MSU 3, Bowling Green 2

For the second year in a row, Minnesota State won its season-opening game. Goaltender Austin Lee made 18 saves in his collegiate debut for the win, and teammates Jerad Stewart, Geoff Irwin and Mike Louwerse scored goals.

The Mavericks outshot the Falcons 35-20 and had many, many quality scoring opportunities. In fact, that seemed to be the post-game feel: that MSU didn't bury more of its chances when it had them.

Here is The Free Press' game story.

MSU vs. BGSU - Game 1 live blog

Friday morning skate

Tonight's the night! Opening night of college hockey. Here's a look around the WCHA, which has eight teams in action this weekend:

Bowling Green at Minnesota State

The Mavericks are expected to have six seniors in the lineup tonight for their home opener. That group includes captain Geoff Irwin, who, for the first time in his hockey life, is playing with a team in the same community for a fourth year in a row.

Irwin will play on the top line with Kael Mouillierat and center Andy Sackrison. Other lines should look like this: Rylan Galiardi with Justin Jokinen and Tyler Thompson, Tyler Pitlick with Jason Wiley and Mike Louwerse, Zach Harrison with Eriah Hayes and Jerad Stewart. Defensive partners are slated to be: Channing Boe and Joe Schiller, Kurt Davis and Tyler Elbrecht, Ben Youds and Nick Canzanello. However, Canzanello sat out Thursday's practice, so that could change.

As for the Mavericks' opponent, the Falcons apparently are a little short-handed, with junior forward David Solway not on the trip because of injury and two others out for tonight's game because of fighting majors in Bowling Green's final game of the season last year.

PucKato will have the lines updated during pregame. Be sure to come back to the blog during the game and follow along with a live blog.

St. Cloud State at Miami

The Huskies will go see last season's national runner-up in Ohio. The St. Cloud Times' Kevin Allenspach says Miami is a good model for St. Cloud State to follow (perhaps MSU could look at this, too). Meanwhile, The Times has a nice collection of team preview stories you can check out.

Merrimack at North Dakota

The Grand Forks Herald introduces readers to the Merrimack Warriors as well as Sioux freshman goalie Aaron Dell.

Northeastern at Colorado College

Like Minnesota State, Colorado College is looking to replace a top-notch goalie this year. Freshman Joe Howe will start tonight's game at the World Arena, while The Gazette takes a look at another Tigers rookie, Hudson Stremmel.

Vermont at Denver

The No. 1-ranked Pioneers have a good test right off the bat as they host the 14th-ranked Catamounts. Denver is celebrating 60 years of hockey (MSU, by the way, is celebrating its 40th anniversary -- more on that to come).

Lake Superior/Northern Michigan at Minnesota Duluth/Michigan Tech

The Bulldogs and Huskies are starting the season with the Superior Showcase with games tonight and Sunday. For Duluth, a key to the season is finding a replacement for All-American goalie Alex Stalock. Meanwhile Michigan Tech defenseman Eli Vlaisavljevich just might be a Rhodes Scholar.

Mercyhurst/Michigan at Alaska-Anchorage

The Seawolves will kick off the season with their annual tournament, but their seniors are looking ahead toward a bigger tournament they have never been to: the WCHA Final Five.

Meanwhile, here is a WCHA season preview from Inside College Hockey and a weekend preview from This is the WCHA blog. The Rochester Post-Bulletin recently took a gander at the WCHA. (I'd love to see those guys come to Kato to take in a game.)

You Want Answers?!?! 10.08.09

From TEAMWORKER: 1. Have you had a chance to meet the new players and research any of their past contributions to hockey (high school,club,juniors)? 2. How do "you" see the blend of rookies and vets skill sets going forward? 3. When must a player denote they wish to "red-shirt"? Thank you...

Teamworker, I haven't had a chance to talk to them all yet, but have looked into their backgrounds. It looks like a good group that features a wide range of age and experience. Forward Tyler Pitlick is young (he won't turn 18 until Nov. 1) but is expected to be a high-round draft pick next summer. Forward Eriah Hayes and defensemen Tyler Elbrecht and Evan Mosey are older and have a couple of years of junior experience. Forward Eli Zuck played at Shattuck and then spent one year in the USHL. It seems like a group that can be sprinkled into this veteran lineup, and three will play Friday night: Pitlick, Hayes and Elbrecht. As for the redshirt question, it really isn't just a player's call. It's usually a decision made by the player and coaches. In Austin Lee's case, for instance, he wasn't going to play as a freshman unless both Zacharias and Tormey went down with injury, so it was easy to call that season a redshirt year.

