Chris VandeVelde's short-handed goal with 8.6 seconds remaining gave No. 13 North Dakota a 4-3 comeback victory over No. 13 Minnesota State, Mankato Saturday.
North Dakota scored three third-period power play goals before VandeVelde scored his unassisted goal.
It was the first win of the year for the Sioux (1-3-0, 1-1-0 in WCHA.) and the first loss of the season for the Mavericks (3-1-0, 1-1-0).
Mankato led 2-0 on goals by Jason Wiley and Trevor Bruess, and goaltender Mike Zacharias looked to be well on his way to a shutout by the midway point of the third period.
But the Sioux stormed back with a pair of power-play goals 69 seconds apart from seniors Andrew Kozek and Ryan Duncan. Then, at 14:42, Ryan Martens gave UND the lead for the first time in the game with another power-play goal.
That lead lasted just 36 seconds, as Bruess tied the game with a rocket shot from the slot.
Duncan was called for a penalty with 18:34 remaining in the game, and the Mavericks were trying for a game-winning power-play goal when VandeVelde got the puck. Instead of clearing it, he went in on net and pushed the puck past Zacharias for the winner.
In Friday's game, Minnesota State scored three short-handed goals in a 5-1 win.
Zacharias finished with 37 saves. Sioux freshman goalie Brad Eidsness got his first win of the season with 25 saves.
***
MSU finally scores with the man advantage on a pretty, tic-tac-toe play from Mick Berge to Kael Mouillierat to Trevor Bruess at the left post at 9:31 to go up 2-0. Berge had an assist taken away from him last nght, so this was No. 6, equalling last year's total.
The Mavs thought they had a 3-0 lead at 13:51, but the review showed that a man was in the crease and hit Eidsness before the puck went in. Looked like probably the right call. Of course, the 5,000 strong her at Alltel Center didn't think so.
MSU killed off five penalties in the period, and Zacharias stopped 12 shots.
***
The Mavericks scored at 1:31 on a pretty play from Andy Sackrison to Jason Wiley. Sackrison carried the puck all the way down to the goal line, spun around and backhanded a soft pass over to his linemate for an easy tap-in goal.
The Mavericks failed to score on two 5x3 power-plays, including a full 2-minute one. They also killed off a 5x3. Nine penalties were called in the period.
The Sioux outshot the Mavericks 14-9, with Mike Zacharias playing steady as usual.
***
Ch-ch-ch-ch changes ...
The Mavericks made a couple of lineup changes, taking out freshman forward Tyler Thompson and putting in Adam Mueller. On defense, freshman Cameron Cooper will play for the first time this season, taking the spot of junior Nick Canzanello, who struggled.
The Sioux also made some changes, starting with their uniforms. Last night they wore green; tonight they have on the blacks. (How many teams bring two sets of uniforms on road trips?) Freshman Brad Eidsness will go in goal. Up front, freshman Mario Lamoureux and senior Brad Miller are in for Matt Watkins (UND's lone goal scorer last night) and David Toews.
Here are the lines (starters in bold):
MINNESOTA STATE
Mouillierat-Bruess-Berge
Louwerse-Harrison-Stewart
Irwin-Sackrison-Wiley
Mueller-Galiardi-Jokinen
Davis-Kilburg
Youds-Boe
Friesen-Cooper
Zacharias
Tormey
Lee
NORTH DAKOTA
Duncan-VandeVelde-Frattin
Lamoureux-Zajac-Kozek
Trupp-Malone-Hextal
Gregoire-Martens-Miller
Blood-Genoway
Jones-Marto
LaPoint-Fienhage
Eidsness
Walski
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Rare company
An Alltel Center crowd of 5,004 saw Zach Harrison pull off a rare feat Friday night, as the junior forward scored three short-handed goals in MSU's 5-1 win over North Dakota. This had only been done by five other Division I players in recorded history.
