Friday Morning Skate

Minnesota State is on the road for the second week in a row, this time going to Ferris State for a nonconference series. The No. 3 Mavericks have won four games straight, while the Bulldogs still have just one win (over Division III Trine), not counting a shootout win (officially a tie) against Bemidji State on Feb. 5.

The Mavericks are led in scoring by Julian Napravnik, who has had an outstanding season since being a scratch early on, according to a story in The Free Press. The Rink Live, meanwhile, takes a look at MSU's defensive corps, which has played in the shadow of goalkeeper Dryden McKay.

That D-core had a 50% turnover from last season, with Connor Mackey, Ian Scheid and Edwin Hookenson leaving. There was a lot of talk about Mackey this week after he made his NHL debut. His former coaches and players raved about his opportunity with the Calgary Flames.

Finally, The Freep's Kevin Dudley opined about the WCHA suspension of Bowling Green's Will Cullen following Cullen's hit on MSU's Jared Spooner. With Cullen eligible to return on Sunday and Spooner still out, Dudley says the three-game ban simply wasn't enough.

In other WCHA action this weekend, Bemidji State plays at Michigan Tech, Alabama Huntsville goes to Lake Superior State and Bowling Green plays at Northern Michigan (Saturday-Sunday).