Be sure to check back around 6:40 p.m. for tonight's live blog. Lines are posted below. Both teams have made goalie changes. Phil Cook will start in goal for the Mavs.
MINNESOTA STATE
23-Dorr 21-Sackrison 25-Hayes
15-Burkemper 29-Zuck 14-Jokinen
20-Grant 12-Galiardi 11-Leivermann
24-Mueller 26-Schiller 9-Louwerse
28-Boe 22-Davis
16-Elbrecht 5-Youds
3-Cooper 17-Mosey
30-Cook
1-Lee
35-Karambelas
Scratches: Heath, Leivermann, McInnis, Nelson, Peterson
MINNESOTA DULUTH
22-M.Connolly 12-J.Connolly 37-Fontaine
7-Schmidt 11-Oleksuk 23-Brown
19-Tardy 15-Hendrickson 18-Basaraba
27-Grun 14-Flaherty 17-Seidel
28-Bergman 24-Montgomery
25-Faulk 5-Palm
8-Olson 26-Huttel
31-Crandall
35-Reiter
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
MSU 3, Minnesota Duluth 1
Freddy's three thoughts of the game:
1. Special team: The Mavericks scored on their first two power plays (goals by Eriah Hayes and Channing Boe) and killed off four of their own penalties against a highly skilled power play team. Those ended up being the difference in the game. All of the game's goals were scored in the first period. Following Hayes' and Boe's goals, the two teams added a one even-strength goal apiece. Duluth's Mike Connolly made it 2-1 with his 20th goal of the season (second in the WCHA), and late in the period, Mankato native Corey Leivermann put back the puck after Chase Grant hit a post during a rush.
2. Hold on tight! Minnesota State hung on for dear life in the third period, getting outshot 28-5 and killing off a pair of back-to-back penalties. Goalie Austin Lee stopped everything in the frame, although few of the shots seemed to be high-quality, and finished with 40 saves. Lee has allowed just four goals in the last three game. He was aided by a defense that kept the Bulldogs to the outside and blocked nine shots in the final period. Tyler Elbrect showed some guts by going the ice several times to disrupt plays and one time appeared to block a shot with his face!
3. What does it mean? The Mavericks are in a tie with St. Cloud State for ninth place in the WCHA standings with 20 points (the same number they finished with last year), three points out of sixth place. They're two points behind eighth-place Alaska-Anchorage, which beat Nebraska-Omaha 3-2 last night. MSU and UAA each have three games remaining, while everyone else in the league has five left. There were some interesting results around the league last night. Besides MSU's and UAA's wins, Colorado College and Bemidji State tied 5-5, St. Cloud State and North Dakota tied 3-3, Minnesota defeated Wisconsin 5-2 and Michigan Tech snapped its 26-game winless streak by winning at Denver!
Read the box score here. See a Free Press photo gallery from the game here. Read more from Bulldogs beat writer Kevin Pates here.
MSU vs. Duluth - Game 1 live blog
Lines can be found below the Cover It Live box ...
