New recruit? Signing period begins

The signing period for men's and women's hockey began today, but it looks to be a fairly quiet one for the Minnesota State men right now. The Mavericks made their big splash during the early signing period in November when they five recruits, including Fargo Force stars Corey Leivermann (Mankato's own), Chase Grant and Matt Leitner, along with USHL forwards Zach Lehrke and Josh Berge (Mick's brother). Previously, defenseman Danny Heath had signed with MSU.

During this period, expect another Fargo forward, J.P. Burkemper, to sign, along with Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL) defenseman Josh Nelson.

According to Chris Heisenberg's college hockey recruiting database, Minnesota State this week got a commitment from John McInnis of the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Okotoks Oilers. McInnis, 20, is, according to his Oilers profile, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound center from Boston. He had 42 goals and 73 points in 58 games this past season. 

While I have yet to find another confirmation of that commitment, it looks like a good one for the Mavericks. However, putting 2 and 2 together, I'm guessing that securing McInnis -- who appears to be a big, skilled, scoring centerman (sound familiar) -- probably means that Tyler Pitlick is indeed gone.

As for other MSU recruits, the Mavericks have four others who will join the team in 2011 -- Max Gaede, Brett Stern, J.P. Lafontaine and Zach Palmquist. I wouldn't expect any of them to sign until next November at the earliest.

Meanwhile, I'm expecting coach Eric Means and the MSU women's team to announce a very large class of recruits for this fall. Seven of the 19 skaters (non-goalies) who saw ice time this season are graduating.