Thanks to MSU athletic communications guru Paul Allan, here are the others:
Zach Harrison, Minnesota State vs. North Dakota, 2008
George Awada, St. Cloud State vs. Michigan Tech, 1998
Jayson Greyerbiehl, Colgate vs. Yale, 1989
C.J. Young, Harvard, vs. Dartmouth, 1988
Greg Dreschel, Colgate vs. Rensselaer, 1987
Norm Cherrey, Wisconsin vs. Minnesota Duluth, 1973
Not only was it a short-handed hat trick, but it was also a natural hat trick (three consecutive goals).
Read more about the game here and here.
Thanks to MSU athletic communications guru Paul Allan, here are the others:
Zach Harrison, Minnesota State vs. North Dakota, 2008
George Awada, St. Cloud State vs. Michigan Tech, 1998
Jayson Greyerbiehl, Colgate vs. Yale, 1989
C.J. Young, Harvard, vs. Dartmouth, 1988
Greg Dreschel, Colgate vs. Rensselaer, 1987
Norm Cherrey, Wisconsin vs. Minnesota Duluth, 1973
Not only was it a short-handed hat trick, but it was also a natural hat trick (three consecutive goals).
Read more about the game here and here.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Mavericks 5, Sioux 1 -- final
Zach Harrison scored three short-handed goals Friday as No. 15 Minnesota State, Mankato, opened the WCHA season with a 5-1 victory over No. 13 North Dakota.
The win snapped the Mavericks' 10-game winless streak against the Sioux, who are now 0-3 for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, are 3-0 for the first time since 1998-99 when they were a Division I independent and a year away from joining the WCHA.
Goaltender Mike Zacharias made 32 saves, including 13 in the second period, for the win. Aaron Walski stopped 16 shots for the Sioux.
North Dakota led 1-0 on Matt Watkins' unassisted goal at 4:36 of the first period.
But the Mavericks came back with goals by Geoff Irwin and Kael Mouillierat just 67 seconds apart. Irwin's goal, his third of the year, came during a delayed penalty. Mouillierat's goal was a power-play goal. Mavericks captain Mick Berge assisted on both plays. With six assists in the Mavericks' first three games, Berge has already matched his total from a year ago (he had 20 goals).
Harrison scored his first two short-handed goals at 8:25 of the second period and 53 seconds into the third. The third goal was an empty-netter with 1:41 to play.
***
MSU's Zach Harrison scored the period's lone goal, a short-handed tally at 8:25. The junior scooped up a loose puck and raced in 1-on-1 against Darcy Zajac before firing over goalie Aaron Walski's glove. Jerad Stewart got an assist on the play.
Zacharias was solid again as UND outshot MSU 13-4!
***
The Mavericks killed off nearly two minutes of 5x3 power play in the first four minutes of the game, but North Dakota struck first when Matt Watkins fired in a Ben Youds giveaway at 4:36 for an unassisted goal.
The Mavericks tied the game less than two minutes later when Geoff Irwin scored his third goal of the season. The goal took place during a delayed penalty, and Mick Berge, who came on as the extra attacker assisted on the play, along with Brian Kilburg. Just 67 seconds later, Minnesota State took the lead on a power-play goal by Kael Mouillierat. Berge assisted on that play to, and with six assists, has already matched his total from a year ago. Kurt Davis got his fourth assist of the season on the play.
North Dakota outshot MSU 11-10. Mike Zacharias was made one great save during a Sioux power play late in the period.
***
Here are tonight's lines (starters in bold):
MINNESOTA STATE
Mouillierat-Bruess-Berge
Louwerse-Harrison-Stewart
Irwin-Sackrison-Wiley
Thompson-Galiardi-Jokinen
Davis-Kilburg
Youds-Boe
Friesen-Canzanello
Zacharias
Tormey
Lee
NORTH DAKOTA
Gregoire-VandeVelde-Duncan
Watkins-Zajac-Martens
Kozek-Trupp-Toews
Hextall-Malone-Frattin
Blood-Genoway
Jones-Marto
LaPoint-Fienhage
Walski
Eidsness
The win snapped the Mavericks' 10-game winless streak against the Sioux, who are now 0-3 for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, are 3-0 for the first time since 1998-99 when they were a Division I independent and a year away from joining the WCHA.