MINNESOTA STATE
23-Dorr 21-Sackrison 25-Hayes
15-Burkemper 29-Zuck 14-Jokinen
20-Grant 12-Galiardi 11-Leivermann
24-Mueller 26-Schiller 9-Louwerse
28-Boe 22-Davis
16-Elbrecht 5-Youds
3-Cooper 17-Mosey
1-Lee
30-Cook
35-Karambelas
Scratches: Heath, Leivermann, McInnis, Nelson, Peterson
MINNESOTA DULUTH
22-M.Connolly 12-J.Connolly 37-Fontaine
7-Schmidt 11-Oleksuk 23-Brown
10-DeLisle 14-Flaherty 17-Seidel
27-Grun 15-Hendrickson 18-Basaraba
28-Bergman 24-Montgomery
25-Faulk 5-Palm
8-Olson 26-Huttel
35-Reiter
31-Crandall
Referees: Pete Friesma, Tom Sterns. Linesmen: Tony Czech, Dan Dineen
MINNESOTA STATE
23-Dorr 21-Sackrison 25-Hayes
15-Burkemper 29-Zuck 14-Jokinen
20-Grant 12-Galiardi 11-Leivermann
24-Mueller 26-Schiller 9-Louwerse
28-Boe 22-Davis
16-Elbrecht 5-Youds
3-Cooper 17-Mosey
1-Lee
30-Cook
35-Karambelas
Scratches: Heath, Leivermann, McInnis, Nelson, Peterson
MINNESOTA DULUTH
22-M.Connolly 12-J.Connolly 37-Fontaine
7-Schmidt 11-Oleksuk 23-Brown
10-DeLisle 14-Flaherty 17-Seidel
27-Grun 15-Hendrickson 18-Basaraba
28-Bergman 24-Montgomery
25-Faulk 5-Palm
8-Olson 26-Huttel
35-Reiter
31-Crandall
Referees: Pete Friesma, Tom Sterns. Linesmen: Tony Czech, Dan Dineen
Friday morning skate
It's nice to be home in Mankato for the duration of the regular season. Will I still be here for the playoffs? The Magic 8-Ball says, "Outlook not so good." MSU has just four games remaining (they're idle next weekend), while everyone else in the WCHA, except Alaska-Anchorage, has six.
As for this weekend, fifth-ranked Minnesota Duluth is in town. The Mavericks have a six-game winless streak against the Bulldogs, who are powered by the lawfirm of Connolly, Connolly & Fontaine. That line is great, especially on the power play, but MSU's penalty kill (now second in the WCHA in league play) and penchant for taking penalties (second-fewest PIMs in league play!) have improved greatly over the course of the season. Read more about the Mavs' penalty kill here.
Based on practice this week, it looks like Minnesota State is healthier than they were last week at Colorado College. Rylan Galiardi is "day to day," coach Troy Jutting said, but was on the purple line in practice. So was Chase Grant. Check out The Free Press' gameday preview here.
As for goaltending, Jutting wouldn't name a starter. I have a hunch the coach will continue to ride the hot hand of Austin Lee, at least for tonight. Read my column on the Mavs' goaltending situation here.
For UMD, the Duluth News Tribune has a preview here, including a note that defenseman Brady Lamb will miss the series with an upper-body injury. With Lamb out and the mid-season departure of first-round draft pick Dylan Olsen, senior Chad Huttel will get to play for just the sixth time this season.
You can read more of Kevin Pates' outstanding coverage all weekend right here.
Going around the rest of the WCHA ...
Minnesota at Wisconsin: It's the battle of the Big Ten (and, yes, more and more is getting written about that) but the WCHA seedings are on the line in this one and both the Gophers and Badgers try to get home ice for the playoffs. The Gophers broke out of a slump last Saturday and got a big performance from Finland's Eric Haula. ... For the Badgers, freshman Tyler Barnes is realizing that he has to start shooting more. Madison.com also had an article this week about the early departures Wisconsin and Minnesota have faced in recent years.
North Dakota at St. Cloud State: The Sioux have already clinched home ice and have their sights set on the McNaughton Cup. North Dakota does a lot of things well, and you can add faceoffs to the list. Read more from the Grand Forks Herald here. ... As for the Huskies, the St. Cloud Times has a feature on junior Jared Festler, who ranks second on the team in goals.
Nebraska-Omaha at Alaska-Anchorage: Coming off of a weekend sweep of Wisconsin, Omaha is hoping to keep its momentum going at the always-tough Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. No WCHA team has swept the Seawolves in their home barn this season. ... As for Anchorage, which is also in the hunt for home ice, there's a call out to make the Sully even tougher for visiting teams.
Colorado College at Bemidji State: The Tigers moved into sixth place in the WCHA standings with its split against MSU last weekend, and they hope to stay there with fab freshman Jade Schwartz expected to be back in the lineup tonight. More notes from The Gazette here. ... For the Beavers, they're hoping to turn around their luck in their new home rink, where they're just 4-7-1.
