday after getting thumped 7-2 by St. Cloud State on Saturday in Minneapolis. Alaska, meanwhile, will be playing games for the first time in nearly a month.

College Hockey News looks at the Hobey Baker race at the midway point of the season and wonders if a goalie — maybe even a certain one at MSU — might win it this year. That's only happened twice before.

FYI, from 2-4 p.m. today at the Mankato Barnes & Noble and at the civic center prior to tonight's game, Dan Myers will be signing his book, "100 Things Wild Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die." Myers is a Minnesota State graduate and former Free Press stringer who is now the digital content coordinator for the Minnesota Wild.

Going around the WCHA ...

Northern Michigan at Bowling Green: The Wildcats return to action for the first time since ending Minnesota State's 10-game winning streak and will face the Falcons, who are looking to bounce back from a loss to Miami and former coach Chris Bergeron on Monday.

Ferris State at Bemidji State: The Beavers went 0-2 at the Mariucci Classic, but they've been rock-solid in conference play and will try to keep that good record going when they host the Bulldogs, who went 0-2 at the Great Lakes Invitational last week. Despite his team's record at Mariucci, BSU coach Tom Serratore likes the mid-winter tournament and, in fact, would like to see the return of the North Star College Cup.

Alabama Huntsville at North Dakota: The Chargers, who have just one victory this season will try to pull off a big upset in Grand Forks when they face the No. 1-ranked Fighting Hawks. UND has just one loss, which happened in Mankato back on Oct. 19.

Michigan Tech at Arizona State: Fresh off the championship of the Great Lakes Invitational, the Huskies will travel to the desert for a Saturday-Sunday nonconference series. The Huskies beat Michigan State and Michigan at the GLI and are 9-2-1 since starting the season 3-6-0.

Lake Superior State at Alaska Anchorage: The Lakers and Seawolves play a Saturday-Sunday conference series to start the second half of the league schedule. For Lake Superior State, which dropped two games at the Vermont tournament last weekend, it's the start of a two-week Alaska trip, as they'll play the Nanooks next week. Anchorage is playing for the first time since Dec. 7.

The Minnesota State women's team is playing in the second annual Minnesota Cup on Saturday and Sunday in Duluth. The tournament, a nonconference event between WCHA teams, features St. Cloud State, Bemidji State and UMD.