Getting votes

Minnesota State received votes in the first USCHO.com poll of the season. This is the poll I use when showing where teams are ranked, not just because I vote on it but because it's also the one The Associated Press uses. Not surprisingly, Denver was voted No. 1. The Pios certainly had my vote. Here is the poll:

USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I men's poll (first-place votes in parenthesis).

1. Denver (20) 873 points

2. Boston University (17) 814

3. Michigan (2) 787

4. Miami (5) 782

5. Notre Dame (2) 750

6. North Dakoa 615

7. Cornell 561

8. Yale 512

9. Minnesota 509

10. Princeton 474

11. UMass.-Lowell 448

12. Boston College 402

13. Wisconsin 375

14. Vermont 291

15. St. Cloud State 289

16. New Hamphsire 236

17. Ohio State 211

18. Minnesota Duluth 186

19. Air Force 154

20. Northeastern 106

Others receiving votes: Northern Michigan 72, Bemidji State 66, Havard 35, Colorado College 25, St. Lawrence 23 UMass 17, Minnesota State 11, Clarkson 10, RIT 10, Mercyhurst 6, Union 4, Alaska 1, Alaska-Anchorage 1, Dartmouth 1, Ferris State 1, Maine 1, Quinnipiac 1

Mavericks 4, Pronghorns 3 ... St. Cloud wins by same score

Sorry to update the blog a little late. The Mavericks needed some overtime heroics from senior Jason Wiley to defeat Lethbridge 4-3 Saturday night. On Sunday, Lethbridge went to St. Cloud and got beat by the same score, although in regulation. I don't know if you can make any comparisons between the Mavericks and the Huskies from those scores, although it appeared that MSU rested more veteran players than St. Cloud did.

Lethbridge looked like a solid test for the Mavericks. They were a veteran team that played hard, especially in the third period when they got some momentum and really turned up the pressure.

Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said he appreciated the fact that his team had to play in a tight game and face some adversity. "I told the kids after the game that we're going to have 30 games like that this year," he said. "We're going to have games that are tight where every game matters."

What might have been most impressive was the crowd. There were 3,500 people there, including a pretty-full student section that looked like it was ready for the regular season.

Anybody there? What were your thoughts?

MSU vs. Lethbridge live blog

Hockey day

Today's the day, folks. Minnesota State begins its season with an exhibition game against Lethbridge at the Verizon Wireless Center. Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said he's going to sit his most-veteran players in order to have a chance to see all of his freshmen and other young players. Watching from the stands will be forwards Kael Mouillierat, Geoff Irwin, Andrew Sackrison and Zach Harrison and defensemen Kurt Davis and Ben Youds.

There will be seven freshmen in the lineup: forwards Tyler Pitlick, Eriah Hayes and Eli Zuck; defensemen Tyler Elbrecht and Evan Mosey; and goalies Kevin Murdock and Phil Cook.

Forward Brett Peterson, who has been on the roster for two seasons but has yet to appear in a game, is expected to play, and sophomore Joe Schiller will skate as a defenseman for the first time in game action.

Schiller told me yesterday before practice that he likes playing D and that it's a natural switch for him. In fact, the Detroit Lakes native said that had he grown up in a bigger town and a bigger hockey program that he might have been a defenseman from the beginning.

Check back with PucKato later for a live blog on the game.

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.