Frozen Four morning skate

Associated Press

It's been almost exactly a year since I left the Minnesota State hockey beat for The Free Press, so, yes, today, not being in Pittsburgh, is a little tough personally. I'll be watching, from afar, of course, but to see this team make it to the sport's biggest stage just one year after my 20-year career covering the Mavericks ended gives me the slightest twinge of sadness.

On the other hand, I have no regrets about the job change, and, if not for some COVID protocols that will make covering this event unique, if not difficult, I might have taken some PTO and gone to Pittsburgh anyway. Anyway, this is not about me. I think about those players on last year's team who saw their chance to play for a championship dashed by COVID-19. And, of course, there are those players who suffered those difficult first-round losses over the years. I think about the fans who have been waiting a long, long time for this day. A newspaper writer who maybe quit a year early? Well, there's always the blog, right!

All right, let's get to game day. The Mavericks take on in-state rival St. Cloud State at 4 p.m. today on ESPN2. The winner will play the winner of Minnesota-Duluth and UMass on Saturday.

For the Mavericks, they'll try to use a familiar formula to get past the Huskies and play for a championships. They're enjoying their first trip to the Frozen Four, but they're not satisfied with just being there. St. Cloud State is hoping to find a way to beat one of the nation's best goaltenders, Hobey Baker and Richter Award finalist Dryden McKay.

The Star Tribune previews the game here and gives its players to watch (including, naturally, McKay) here.

College Hockey News notes that the best conference in college hockey right now might be the ... Northern Sun and has more coverage here.

USCHO looks at MSU's starts and notes that a fast one might be in order against St. Cloud State. Full coverage here.

Enjoy the day, Maverick fans!