SSM forward commits, Murdock chooses Lake St.

According to Chris Heisenberg's college-hockey recruiting website, Shattuck-St. Mary's forward Teddy Blueger has committed for Minnesota State for 2012 or 2013. This looks like a tremendous get for the Mavericks. Blueger, a native of Riga, Latvia, had 24 goals and 42 assists in 54 games for Shattuck's prep team this past season, ranking third on the team in scoring as a junior.

If he's part of the 2012 recruiting class, that's a group that already has six players committed, including five forwards and a goalie.

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Staying on the subject of those recruits, Dan Carlson helped the U.S. Under 18 National Team win the world championship on Sunday. The United States defeated Sweden 4-3 in overtime. The picture at right, taken from the USA Hockey website is of Carlson kissing the championship trophy.

Carlson had one goal and one assist in the tournament but was used primarily on a checking line. It sounds like he'll be one to move up to a more skilled role in the future as some pretty good teammates move on to college next year.

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Remember Kevin Murdock? Well, the ex-MSU goaltender, who returned to junior hockey last year, is heading back to college in the fall but not to Minnesota State. Murdock committed to play for Lake Superior State. This season with the Lincoln Stars, the lefty went 29-15-4 with five shutouts. He had a .907 save percentage and a 2.91 GAA.

A hot prospect when arriving in Mankato, Murdock eventually fell out of favor with the coaches, playing in just five games. He went 1-3-1 with a .895 SV% and a 3.46 GAA. Falling behind Phil Cook and Austin Lee, he didn't play after mid-November and opted to return to the USHL after the season.

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Four teams remain in the USHL playoffs, and there is Minnesota State interest in those two semifinal series. In the East, the Green Bay Gamblers take on the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders. Green Bay has MSU recruits Jean-Paul LaFontaine and Brett Stern on the team. In the West, the Dubuque Fighting Saints will take on the Sioux Falls Stampede. Sioux Falls has future MSU goalie Stephon Williams leading the way.

News & Notes

A few ramblings from around MSU and college hockey ...

• The national signing period began Wednesday but we're still waiting on anything official out of Minnesota State yet. Expect the Mavericks to officially announce the signing of defenseman Mat Knoll from the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints, but that's probably it. The Mavericks have four other recruits coming who inked their names during the November early signing period.

• MSU is also counting on Matt Leitner to join the team after sitting out last year for academic reasons. On Thursday, I saw Leitner skating with teammates during a spring workout, so that's good news for the Mavs. Leitner was in school all last year but did not practice with the team.

• Back to Knoll, he had tremendous postseason, assisting on 10 goals in 13 games during the Saints' run to the AJHL championship. Spruce Grove is currently playing the BCHL-champion Vernon Vipers for the Doyle Cup, essentially Canada's Junior A national championship, the winner of which moves on to the Canadian Junior A national championship tournament.

• 2012 recruit Dan Carlson is playing for the U.S. National Team in the Under-18 World Championships in Germany. The U.S. is 2-0 so far, and Carlson has a goal and an assist. The Americans' next game is Sunday against Russia.

• The NHL's final Central Scouting Service rankings were released recently, and Carlson was No. 143 out of the North American skaters. MSU '12 goalie recruit Stephon Williams was ranked 27th among North American goalies.

• We're still waiting for the MSU women's recruits for next year, too (expect five players), however, the Mavericks already have a big name coming in 2013. Mankato East/Loyola sophomore Savannah Quandt revealed that she has already verbally committed to play for the Mavericks.

• Channing Boe's hockey season is still going, as he is playing in the ECHL playoffs with the Wheeling Nailers. Boe played in eight regular-season games and has played in six playoff games so far.

• College hockey's early departures have started, and six WCHA players have decided to turn pro rather than complete their eligibility. The national champs, Minnesota Duluth, have already lost two players — forward Mike Connolly and defenseman Justin Faulk. Others include a slew of other defensemen: Minnesota D Aaron Ness, Denver D Matt Donovan, St. Cloud State D Oliver Lauridsen and Wisconsin D Jake Gardiner.