Goaltender Mike Zacharias made 32 saves, including 13 in the second period, for the win. Aaron Walski stopped 16 shots for the Sioux.
North Dakota led 1-0 on Matt Watkins' unassisted goal at 4:36 of the first period.
But the Mavericks came back with goals by Geoff Irwin and Kael Mouillierat just 67 seconds apart. Irwin's goal, his third of the year, came during a delayed penalty. Mouillierat's goal was a power-play goal. Mavericks captain Mick Berge assisted on both plays. With six assists in the Mavericks' first three games, Berge has already matched his total from a year ago (he had 20 goals).
Harrison scored his first two short-handed goals at 8:25 of the second period and 53 seconds into the third. The third goal was an empty-netter with 1:41 to play.
***
MSU's Zach Harrison scored the period's lone goal, a short-handed tally at 8:25. The junior scooped up a loose puck and raced in 1-on-1 against Darcy Zajac before firing over goalie Aaron Walski's glove. Jerad Stewart got an assist on the play.
Zacharias was solid again as UND outshot MSU 13-4!
***
The Mavericks killed off nearly two minutes of 5x3 power play in the first four minutes of the game, but North Dakota struck first when Matt Watkins fired in a Ben Youds giveaway at 4:36 for an unassisted goal.
The Mavericks tied the game less than two minutes later when Geoff Irwin scored his third goal of the season. The goal took place during a delayed penalty, and Mick Berge, who came on as the extra attacker assisted on the play, along with Brian Kilburg. Just 67 seconds later, Minnesota State took the lead on a power-play goal by Kael Mouillierat. Berge assisted on that play to, and with six assists, has already matched his total from a year ago. Kurt Davis got his fourth assist of the season on the play.
North Dakota outshot MSU 11-10. Mike Zacharias was made one great save during a Sioux power play late in the period.
***
Here are tonight's lines (starters in bold):
MINNESOTA STATE
Mouillierat-Bruess-Berge
Louwerse-Harrison-Stewart
Irwin-Sackrison-Wiley
Thompson-Galiardi-Jokinen
Davis-Kilburg
Youds-Boe
Friesen-Canzanello
Zacharias
Tormey
Lee
NORTH DAKOTA
Gregoire-VandeVelde-Duncan
Watkins-Zajac-Martens
Kozek-Trupp-Toews
Hextall-Malone-Frattin
Blood-Genoway
Jones-Marto
LaPoint-Fienhage
Walski
Eidsness
Gameday reading
Here's some Friday-morning headlines college hockey fans might be interested in:
In Mankato, the Mavericks' Mick Berge has become one of the top goal scorers in the country, although he was an assist guy last weekend. The Free Press' MSU-North Dakota series preview is also there. ... According to the Grand Forks Herald, the Sioux spent a lot of practice time on special teams this week. .. The Herald also featured Berge, whose dad played at North Dakota in the late '70s.
Another big series in the WCHA's opening weekend will be the Minnesota-St. Cloud State matchup. The St. Cloud Times' Kevin Allenspach wonders if it will be a goaltenders dual, although the Huskies did score a lot last weekend (Garrett Roe's not going to score 150 points, is he?). ... The Times also focused on the return of Minnesota captain Ryan Stoa, while the Star Tribune looked at the Gophers' young guns. Minnesota has 12 freshmen on its roster. ... The Pioneer Press featured Gophers goalie Alex Kangas, whom MSU fans remember quite well from last March.
Denver will host Wisconsin this weekend, and the Badgers, like everyone else, are trying to cope with the new rules. ... Recent on- and off-ice events have turned this series into quite the rivalry. ... In the Denver Post, DU freshman David Carle is a "scholarship volunteer assistant coach" after being diagnosed with a rare heart condition that forced him to give up hockey.