Michigan Tech at Denver: The Huskies are trying to find little victories in what's become a disaster of a season. While their overall losing streak was stopped at 18 games last weekend, their winless streak still increased to 26 games. ... Meanwhile, the Pioneers can clinch home ice with at least one point tonight.
Here are some weekend previews from INCH and USCHO, and check out the weekend picks on Gophers beat writer Roman Augustoviz's blog. It's always entertaining when an old college-hockey scribe, Chris Miller, chimes in.
Get a sneak peak at Charter's "College Hockey Weekend" pregame show:
As for this weekend, fifth-ranked Minnesota Duluth is in town. The Mavericks have a six-game winless streak against the Bulldogs, who are powered by the lawfirm of Connolly, Connolly & Fontaine. That line is great, especially on the power play, but MSU's penalty kill (now second in the WCHA in league play) and penchant for taking penalties (second-fewest PIMs in league play!) have improved greatly over the course of the season. Read more about the Mavs' penalty kill here.
Based on practice this week, it looks like Minnesota State is healthier than they were last week at Colorado College. Rylan Galiardi is "day to day," coach Troy Jutting said, but was on the purple line in practice. So was Chase Grant. Check out The Free Press' gameday preview here.
As for goaltending, Jutting wouldn't name a starter. I have a hunch the coach will continue to ride the hot hand of Austin Lee, at least for tonight. Read my column on the Mavs' goaltending situation here.
For UMD, the Duluth News Tribune has a preview here, including a note that defenseman Brady Lamb will miss the series with an upper-body injury. With Lamb out and the mid-season departure of first-round draft pick Dylan Olsen, senior Chad Huttel will get to play for just the sixth time this season.
You can read more of Kevin Pates' outstanding coverage all weekend right here.
Going around the rest of the WCHA ...
Minnesota at Wisconsin: It's the battle of the Big Ten (and, yes, more and more is getting written about that) but the WCHA seedings are on the line in this one and both the Gophers and Badgers try to get home ice for the playoffs. The Gophers broke out of a slump last Saturday and got a big performance from Finland's Eric Haula. ... For the Badgers, freshman Tyler Barnes is realizing that he has to start shooting more. Madison.com also had an article this week about the early departures Wisconsin and Minnesota have faced in recent years.
North Dakota at St. Cloud State: The Sioux have already clinched home ice and have their sights set on the McNaughton Cup. North Dakota does a lot of things well, and you can add faceoffs to the list. Read more from the Grand Forks Herald here. ... As for the Huskies, the St. Cloud Times has a feature on junior Jared Festler, who ranks second on the team in goals.
Nebraska-Omaha at Alaska-Anchorage: Coming off of a weekend sweep of Wisconsin, Omaha is hoping to keep its momentum going at the always-tough Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. No WCHA team has swept the Seawolves in their home barn this season. ... As for Anchorage, which is also in the hunt for home ice, there's a call out to make the Sully even tougher for visiting teams.
Colorado College at Bemidji State: The Tigers moved into sixth place in the WCHA standings with its split against MSU last weekend, and they hope to stay there with fab freshman Jade Schwartz expected to be back in the lineup tonight. More notes from The Gazette here. ... For the Beavers, they're hoping to turn around their luck in their new home rink, where they're just 4-7-1.
Michigan Tech at Denver: The Huskies are trying to find little victories in what's become a disaster of a season. While their overall losing streak was stopped at 18 games last weekend, their winless streak still increased to 26 games. ... Meanwhile, the Pioneers can clinch home ice with at least one point tonight.
Here are some weekend previews from INCH and USCHO, and check out the weekend picks on Gophers beat writer Roman Augustoviz's blog. It's always entertaining when an old college-hockey scribe, Chris Miller, chimes in.
Get a sneak peak at Charter's "College Hockey Weekend" pregame show:
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
It's Duluth week
The Mavericks are back home and will host fifth-ranked Minnesota Duluth on Friday and Saturday. Here are a few things to know about what's ahead ...
