End of the regular season

Minnesota State will close out the regular season at home tonight against Michigan Tech after defeating the Huskies 2-1 in a tight, playoff-like game on Friday.

The Mavericks clinched the MacNaughton Cup a little over a week ago and know they'll be hosting Ferris State in the first round of the WCHA tournament next weekend. Barring an upset in the best-of-three series, MSU will host the single-elimination WCHA semifinals and championship a week later, a sort of mini-Final Five (minus one).

On Friday, the fourth-ranked Mavericks got first-period goals from Sam Morton and Nathan Smith and held on in the third period after giving up an early power-play goal. Goaltender Dryden McKay returned to his Richter Award-favorite form after giving up seven goals in a home-and-home split with Bemidji State last weekend, making some key saves while stopping 25 of 26 shots.

Earlier this week, former Mavericks standout Marc Michaelis made is NHL debut for the Vancouver Canucks, becoming the second MSU alum to skate in the show, following Connor Mackey:

Big welcome to Marc Michaelis, making his @NHL debut! #HockeyFightsCancer pic.twitter.com/RvfMUv1UFV

— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) March 5, 2021

Back to the WCHA there are four games remaining in league play, as this was originally set as an open weekend for COVID-related makeup games. Ferris State plays at Lake Superior State this afternoon, and Alabama Huntsville and Bemidji State begin a Saturday-Sunday series.

Lake State, with a win, can tie Bowling Green for second place in the conference and grab the second seed for the tournament. Bemidji State, meanwhile, can secure home-ice position with a sweep of the Chargers. With its loss to Minnesota State last night, Michigan Tech is still in the fourth spot currently but, even with a win tonight, has to wait out the BSU-UAH results to see if it will be on the road or at home next week.*

* All based on my math.