Down the road in Colorado Springs, the CC Tigers aren't looking past Michigan Tech, a team that has been a thorn in their side for the last few years. ... Still, the Huskies know they have a tough matchup for the conference opener.
Duluth is facing Western Michigan for the first time and senior MacGregor Sharp is hoping his new training program pays off. ... Alaska-Anchorage will be playing in the Alaska (Fairbanks) tournament minus two players who have left the program.
Here are some of the WCHA weekend previews: Inside College Hockey, USCHO and This is the WCHA.
Finally, here's an interesting developing story. The NCAA wants to make its regionals true regionals in order to minimize travel. Let's just say the WCHA, which often has five or, in last year's case, six teams in the national tournament, isn't happy about it.
In Mankato, the Mavericks' Mick Berge has become one of the top goal scorers in the country, although he was an assist guy last weekend. The Free Press' MSU-North Dakota series preview is also there. ... According to the Grand Forks Herald, the Sioux spent a lot of practice time on special teams this week. .. The Herald also featured Berge, whose dad played at North Dakota in the late '70s.
Another big series in the WCHA's opening weekend will be the Minnesota-St. Cloud State matchup. The St. Cloud Times' Kevin Allenspach wonders if it will be a goaltenders dual, although the Huskies did score a lot last weekend (Garrett Roe's not going to score 150 points, is he?). ... The Times also focused on the return of Minnesota captain Ryan Stoa, while the Star Tribune looked at the Gophers' young guns. Minnesota has 12 freshmen on its roster. ... The Pioneer Press featured Gophers goalie Alex Kangas, whom MSU fans remember quite well from last March.
Denver will host Wisconsin this weekend, and the Badgers, like everyone else, are trying to cope with the new rules. ... Recent on- and off-ice events have turned this series into quite the rivalry. ... In the Denver Post, DU freshman David Carle is a "scholarship volunteer assistant coach" after being diagnosed with a rare heart condition that forced him to give up hockey.
Down the road in Colorado Springs, the CC Tigers aren't looking past Michigan Tech, a team that has been a thorn in their side for the last few years. ... Still, the Huskies know they have a tough matchup for the conference opener.
Duluth is facing Western Michigan for the first time and senior MacGregor Sharp is hoping his new training program pays off. ... Alaska-Anchorage will be playing in the Alaska (Fairbanks) tournament minus two players who have left the program.
Here are some of the WCHA weekend previews: Inside College Hockey, USCHO and This is the WCHA.
Finally, here's an interesting developing story. The NCAA wants to make its regionals true regionals in order to minimize travel. Let's just say the WCHA, which often has five or, in last year's case, six teams in the national tournament, isn't happy about it.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
You want answers, 10/16
It's time for the season's first installment of YWA, where you, the hockey fan ask a question, and I try to give you an answer. There wasn't a lot of participation this week. Hopefully, you'll have more questions as the season goes on. Away we go (questions are paraphrased, by the way) ...
Do you think the Mavericks have the right mix of talent on their power play to at least make the upper half of the conference in power-play success? The Mavericks scored only two power play goals on 17 chances last weekend and both of those were 5x3 goals. They'll have to do better than that, obviously. I think they do have the right people. Mick Berge is a goal scorer. Kael Mouillierat's return this weekend ought to boost productivity. I liked what I was seeing from Mike Louwerse around the net against Bemidji. I think Kurt Davis runs the power play very well at the point and showed it last weekend. Last year, former Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer, who sees a lot of games throughout the year, said MSU moves the puck on the PP as well as anybody. Most of those players are back. The question is: Can they finish? Can they score goals?
What are the chances we'll see Austin Lee at some point this season? Next year he'll be the lone returning goalie. I'm sure coach Troy Jutting would like to see Lee get his feet wet before next season, since Mike Zacharias and Dan Tormey are graduating. But I don't see him potentially sacrificing games in order to prepare for next season. This is not to say that Lee would lose games -- actually, he looked very good in practice as a redshirt last season -- but the Mavericks, maybe more than anybody, have found out that every game is important for the Pairwise rankings. That doesn't mean that Zacharias is going to play 36 games this year, but it might. Next season is next season.