From Nation: 1) Which rookie was Jutting most impressed with? 2) Who do you think the top line will be? 3) Which goalie did you think had the best game? 4) Do you think we see more of Evan Mosey or Tyler Elbrecht this year?

Nation, Jutting didn't pick out one rookie from last week's game. I think all played pretty well given their opportunity. Tyler Pitlick, it appears, is going to get a chance to play a lot. He worked with the No. 1 power-play unit in practice this week, so expect to see that on Friday night. The top line will be center Andy Sackrison, flanked by Kael Mouillierat and Geoff Irwin. I think that's pretty well set for now. Seeing each goalie one period each, it was hard to tell who was the best. Obviously, neither Lee nor Murdock allowed a goal, but Cook needed a little extra help from his D on all three goals he gave up. Lee, who will start Friday's game, looked confident, especially for someone who hasn't been in a game for more than two years. Finally, Elbrecht will be in the lineup Friday, but I thought Mosey had a solid night against Lethbridge. Mosey was a forward who got switched to defense last season in Wenatchee.

From PuckLuck: What became of Baylor Dieter? You wrote favorably of him in your May 8th blog and he won the Most Improved Player award at the Spring banquet. I'm sorry to not see him back on the team this year.

PuckLuck, Dieter is no longer on the team due to academic reasons. It appears he's no longer in school either, as I've recently been e-mailed that he has turned pro and is playing for the Central Hockey League's Colorado Eagles. Dieter was the team's most improved player and filled in adequately when Channing Boe went down with his broke leg. However, he did not see any game action until midseason.

From Sam: 1) Do you think Tyler Pitlick will be a staple on the powerplay? 2) Can we expect the Defensemen to be joining the rush quite a bit this year? 3) Murdock and Lee are clearly the two best goalies. I think Lee will start, but who do you believe will be in net as the regular in the next couple weeks?

Sam, as I said earlier, Pitlick is on the No. 1 power play right now. We'll see if he's able to make the transition from high school to college and make that work. He had 121 points in his junior and senior years of high school, so the Mavericks certainly expect him to score. As for the defensemen, it sure looks like a few of them will be asked to jump in. We already know Kurt Davis can score, and Joe Schiller is a forward-turned-D who might be able to do the same. Cameron Cooper took the puck deep and made a nice pass to Mike Louwerse for the first goal against Lethbridge. I'd expect to see more point production from the defensemen this season. Other than Davis, there hasn't been a lot of late. As for the goalies, I think it's going to take a few weeks to play out. I expect Jutting to handle the position with some patience and see who earns the job. I'm guessing it will be Lee or Murdock or maybe both, but it's way too early to predict that right now.

From Holly: Who do you think will be the teams MVP this year?

Holly, like guessing the goaltending situation, it's way too early to guess this. Kael Mouillierat had 17 goals last season, including 16 in WCHA play. I really thought he became a legitimate WCHA star over the second half of last season and has a chance to continue that this year. If I have to guess, I'd say Mouillierat.

From MavFan99: 1)Will games be televised this weekend and/or next weekend in Duluth? 2)Do you know who will be in the 4 team "pods" starting with next years schedule? The only pairings I've seen published are UNO, BSU, SCSU, and UND. 3)Will the home and home series continue with the new schedule format next year?

I've was told by a member of the Bethany Lutheran College crew today that Saturday's game will be the only game televised on Charter cable channel 14. Next week, the BLC crew will go to Duluth and the games will be televised state-wide. I have to do some more research on the scheduling "pods" for next year. MSU will be with Alaska-Anchorage, but I don't know the other teams coming in.

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Lee to start Friday

Minnesota State coach Troy Jutting said Austin Lee will get the start in goal Friday night against Bowling Green. This comes as no huge surprise. Lee, a redshirt sophomore, has been waiting on the Mavericks bench for two seasons for his chance, appears to compete and work hard in practice and had a solid outing last Saturday -- albeit in one period of play.

Don't be surprised if freshman Kevin Murdock gets the nod on Saturday, although Jutting said he's going to reserve the right to make that call following Friday's game.

You want answers?!?!

It's probably time for another installment of PucKato's "You Want Answers?!?!" Here's how it works: You ask a question in the comments section below, and I'll try to give you a beat writer's perspective. I'll give you two days to get some questions down and will answer as many as I can in a post on Thursday afternoon/evening. Ask away!