• Student ticket distribution will take place at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Taylor Center Hall of Champions. That's where the 1,100 free student tix get handed out to students with valid, current Mavcards. After those are gone, I believe students can buy tickets for $7, which is still a pretty good deal.
• You know those Saturday-night jerseys (above)? Well, those are replicas of the ones MSU wore in 1990-91 when the Mavs went to the Division II national title game and was the runner-up. On Saturday, Minnesota State will pay tribute to that team, which went 23-7-6 and had three All-Americans -- goalie Glen Prodahl, defenseman Derek Cooper and forward Bill Rooney.
• Staying on the subject of old Mavs, Chad Brownlee, hockey player-turned-Canadian country music star, is slated to be in town Saturday to sing the National Anthem. Brownlee's current single, "Day After You," ranks 16th on the Canadian Country Music charts.
• Lots of good info about the Bulldogs on Duluth News-Tribune writer Kevin Pates' blog, Rink and Run.
• Read some of MSU's pre-series notes here.
• Student ticket distribution will take place at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Taylor Center Hall of Champions. That's where the 1,100 free student tix get handed out to students with valid, current Mavcards. After those are gone, I believe students can buy tickets for $7, which is still a pretty good deal.
• You know those Saturday-night jerseys (above)? Well, those are replicas of the ones MSU wore in 1990-91 when the Mavs went to the Division II national title game and was the runner-up. On Saturday, Minnesota State will pay tribute to that team, which went 23-7-6 and had three All-Americans -- goalie Glen Prodahl, defenseman Derek Cooper and forward Bill Rooney.
• Staying on the subject of old Mavs, Chad Brownlee, hockey player-turned-Canadian country music star, is slated to be in town Saturday to sing the National Anthem. Brownlee's current single, "Day After You," ranks 16th on the Canadian Country Music charts.
• Lots of good info about the Bulldogs on Duluth News-Tribune writer Kevin Pates' blog, Rink and Run.
• Read some of MSU's pre-series notes here.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Colorado College 2, Minnesota State 1
Freddy's three thoughts of the game:
1. Splitsville: The Mavericks had a chance to get their first road sweep of the season but came up just a goal short (sound familiar?). The loss makes the chance of getting home ice pretty tough, but they still look like they could be a dangerous road team once the playoffs begin next month. They are 2-3-1 in their last six games away from Mankato. All three losses -- 3-2 and 2-1 at Wisconsin, 2-1 at CC -- were of the one-goal ilk. As for home ice, the Mavs are now in 10th place, four points behind the sixth-place Tigers. Minnesota, Anchorage and St. Cloud State sit in between. "We've still got eight points out there," Jutting said, referring to MSU's final two regular-season series. "I don't think it's over by any means, and I like the way we're playing."
2. Hello? Forwards? For the second time in four games, MSU's forwards failed to register a point. Defenseman Channing Boe scored the Mavs' lone goal on the power play in the first period, getting assists from Kurt Davis and Evan Mosey. Forwards Rylan Galiardi (back) and Chase Grant (illness) were out of the lineup, forcing the Mavericks to mix up their lineup quite a bit and shorten their bench. Justin Jokinen had several chances to tie the game after Tyler Johnson's game-winner with 9:20 to play in the third period. A prime opportunity by Jokinen went off the post with 6:14 to play. "We're all trying to work hard and get the job done the best we can, especially when the bench is short," Jokinen said.
3. Strong goaltending: Saturday's game was a battle between a pair of backup goalies. CC freshman Josh Thorimbert got the win, making 32 saves, while MSU's Austin Lee, who won Friday's game, stopped 28 shots in the loss. Lee had a solid, solid weekend, stopping 49 of 52 shots, and must be giving Jutting something to think about for the stretch run. If nothing else, the Mavericks have two pretty capable goaltenders. The goals Lee allowed on Saturday included a re-direct of a blue-line shot and a slot shot from outstanding senior winger Tyler Johnson, who now has 17 goals this season, off a perfect pass from behind the net.
Read the box score here.