You mentioned that the Mavs had officially practiced for only one week prior to the Bemidji State games. Did this go for every team or was this just a decision made by MSU? One week doesn't seem like a whole lot. It's not a lot of time, but it's how they do it in college hockey. The NCAA sets a start date -- in this case, Oct. 4, and the teams go from there. Last year, the Mavericks went two weeks before playing Michigan Tech. Tech had played two games the weekend before and looked more polished as they swept MSU. But the first day is really just the first full day. Players skated almost daily in "captains practices" for three or four weeks. Also, over the last couple of weeks, coaches were allowed two hours of on-ice time each week to practice with their teams.
Jury is still out on our penalty kill? Probably. It was good last weekend, allowing two goals on 21 chances, including a 4x3, but 25 shots. Zacharias was their best penalty killer, although I thought Rylan Galiardi did a fine job. He blocked several shots. The Mavericks ought to know much more about their PK after this weekend.
Thoughts on the updates to the Alltel Center? I was going to do a post on this, but then I thought most people don't care about the press accommodations. However, since you asked, the new media area(s) at the civic center are a very nice upgrade from the temporary tables we've used over the last several years. I never complained about my seat before; it was one of the best site lines of any of the arenas in the WCHA. But it could a difficult place to work, especially during crowded, SRO games. Now, it's one of the best places in the league to work and watch a game. There are nicer press boxes with worse views of the ice. But this might be the best combination of view and work space, with maybe the exception of Denver. And I like still being somewhat in the crowd and getting a feel for what the atmosphere is like.
Now if we could just get that center-ice scoreboard with video replay. ...
Do you think the Mavericks have the right mix of talent on their power play to at least make the upper half of the conference in power-play success? The Mavericks scored only two power play goals on 17 chances last weekend and both of those were 5x3 goals. They'll have to do better than that, obviously. I think they do have the right people. Mick Berge is a goal scorer. Kael Mouillierat's return this weekend ought to boost productivity. I liked what I was seeing from Mike Louwerse around the net against Bemidji. I think Kurt Davis runs the power play very well at the point and showed it last weekend. Last year, former Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer, who sees a lot of games throughout the year, said MSU moves the puck on the PP as well as anybody. Most of those players are back. The question is: Can they finish? Can they score goals?
What are the chances we'll see Austin Lee at some point this season? Next year he'll be the lone returning goalie. I'm sure coach Troy Jutting would like to see Lee get his feet wet before next season, since Mike Zacharias and Dan Tormey are graduating. But I don't see him potentially sacrificing games in order to prepare for next season. This is not to say that Lee would lose games -- actually, he looked very good in practice as a redshirt last season -- but the Mavericks, maybe more than anybody, have found out that every game is important for the Pairwise rankings. That doesn't mean that Zacharias is going to play 36 games this year, but it might. Next season is next season.
You mentioned that the Mavs had officially practiced for only one week prior to the Bemidji State games. Did this go for every team or was this just a decision made by MSU? One week doesn't seem like a whole lot. It's not a lot of time, but it's how they do it in college hockey. The NCAA sets a start date -- in this case, Oct. 4, and the teams go from there. Last year, the Mavericks went two weeks before playing Michigan Tech. Tech had played two games the weekend before and looked more polished as they swept MSU. But the first day is really just the first full day. Players skated almost daily in "captains practices" for three or four weeks. Also, over the last couple of weeks, coaches were allowed two hours of on-ice time each week to practice with their teams.
Jury is still out on our penalty kill? Probably. It was good last weekend, allowing two goals on 21 chances, including a 4x3, but 25 shots. Zacharias was their best penalty killer, although I thought Rylan Galiardi did a fine job. He blocked several shots. The Mavericks ought to know much more about their PK after this weekend.
