You want answers?!?! It's a new season

It's time for this season's first installment of You Want Answers, where you ask a question about Minnesota State hockey (or anything else on your mind) and I'll answer. Post your questions on Tuesday and Wednesday (use the comments section on this post), and I'll answer them on Thursday.

Minnesota State 1, St. Lawrence 1 - OT

Minnesota State rookie Chase Grant (20). (Wright Braudt photo)

PucKato's Three Thoughts of the Game

1. Don't speak too soon: So much for praising the Mavericks for scoring goals. On Saturday, they had 38 shots on goal but only ended up with on goal -- and that one had to be jammed during a scramble in front of outstanding freshman goalie Matt Weninger. MSU had eight power plays to mess around with and failed to score, including on a Saints penalty in overtime. There are many new faces on the power play, though, and it might take time for them to jell. The Mavericks had one power-play goal on two chances on Friday, although the first chance was a five-minute major. 

2. Jock jams: Mavericks junior forward Justin Jokinen scored the Mavericks' lone goal and finished the series with two goals and an assist. It's a great start to the year for a player who was a healthy scratch for the last 10 games of last season. He played in 21 games as a sophomore and finished the year with three goals and one assist. Could it be a breakout season for the fourth-round NHL draft pick? "He had a good summer," MSU coach Troy Jutting said. "He was a kid who was young (coming straight to college from high school). He's the same age (now) as our freshmen. It takes a little time. But he's bigger and stronger and has gained some confidence being bigger and stronger."

3. Young fellas: Every freshman skater except defenseman Danny Heath got on the weekend. The only ones who played both games were Chase Grant and J.P. Burkemper. Grant looks the part on the top line, making some nice, smart plays that looked more like a veteran made them than a freshman. Burkemper came to MSU a little under the radar. A 6-3, 190-pound forward who was not a top scorer in junior hockey, one might think he was coming in as a grinder. But he appears to be an excellent skater with skill enough to make the kind of plays that led to MSU's goal. "He's a very good skater, a great skater," Jutting said. "He's got very good skill. He's a little bit younger than the other freshmen. I thought he played very well this weekend."

MSU vs. St. Lawrence, Game 2 live blog

Tonight's lines can be found below the Cover It Live box. A few notes: Austin Lee will get the start in goal for the Mavericks tonight. ... Other lineup changes include Adam Mueller for Corey Leivermann and John McInnis for Zach Lehrke at forward and Josh Nelson for Evan Mosey on defense. Mosey was injured on Friday but the others are believed to be healthy scratches. ... It appears that Matt Weninger will start in goal for the Saints.



MINNESOTA STATE
Chase Grant - Rylan Galiardi - Eriah Hayes
Adam Mueller - Joe Schiller - Andrew Sackrison
Michael Dorr - Mike Louwerse - John McInnis
J.P. Burkemper - Eli Zuck - Justin Jokinen

Tyler Elbrecht - Ben Youds
Channing Boe - Kurt Davis
Cameron Cooper - Josh Nelson

Scratches: Danny Heath, Brett Peterson, Corey Leivermann, Zach Lehrke, Evan Mosey (inj.)

ST. LAWRENCE
Kyle Flanagan - Aaron Bogosian - Sean Flanagan
Max Mobley - Rick Carden - Jacob Drewiske
Greg Carey - Kyle Essery - Jeremy Wick
Mark Armstrong - Nic Vangog - Sean Logue

George Hughes - Peter Child
Justin Baker - Matt Raley
Riley Austin - Matt Dyer

Matt Weninger
Joe Spadaccini
David Grilk

Minnesota State 5, St. Lawrence 5 - OT

Corey Leivermann celebrates after scoring his first college goal Friday night. (Pat Christman photo)

PucKato's Three Thoughts of the Game:

1. Comeback kids?

One game might be too early to make any sweeping statements about a team, but after trailing 4-2 after two periods, the Mavericks came out and dominated the third, scoring two goals in the first 1:38 (Justin Jokinen had a hand in both, scoring the first at 38 second and assisting on Eli Zuck's tying goal a minute later) and taking the lead on Mike Louwerse's goal at the 10:38 mark. The Mavericks outshot the Saints 24-10 in the third period and overtime. 

While Sean Flanagan's goal with 3:54 remaining in regulation forced the tie (it was Flanagan's second goal  and fourth point of the night), the Mavericks showed something they just never did last season. Last year, they were 1-12-0 in games where they trailed after two periods. The lone win was in Game 1 of the WCHA playoffs at St. Cloud State. 

2. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

That was Corey Leivermann's night in a nutshell. The Mankato native couldn't have had a better start to his career at MSU, batting a loose puck out of the air to score the Mavericks' first goal midway through the first period. But at the end of the second period, he was called for checking from behind, getting a five-minute major and a game misconduct. With Leivermann out of the game, the Saints quickly scored on the major to take their 4-2 lead. 