1. Splitsville: The Mavericks had a chance to get their first road sweep of the season but came up just a goal short (sound familiar?). The loss makes the chance of getting home ice pretty tough, but they still look like they could be a dangerous road team once the playoffs begin next month. They are 2-3-1 in their last six games away from Mankato. All three losses -- 3-2 and 2-1 at Wisconsin, 2-1 at CC -- were of the one-goal ilk. As for home ice, the Mavs are now in 10th place, four points behind the sixth-place Tigers. Minnesota, Anchorage and St. Cloud State sit in between. "We've still got eight points out there," Jutting said, referring to MSU's final two regular-season series. "I don't think it's over by any means, and I like the way we're playing."
2. Hello? Forwards? For the second time in four games, MSU's forwards failed to register a point. Defenseman Channing Boe scored the Mavs' lone goal on the power play in the first period, getting assists from Kurt Davis and Evan Mosey. Forwards Rylan Galiardi (back) and Chase Grant (illness) were out of the lineup, forcing the Mavericks to mix up their lineup quite a bit and shorten their bench. Justin Jokinen had several chances to tie the game after Tyler Johnson's game-winner with 9:20 to play in the third period. A prime opportunity by Jokinen went off the post with 6:14 to play. "We're all trying to work hard and get the job done the best we can, especially when the bench is short," Jokinen said.
3. Strong goaltending: Saturday's game was a battle between a pair of backup goalies. CC freshman Josh Thorimbert got the win, making 32 saves, while MSU's Austin Lee, who won Friday's game, stopped 28 shots in the loss. Lee had a solid, solid weekend, stopping 49 of 52 shots, and must be giving Jutting something to think about for the stretch run. If nothing else, the Mavericks have two pretty capable goaltenders. The goals Lee allowed on Saturday included a re-direct of a blue-line shot and a slot shot from outstanding senior winger Tyler Johnson, who now has 17 goals this season, off a perfect pass from behind the net.
Read the box score here.
Minn. State vs. Colorado College - Game 2 live blog
Lines are posted below the Cover It Live box. ... Austin Lee gets the start in goal again. Rylan Galiardi is out with an injury, and Chase Grant remains out with an illness. ... CC will start freshman Josh Thorimbert in net.
MINNESOTA STATE
23- Dorr 21-Sackrison 25-Hayes
15-Burkemper 29-Zuck 14-Jokinen
2-Nelson 19-Lehrke 11-Leivermann
24-Mueller 26-Schiller 9-Louwerse
28-Boe 22-Davis
16-Elbrecht 5-Youds
3-Cooper 17-Mosey
1-Lee
30-Cook
Scratches: Galiardi, Grant, Heath, McInnis, Peterson
COLORADO COLLEGE
19-Morin 22-Dineen 17-Johnson
9-Eveland 12-Skalbeck 23-Hall
14-Schultz 5-Winkler 27-Rapuzzi
16-Krushelnyski 11-Civitarese 21-Collett
24-Lowery 7-McDermott
10-Guentzel 4-Marciano
28-Boivin 2-Bidwill
39-Thorimbert
31-Howe
1-O'Brien
MINNESOTA STATE
23- Dorr 21-Sackrison 25-Hayes
15-Burkemper 29-Zuck 14-Jokinen
2-Nelson 19-Lehrke 11-Leivermann
24-Mueller 26-Schiller 9-Louwerse
28-Boe 22-Davis
16-Elbrecht 5-Youds
3-Cooper 17-Mosey
1-Lee
30-Cook
Scratches: Galiardi, Grant, Heath, McInnis, Peterson
COLORADO COLLEGE
19-Morin 22-Dineen 17-Johnson
9-Eveland 12-Skalbeck 23-Hall
14-Schultz 5-Winkler 27-Rapuzzi
16-Krushelnyski 11-Civitarese 21-Collett
24-Lowery 7-McDermott
10-Guentzel 4-Marciano
28-Boivin 2-Bidwill
39-Thorimbert
31-Howe
1-O'Brien
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)