Thoughts on the updates to the Alltel Center? I was going to do a post on this, but then I thought most people don't care about the press accommodations. However, since you asked, the new media area(s) at the civic center are a very nice upgrade from the temporary tables we've used over the last several years. I never complained about my seat before; it was one of the best site lines of any of the arenas in the WCHA. But it could a difficult place to work, especially during crowded, SRO games. Now, it's one of the best places in the league to work and watch a game. There are nicer press boxes with worse views of the ice. But this might be the best combination of view and work space, with maybe the exception of Denver. And I like still being somewhat in the crowd and getting a feel for what the atmosphere is like.
Now if we could just get that center-ice scoreboard with video replay. ...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Movin' on up (updated)
The Mavericks moved up to No. 15 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today men's hockey polls Tuesday. North Dakota, MSU's opponent this week, dropped from No. 5 to No. 13 after going 0-2 last weekend. Here are the latest polls (sorry they're a little late) with WCHA teams in bold:
USCHO.com/CBS College Sports XXL poll
1. Boston College (45)
2. Michigan (2)
3. Colorado College (3)
4. Denver
5. Boston University
6. New Hampshire
7. Miami
8. Notre Dame
9. Minnesota
10. Princeton
11. Michigan State
12. St. Cloud State
13. North Dakota
14. Clarkson
15. Minnesota State
16. Cornell
17. Vermont
18. Harvard
19. Northern Michigan
20. Wisconsin
Others receiving votes: Northeastern, Air Force, UMass, Minnesota-Duluth, UMass.-Lowell, Bowling Green, Alaska, Ferris State, Niagara, Yale, Dartmouth, Quinnipiac, RIT, St. Lawrence.
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine coaches poll
1. Boston College (32)
2. Michigan (1)
3. Colorado College (1)
4. Denver
5. Boston University
6. New Hampshire
7. Miami
8. Notre Dame
9. Minnesota
10. St. Cloud State
11. Michigan State
12. Princeton
13. North Dakota
14. Clarkson
15. Minnesota State
Others receiving votes: Northeastern, Cornell, Northern Michigan, Vermont, Harvard, Wisconsin, Air Force, Minnesota Duluth.
Finally, Inside College Hockey put out its Great 58, a power ranking of all 58 Division I teams and put MSU 16th.
USCHO.com/CBS College Sports XXL poll
1. Boston College (45)
2. Michigan (2)
3. Colorado College (3)
4. Denver
5. Boston University
6. New Hampshire
7. Miami
8. Notre Dame
9. Minnesota
10. Princeton
11. Michigan State
12. St. Cloud State
13. North Dakota
14. Clarkson
15. Minnesota State
16. Cornell
17. Vermont
18. Harvard
19. Northern Michigan
20. Wisconsin
Others receiving votes: Northeastern, Air Force, UMass, Minnesota-Duluth, UMass.-Lowell, Bowling Green, Alaska, Ferris State, Niagara, Yale, Dartmouth, Quinnipiac, RIT, St. Lawrence.
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine coaches poll
1. Boston College (32)
2. Michigan (1)
3. Colorado College (1)
4. Denver
5. Boston University
6. New Hampshire
7. Miami
8. Notre Dame
9. Minnesota
10. St. Cloud State
11. Michigan State
12. Princeton
13. North Dakota
14. Clarkson
15. Minnesota State
Others receiving votes: Northeastern, Cornell, Northern Michigan, Vermont, Harvard, Wisconsin, Air Force, Minnesota Duluth.
Finally, Inside College Hockey put out its Great 58, a power ranking of all 58 Division I teams and put MSU 16th.
Monday, October 13, 2008
You want answers?
Back by popular demand, PucKato will be answering your questions about MSU hockey -- hot off that season-opening sweep of Bemidji State and with North Dakota on the horizon -- and any other rink-related topics in the Mankato area that you might have.
This is the first call for your questions, and I'll answer them once we get a good bunch or by the end of the week -- whichever comes first.
Just post your questions in the comments area of this posting.
This is the first call for your questions, and I'll answer them once we get a good bunch or by the end of the week -- whichever comes first.
Just post your questions in the comments area of this posting.
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