"It was a rollercoaster ride," Leivermann said. "I went from Cloud 9 to 'What just happened?'"

Said Mavericks coach Troy Jutting: "I thought Corey played a good game while he was in there, but obviously, you've got to be careful (on the checking from behind play). ... But I thought it was a good start for him."

3. What scoring problem?

Offense is the big question mark for the Mavericks this season, but they didn't necessarily show that on Friday. They put 49 shots on net and got goals from five different players: Leivermann, Jokinen, Louwerse, Zuck and Michael Dorr. Jokinen and Dorr also had assists, and Kurt Davis had a two-assist game. Joe Schiler, Andrew Sackrison, Zach Lehrke, Cameron Cooper and Phil Cook also had assists. Lots of guys with points.

Dorr was kicking himself after the game, thinking he could have had four goals. He put two shots off the crossbar and, in overtime, had a prime scoring opportunity barely turned away by the paddle of goalie Robby Moss' goal stick. Had Dorr lifted the puck off the ice, he would have won the game. Dorr was credited with seven shots on goal.

On the flip side, the Mavericks have to shore up their penalty kill, as St. Lawrence was 3 for 6 and had 14 of its 31 shots during the man advantage.

Notes: Mavericks sophomore defenseman Evan Mosey suffered upper-body injury in the first period and did not return to the game. ... St. Lawrence's Sean Flanagan finished the game with two goals and two assists. ...  Read The Free Press game story.

Minnesota State vs. St. Lawrence live blog

Tonight's lines and officials can be found below the live blog (starters in bold). ... A good primer on this year's new hockey rules can be found here (pdf). ... A reminder about some number changes: Mike Louwerse wears No. 9 now, while Michael Dorr wears No. 23.



MINNESOTA STATE
Chase Grant - Rylan Galiardi - Eriah Hayes
Michael Dorr - Mike Louwerse - Zach Lehrke
Andrew Sackrison - Joe Schiller - Corey Leivermann
J.P. Burkemper - Eli Zuck - Justin Jokinen

Tyler Elbrecht - Ben Youds
Channing Boe - Kurt Davis
Cameron Cooper - Evan Mosey

Phil Cook
Austin Lee
Evan Karambelas

Scratches: Adam Mueller, John McInnis, Brett Peterson, Danny Heath, Josh Nelson

ST. LAWRENCE
Kyle Flanagan - Aaron Bogosian - Sean Flanagan
Nick Pitsikoulis - Mark Armstrong - Jared Keller
Max Mobley - Rick Carden - Jacob Drewiske
Greg Carey - Kyle Essery - Jeremy Wick

George Hughes - Peter Child
Jordan Dewey - Matt Raley
Justin Baker - Pat Raley

Robby Moss
Matt Weninger
Joe Spadaccini

OFFICIALS
Referees: Todd Anderson, Jon Campion. Linesmen: Matt Anderson, Jerome Krieger

Friday morning skate — welcome to the season

Mavericks captain Rylan Galiardi (Pat Christman photo)

Good morning! It's game day — for real this time, and the Mavericks are set to take on St. Lawrence at the Verizon Wireless Center tonight. Minnesota State will have its veterans who watched Monday's exhibition game out of the stands and onto the ice.

That veteran group includes senior captain Rylan Galiardi, who has embraced his leadership role. One of two Canadians on the team, Galiardi talked about bringing together a group of players from a variety of locales, including Minnesota (of course), Canada, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Massachusetts, Oklahoma Arizona and Alaska (am I missing anyone?)

Meanwhile, you can check out The Free Press' series preview here. Phil Cook will get the start in goal tonight, and all six defensemen have had college experience, but there's a freshman on each of the forward lines.

As for the Saints, according to the Watertown Daily Times, they are happy to get senior Sean Flanagan back from a serious hip injury suffered two seasons ago.

Eleven of the 12 WCHA teams are in action tonight. Here's a look around the leauge:

St. Cloud State is playing in Nebraska-Omaha's Maverick Stampede. The Huskies will play RIT and Clarkson, while the Red Mavericks get those teams in reverse order. The St. Cloud Time has several preseason stories on its Husky Hockey page, including a look at arguably the best 1-2 punch of any WCHA team in goal. ... While the tournament is a nonconference affair, this weekend officially marks the first time UNO is representing the WCHA. Read more about the Mavericks' start to the season and a Stampede preview here.

With coverage of the Twins, the Randy Moss saga and the Wild opener, the Start Tribune did find a way to squeeze in some news about the Gopher hockey team, which will host Massachusetts tonight. Minnesota captain Jay Barriball, who is a fifth-year senior after missing most of last season with a knee injury, feels like it's a slap in the face that the WCHA coaches picked the Gophers to finish fifth.

