Saturday Morning Skate

Minnesota State will try to snap its NCAA winless streak today when it plays Quinnipiac in the West Regional at 4 p.m. in Loveland, Colo. (ESPN3). 

It's been an interesting tournament so far, with two teams, Notre Dame and Michigan, pulled from the field due to positive COVID tests. Those results came after Monday, so their games were declared no contests, and Boston College and Minnesota Duluth advanced to their respective regional finals.

Bemidji State pulled off the big upset on Friday with a decisive 6-3 victory over Wisconsin in Bridgeport, Conn. The Beavers got up early and never really looked back against the East Region's No. 1 seed. Bemidji State will play UMass at 4 p.m. today (seriously, NCAA, how hard is it to not have these games be played at the same time!) for a trip to the Frozen Four. UMass knocked off WCHA playoff champion Lake Superior State 5-1. 

In other first day action, North Dakota beat American International 5-1 and will play NCHC-rival UMD at 6:30 p.m. today in the Midwest Regional final in Fargo, N.D.

First-round games today include Minnesota vs. Omaha at 8 p.m. on the other side of the West bracket and St. Cloud State vs. Boston University at noon in the Northeast Regional in Albany, N.Y., with BC awaiting the winner.

As for the Mavericks, they feel they need to establish their "ground game" early in order to break through. They've had some slow starts this year and can't afford to do that in an elimination game. Perhaps last week's loss to Northern Michigan in the WCHA semifinals helped them hit the reset button. Minnesota State is also trying to be COVID cautious and avoid any situation such as whatever got Notre Dame or Michigan in trouble.

The Free Press' Kevin Dudley is in Loveland and has been reporting on the Mavericks, including a nice feature about goalie Dryden McKay and his father, Ross. McKay on Friday was named one of three finalists for the Richter Award as the nation's top goalie, along with Minnesota's Jack LaFontaine and BC's Spencer Knight.

The Rink Live's Jason Feldman gives you 10 things to know about MSU's matchup with Quinnipiac, and the Star Tribune's Randy Johnson is also covering the Mavs, along with the Gophers.