Thursday notebook

You can read my Thursday hockey notebook in The Free Press right here.

Among the highlights:

• Troy Jutting talks about Teddy Blueger and the 2012 recruiting class. The Latvian will be MSU's first European player and the first player associated with the program to play in the World Junior Championships.

• Tyler Elbrecht and Brett Stern get back on the ice. Just skating now, but Elbrecht is pretty excited about it.

• Gustavus Adolphus women's standout Mollie Carroll was named MIAC player of the week.

Blueger locked up

Fear not, Minnesota State fans, Shattuck-St. Mary's standout forward Teddy Blueger has signed his National Letter of Intent to play for the Mavericks next year.

While there was some thought that he might not sign until the April signing period, he indeed signed during the November signing period. The Mavericks announced the signing six days after announcing six other recruits for next fall.

Blueger, a native of Riga, Latvia, had five goals and 15 assists in 15 games playing in the Upper Midwest Elite High School League this fall. Last year, the 5-11, 165 forward helped Shattuck win the national U18 title and finished the season with 24 goals and assisting on 42 others in 54 games. He will be playing for Latvia next month in the World Junior Championships.

With Blueger in the fold, the '12 freshman class has the makings of a darn-good group. Combine it with this year's freshmen — with Jean-Paul LaFontaine, Zach Palmquist, Matt Leitner and Max Gaede, among others — and the future looks pretty bright for MSU.

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.