Denver is starting off the year with a home game against Vermont. For the Pioneers, expectations from the outside are high, but they have to replace a lot of departed talent, especially in goal where sophomore Adam Murray and a freshman will split time to try to fill the pads of Marc Cheverie.

Minnesota Duluth and Michigan Tech will be playing in the Superior Showcase, which matches up  the Lake Superior teams from the WCHA against those from the CCHA, Lake Superior State and Northern Michigan. Duluth will play at Lake State tonight and at Northern on Saturday, while Tech plays the opposite schedule. For The Bulldogs, goalie Kenny Reiter has emerged as the No. 1 goalie on a team that returns some great talent and is poised to be a top-three team in the conference. ... As for the Huskies, they will be trying to dig their way out of the conference basement this season. One player eager to help is Houghton native Blake Hietala, a walk-on forward.

Alaska-Anchorage is hosting the Kendall Hockey Classic and will kick things off with a nonconference game against WCHA-favorite North Dakota. Alaska and Air Force are the other two teams in the tournament. For the young Seawolves, playing the Sioux means the chance to start the season "with a bang" according to senior Tommy Grant. ... Meanwhile, North Dakota is giving a goalie not named Brad Eidsness the start tonight — meet Aaron Dell. Perhaps this as good a time as any to do that since Anchorage has its own worries in net.

Wisconsin gets to play in this year's Icebreaker in St. Louis, taking on Boston University tonight and either Holy Cross or Notre Dame on Sunday. The Badgers have been hit as hard as any team with offseason losses. Senior center Sean Dolan has become the team's leader almost by default, as last spring's chosen captains turned pro. Expect Wisconsin to have plenty of newcomers in the lineup this season.

Colorado College will open the season against Rensselaer (RPI), and the Tigers also have to fill some voids left not by early departure as much as by graduation. Their freshman class does include WCHA preseason rookie of the year Jaden Schwartz.

Off the beats, you can also read conference previews by INCH, USCHO and This is the WCHA.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the Minnesota State women's hockey team will begin its season tonight at Mankato's All Seasons Arena against Niagara. The Mavericks are young and are led by a junior defenseman whose surname is quite familiar to followers of women's hockey in southern Minnesota.

If you made it this far on the post, be sure to check back later today for PucKato's live blog coverage of tonight's MSU-St. Lawrence game.

Rink wars

The WCHA preseason coaches conference call took place on Tuesday, and while much of the discussion centered around the league's two newest teams, Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha (no Penn State/Big Ten questions, please!), conference officials were obsessed with talking about the league's new rinks.

Not only will Bemidji be moving into a new arena to kick off its first year in the WCHA (see pictures from last night's season-ticket holder event here) but Minnesota Duluth will be moving into the new Amsoil Arena on Dec. 30. Omaha coach Dean Blais told the call that UNO soon will be announcing a new on-campus arena that the Red Mavs will move into in three years, while St. Cloud State is in the midst of a major overhaul ($31 million) to the National Hockey Center.

Bemidji's building sounds nice: 4,200 seats, 25 suites, 250 club seats. Duluth's building will have 6,732 seats and 16 suites. Blais said the new UNO arena will have between 7,200 and 8,000 seats.

Minnesota State is beginning its 12th season in the WCHA, but the Mavericks will be playing in the eighth-oldest building in the league (once UMD moves out of the DECC). Here's a look at all of the teams and when their arenas were built:

Bemidji State, Bemidji Regional Events Center, 2010
Minnesota Duluth, Amsoil Arena, 2010
Nebraska-Omaha, Qwest Center, 2003
North Dakota, Ralph Engelstad Arena, 2001
Denver, Magness Arena, 2000
Wisconsin, Kohl Center, 1998
Colorado College, World Arena, 1997
Minnesota State, Verizon Wireless Center, 1995
Minnesota, Mariucci Arena, 1993 (suites added in 2001)
St. Cloud State, National Hockey Center, 1989 (renovation planned)
Alaska-Anchorage, Sullivan Arena, 1983
Michigan Tech, MacInnis Student Ice Center, 1972 (recent renovations, including suites in 2009)

The Verizon Wireless Center seats about 4,800 and can fit more than 5,000 with standing room tickets. It has, I believe, 10 suites. Mankato has made a few upgrades to its arena recently, updating the scoreboards and the press area. There are been plans to get new seats (purple, perhaps) in the future, and there has long been talk of putting in a club room for years. The Mavericks themselves have also made nice upgrades to their locker room area over the last few years.

Attempts to get state funding for arena upgrades have been shot down several times in recent years, despite the fact that taxpayer money is helping fund the new rinks in Bemidji and Duluth, as well as the upgrades in St. Cloud. No state funding as gone into the Verizon Wireless Center, just local taxes.