Minnesota State's depth has been a strength all season, and it's showing now with some unlikely players coming through at important times. One player who fits that bill is junior forward Walker Duehr, who has 12 points in 2020, including a team-high eight points in February.
For more on the series and start of MSU's Sauer Trophy defense, check out the College Hockey Gameday preview.
In case you missed it from earlier in the week, I opine on the Mavericks' third straight MacNaughton Cup and how MSU's dominance in the WCHA should be appreciated.
As for the Seawolves, they're making their first postseason appearance since 2014 when they went to that first WCHA Final Five in Grand Rapids, Mich. (I liked Grand Rapids as a host city for that, by the way. It was too bad it didn't catch on.)
Here are the WCHA's other first-round matchups:
7-Lake Superior State at 2-Bemidji State: The Lakers have lost twice in their last 11 games and are 7-3-3 in their last 13, finding ways to get points in WCHA play. They'll go to Bemidji where the Beavers have been red-hot, losing just twice (albeit once last Saturday to MSU).
6-Michigan Tech at 3-Northern Michigan: The U.P. rivals square off for the second week in a row, and why do I have a feeling this is the series most likely to go three games? Tech won the season series 3-1, but last week was a split. NMU has won 2 of 3 but that came after a five-game skid. Someone to watch for this weekend is WCHA scoring champion Griffin Loughran, who was involved a play last weekend that caused a bit of buzz on social media:
As @wilson_marvin brought up earlier...what exactly is @GriffinLoughran doing here? Is he upset he didn't get the call on his dive so he checks the Ref for missing the "call?" I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before. @mtuhky @NMUHockey @WCHA_MHockey @ChasingMacPod pic.twitter.com/wQWDAFxDFG— Tim Braun (@TBraunTHG) March 2, 2020
5-Bowling Green at 4-Alaska: The Nanooks are hosting a playoff series after going 6-5-1 with two extra-point wins in its last 12 games. The Falcons enter the weekend on an eight-game unbeaten streak, so these teams certainly could be playing on Sunday, too. Bowling Green has made some interesting travel plans. Knowing they could be playing on Sunday, if they win the series, they'll likely fly to Minneapolis from Fairbanks on Tuesday for the next round, which, if things go as expected, likely will be in Mankato or maybe Bemidji.
In other hockey action:
• The Gustavus Adolphus women's team will play Augsburg at 2 p.m. Saturday in the MIAC championship game at the Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter.
• Mankato East/Loyola went 0-2 at the state tournament, running into some pretty good teams, but the future of the Cougars remains bright.
• The WCHA women's Final Faceoff takes place this weekend in Minneapolis. The league also announced its individual award winners with Wisconsin's Abby Roque winning Player of the Year.
In other hockey action:
• The Gustavus Adolphus women's team will play Augsburg at 2 p.m. Saturday in the MIAC championship game at the Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter.
• Mankato East/Loyola went 0-2 at the state tournament, running into some pretty good teams, but the future of the Cougars remains bright.
• The WCHA women's Final Faceoff takes place this weekend in Minneapolis. The league also announced its individual award winners with Wisconsin's Abby Roque winning Player of the Year.
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