Purple Hayes

Pat Christman/The Free Press

First of all, I love this photo by Pat Christman, which was taken during Minnesota State's media day on Oct. 4. It makes Mavericks senior Eriah Hayes look bigger than life but also shows that he's in the spotlight now.

Hayes is a co-captain (along with second-year C-wearer Tyler Elbrecht) this season, and the 6-foot-4 winger will be a key to MSU's success. There are a lot of good, young players on the team, with some proven sophomore scorers and a lot of excitement and potential in the rookie class. Hayes is charged with leading and, in some ways, nurturing that group, but he's also trying to find more consistency in his game in his final season of college hockey.

That consistency won't just make the Mavericks a better team this season but could also set Hayes up for the start of a career in the pro game after graduation.

Read my Free Press feature on Hayes here.

River Hawks 4, Mavericks 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game:

1. Trouble in River City: This was hardly a way to not only open a home schedule but to get ready to go to league-favorite and third-ranked Denver next weekend. Minnesota State was swept by a team that won just five games a season ago. The Mavericks have scored just five goals in four games and they're 0 for 17 on the power play for the season. Coach Troy Jutting said his team worked harder Saturday than it did on Friday, but it still had trouble creating scoring chances or even getting its offense going at all at times. Like Friday's game Saturday's hinged on a five-minute major penalty. On Friday, MSU failed to score when it had the unlimited power play. Saturday, Lowell scored twice when it had the advantage.

2. M*A*S*H unit: Eriah Hayes was called for cross-checking in the final seconds of the second period and when the third started he was replaced in the penalty box by Charlie Thauwald. Hayes was taken out of the game with an upper body injury, so add his name to the quickly growing list of banged-up players. J.P. Burkemper, Tyler Elbrecht, Max Gaede, Danny Heath, Zach Lehrke and Josh Nelson all were scratched Saturday with various ailments. "That's well over a quarter of a roster not playing now," Jutting said. The Mavericks were also missing Mike Louwerse, who was called for checking from behind — a major and a game misconduct with about five minutes left in the first period. "It's so frustrating because of all the injuries," Jutting said. "You still gotta go out and compete, but when it rains it pours right now.

3. Hello? Veterans? Justin Jokinen scored the Mavericks' lone goal but the other seniors on the team have been invisible through four games this season. Forwards Mike Dorr, Joe Schiller, Mike Louwerse and Adam Mueller have no points. Defenseman Cameron Cooper has one goal. Juniors? Hayes, Eli Zuck and Evan Mosey each have one assist.

Deep thought: Thauwald, a freshman from Rochester, had a good game. The 6-foot-3, 225 pound right wing threw his body around and looks like a player who can wow the crowd with some big hits for the next four years.

Quote of the night: "We know never to underestimate another team. We know we have to come out and play Maverick hockey." – MSU senior forward Justin Jokinen

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 3, Wisconsin 2 (ot) ... Colorado College 6, Bemidji State 4 ... Minnesota 5, Minnesota Duluth 4 ... Boston University 4, Denver 3 ... Northern Michigan 3, St. Cloud State 2 ... Alaska-Anchorage 6, Mercyhurst 2 ... North Dakota 3, Maine 3 (ot) ... Nebraska-Omaha at Alaska

River Hawks 4, Mavericks 2

Freddy's three thoughts of the game:

1. Out-everythinged: UMass-Lowell beat Minnesota State all over the ice on Friday night. If you had to guess which team was the five-win team last year, you wouldn't have picked the River Hawks. Sure the Mavericks had depth issues on D and again gave up a lot of shots, but it was the lack of hustle and urgency up front that killed them. Lots of sloppiness. Lots of impatience. Lots of turnovers. Not the way you want to play in your home opener.

2. First goals: Mavericks freshman defenseman Zach Palmquist and rookie forward Jean-Paul LaFontaine scored the first goals of their college careers. Palmquist gave the Mavericks a 1-0 lead at the 6:21 mark. LaFontaine made it 4-2 with 3:17 to play after Austin Lee (33 saves) was pulled for an extra attacker. If the scoreboard was correct at the time, LaFontaine's goal was MSU's second shot of the third period. They were outshot 37-27 — 17-11 in the first period and 10-5 in the third.

3. Power outage: The game hinged on Lowell's lone penalty — Josh Holmstrom's five-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind with 3:06 left in the second period. The Mavericks trailed 2-1 at the time but just couldn't muster much on the power play. It was a primo chance to take over the game again and it just didn't happen. MSU was credited with four shots on goal during the power play, and I saw none during the last two minutes, which were also the first two minutes of the third period.

Deep thought: Norm Bazin won in his coaching debut with the River Hawks, a team that had five wins a season ago and was swept by the Mavericks at Thanksgiving. Bazin, a Lowell grad, was a longtime assistant at Colorado College.

Quote of the night: "We gotta figure it out pretty quick if we're going to compete." — MSU junior forward Eriah Hayes.

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 2, Wisconsin 1 (OT) ... Denver 4, Boston College 2 ... Northern Michigan 5, St. Cloud State 2 ... Minnesota 5, Minnesota Duluth 4 (OT) ... North Dakota 3, Maine 1 ... Alaska-Anchorage 3, Nebraska-Omaha 0 (NC) ... Colorado College 3, Bemidji State 1