Arena updates

Stopped by the Verizon Wireless Center (gotta get used to saying and writing that) today and had a chance to see the new center-ice scoreboard that will be ready for Saturday's night exhibition game. In this photo, workers are attaching spotlights to the corners before raising it to the rafters. The scoreboard is four-sided, and players getting ready for a Friday skate seemed happy to have the score and time available to view at center ice.

The arena's two end scoreboards have also been replaced, all to the tune of a reported $250,000. The end scoreboards appear to have improved graphics capabilities, but I'm not sure if there will be improved video for replays.

Stuck in the middle

Inside College Hockey Online put out its rankings of all 58 Division I men's hockey teams today, and Minnesota State is No. 25.

Here's what they said about the Mavericks:

Not only does forward Kael Mouillierat boast one of college hockey's great names, he's also a pretty good player. He and defenseman Kurt Davis are a dangerous one-two punch.

Other WCHA teams: 1. Denver, 6. North Dakota, 10. Minnesota, 12. St. Cloud State, 13. Wisconsin, 22. Minnesota Duluth, 29. Colorado College, 38. Alaska-Anchorage, 42. Michigan Tech.

Holy moly, who's the goalie?

That's the big question for the Minnesota State men's hockey team this season and the subject of today's preview in The Free Press. Redshirt sophomore Austin Lee has been waiting patiently on the bench for two years, and freshman Kevin Murdock is considered a top prospect by some. Another freshman, Phil Cook, has good credentials, too. The race is wide open, coach Troy Jutting said.

Seawolves are still the 'rival'

Bemidji State is obviously very excited about joining the WCHA and opening its new arena, so much so that it has already unveiled its 2010-11 schedule (by the way, MSU won't go to Bemidji that year but will host the Beavers on Feb. 4-5, 2011.

In the Bemidji Pioneer story about the schedule, it was revealed how the WCHA is scheduling for a 12-team league. Basically, teams will continue to have playing partners or "rivals," whom they will always play four times a year and there will be a rotation of partners every year into four-team pods. That means a team will play three conference teams four times (home and away) and the other eight teams twice (half at home, half on the road), keeping the conference schedule at 28 games.

According to the story, Beavers coach Tom Serratore said the cleanest option was chosen to develop a five-year schedule. "Basically, the traditional travel partners will remain the same, with the addition of BSU being paired with (Nebraska-Omaha)," he said.

This will probably be disappointing to Minnesota State fans. The Mavericks have been paired with Alaska-Anchorage in the last scheduling arrangement. That was probably fair since they were the last two teams to join the league. But, unlike most of the other partners, there is no real rivalry with the Seawolves.

Nothing against Anchorage, but MSU should be paired with one of the new teams. Not only have the Mavericks supported Bemidji and Omaha by playing them regularly over the years, but there is a natural rivalry with them. Bemidji State was a longtime Division II hockey rival, while Omaha competed in the old North Central Conference with MSU (as well as St. Cloud and North Dakota) in other sports for many years. Also, there's the Spirit of the Maverick trophy series between MSU and UNO to think about.

What do I think?

Since the WCHA preseason polls were released on Tuesday, I've been asked what I think of the results. Well, since I participated in the Madison.com media poll, I might has well put my ballot out there.

I put the Mavericks seventh on my list but considered putting them higher based on the experience factor, which I wrote about in my column in Wednesday's Free Press. Because there are so many veterans with so many college games under their belts, I think this team has a chance to move up into the upper division. There are no superstars in that group -- although defenseman Kurt Davis was an All-WCHA pick last year and forward Kael Mouillierat easily could have been -- and the big mystery, of course, is the goaltending. By the way, I'll be tackling the goalie situation in Thursday's paper.

Anyway, here are my picks.

1. Denver

2. North Dakota

3. Wisconsin

4. Minnesota

5. St. Cloud State

6. Minnesota-Duluth

7. Minnesota State

8. Colorado College

9. Alaska-Anchorage

10. Michigan Tech

Player of the year: Jordan Schroeder, F, Minnesota

Rookie of the year: Mike Lee, G, St. Cloud State

All-WCHA first team: Forwards-Schroeder; Ryan Lasch, SCSU; Mouillierat; Defensemen-Chay Genoway, UND; Patrick Wiercioch, DU; Goalie-Marc Cheverie, DU

This is never an easy task and it will probably be rendered meaningless in about two weeks. I think Denver should be No. 1 in the conference with North Dakota 1B. From there, I think Minnesota and Wisconsin should be grouped together, followed by a mash of St. Cloud, Duluth, MSU and Colorado College. Although I do think CC is in for a tumble, you could take those four teams and pull them out of hat for your predictions. Finally, Anchorage and Tech are grouped at the bottom.

Meet the Mavericks

The Minnesota State men's hockey season kicks off Saturday night, but you can meet the team, as well as the Mavericks women's team, on Thursday night at a Face-Off Dinner sponsored by the MSU Blue Line Club.

The event will take place at the City Center Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn) in downtown Mankato. There will be a social at 6 p.m. with dinner and a program starting at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for youth 12 and under. For more information, go here.

Here come the polls!

The polls are out, and Minnesota State has been picked to finish seventh or eighth in the WCHA, depending on who's been asked. Denver is the clear choice to win the league.

First, the annual Grand Forks Herald coaches poll, now in its 39th year:

1. Denver (8 first-place votes) 80 points

2. North Dakota (2) 70

3. Wisconsin 61

4. Minnesota 58

5. St. Cloud State 55

6. Minnesota Duluth 37

7. Minnesota State 34

8. Colorado College 26

9. Alaska-Anchorage 20

10. Michigan Tech 9

Player of the year: Ryan Lasch, SCSU (3), Jordan Schroeder, UM (3), Chay Genoway, UND (2), Rhet Rakhshani, DU (1), Patrick Wiercioch (1).

Rookie of the year: Mike Lee, SCSU (5), Nick Leddy, UM (2), Dylan Olsen, UMD (2), Matt Donovan, DU (1).

Meanwhile, the madison.com media poll, looked quite similar, with the only difference being a flip-flop of MSU and CC:

1. Denver (23 first-place votes) 248 points

2. North Dakota (1) 205

3. Wisconsin 190

4. Minnesota (1) 186

5. St. Cloud State 152

6. Minnesota Duluth 118

7. Colorado College 101

8. Minnesota State 88

9. Alaska-Anchorage 57

10. Michigan Tech 30

Player of the year: Jordan Schroeder, UM

Rookie of the year: Mike Lee, SCSU

All-WCHA: Forwards -- Schroeder, Ryan Lasch, SCSU; Justin Fontaine, UMD; Rhett Rakhshani, DU (tie). Defensemen -- Patrick Wiercioch, DU; Chay Genoway, UND. Goalie -- Marc Cheverie, DU