LaFontaine named player of the week

Minnesota State freshman forward Jean-Paul LaFontaine was named WCHA rookie player of the week on Tuesday for his performance in last weekend's series split at No. 16 Michigan Tech. LaFontaine scored two goals and assisted on the game-winner during Saturday's 6-3 MSU win.

LaFontaine leads the Mavericks in scoring with five goals and two assists.

Other WCHA players of the week were Colorado College senior forward Nick Dineen, who had six points in the Tigers' split at Nebraska-Omaha, and Minnesota Duluth goalie Kenny Reiter, who 59 saves in a win and tie at Denver.

Highlights from MSU's win

Mavericks 6, Huskies 3

The Mavericks finally found some goal scoring — and got a win.

Jean-Paul Lafontaine (pictured) scored two goals and had an assist, and Matt Leitner also had two goals, including the game-winner, in a 6-3 WCHA victory at No. 16 Michigan Tech.

This was a must-win for MSU, as it broke a six-game losing streak. The Mavericks also handed Tech its first loss at home this season (the Huskies started 6-0-1 in Houghton).

Mavericks rookie defenseman Mat Knoll also had a goal, as did senior forward Michael Dorr. Zach Palmquist finished the game with three assists. You can see the box score here.

Lafontaine looks like a real keeper. He leads MSU in scoring with five goals and two assists.

"He's playing really well," coach Troy Jutting said in a phone interview tonight. "He had two goals tonight and hit a post and hit a post last night. He's around the puck a lot."

Lafontaine has seven points this year. Leitner and Zach Palmquist each has five. Good freshman group.

Meanwhile, Austin Lee finished with 42 saves and had 82 for a weekend that included a 1-0 loss on Friday. He has a .931 save percentage and a 2.81 goals-against average currently.

Perhaps most importantly, the beat-up Mavericks got through the weekend without an injury.

"Part of it, too, is we played with the same team two nights in a row," Jutting said. "There's something to be said for that. We could get in a little rhythm."

Huskies 1, Mavericks 0

Minnesota State goaltender Austin Lee stopped 40 of 41 shots Friday night, but the one crazy goal he allowed ended up being the difference in a 1-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association loss to No. 16 Michigan Tech.

The Huskies’ Ryan Furne scored on a seemingly innocent dump-in from center ice during a first-period power play. But the puck took a funny bounce in front of Lee and slipped in under the goalie’s glove.

The loss was the sixth in a row for Minnesota State (1-6-0, 0-3-0 in WCHA).

Michigan Tech (6-2-1, 4-2-1), which is undefeated at its home MacInnis Student Ice Arena, outshot MSU 41-29. Senior goaltender Josh Robinson made 29 saves for the shutout victory.

It was the first time the Mavericks have been shut out this season. However, they are averaging just 1.29 goals per game.

The Mavericks were 0 for 6 on the power play and are now just 2 for 38 on the year. Michigan Tech was 1 for 3 with the man advantage.

The two teams will wrap up the series at 6:07 p.m. Saturday.

Your questions, my answers

Quite a few questions, mostly about the same subject. But let's get to them ...

From Sam: How much do you think playing in an inferior WCHA (in terms of big name schools and programs) is going to kill MSU recruiting? That's my biggest worry, outside of even more lackluster fan support. I follow Chris Heisenberg's recruiting page and have noticed the Mavs haven't received any verbal commitments in what seems like quite awhile. Could just be a coincidence.

Sam, there's no question that recruiting will get tougher — maybe even a little more cutthroat, too — in a couple of years. However, I think the jury's out on this. One reason is that the players MSU is getting now aren't necessarily being recruited by the North Dakotas, the Denvers and the Colorado Colleges or the top Big Ten schools. While I think MSU's sales pitch has to be a little different in the "new" WCHA, I think they're still going to go after the same type of player they're going after now. The coaches do a pretty good job identifying smart, good-skating, hard-nosed players who play with a lot of energy. The hope is that they also find a way to sneak in an under-the-radar blue-chipper. That may get harder, but it's not that easy in the team's current situation, either.

As far as verbals go, the Mavericks have a pretty full class (six/seven) committed for next year already, especially considering the size of this year's freshman class (seven). I see no reason to be concerned that they don't have a bunch of kids committed for '13 yet. Sometimes when teams stockpile for years down the road mistakes get made.

From Sam: Staying on the subject of recruiting, what are the chances a guy like Teddy Bluegar (2012 or '13 recruit) reconsiders his options with the new leagues forming right around the time he'll be starting his college career?

Sam (again), I don't know if players are going to change their minds. I suppose it would depend on their reason for choosing a school like MSU to continue their hockey careers. Do they like the coaches? The style of play? The school? The campus? The proximity to the Twin Cities and NHL scouts? The opportunity to play significant minutes right away (in the case of a potential star)? None of that changes. If they picked MSU just to be in the WCHA (in its current form) then maybe they'd have some reservations.

From Todd: Who does the scheduling for the WCHA? Don't they have to check with schools about potential conflicts at the school, such as basketball or wrestling? It seems strange that all but one conference game for both basketball and men's hockey takes place on the same night, making it impossible to go to both. So much for loyalty from the league that MSU has given to them.

Todd, I don't know exactly how this works, but I would guess the schedules aren't made in concert very often. It's too bad and not just for the fans. Even from a manpower standpoint, MSU's athletics can't like this situation (it's going to be tough for The Free Press, too!). But considering that MSU, St. Cloud, Bemidji and Duluth are all in the same leagues right now for both sports that they might have tried to  find some flexibility to switch around dates or even times for games. Even the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota move around games to accomodate the other sports (the Badgers share a building, while the Gophers have all of their facilities in the same general location). The Gophers already have played a Sunday game, I believe.

From Jeff Williams: I'm with Sam. I wonder about the quality of recruits. Also if we ever decide not to renew Jutts contract what kind of coaching prospects can we hope for?

Jutting has another year left on his contract after this one; let's not get ahead of ourselves. I could be very wrong, but I still think, once healthy, that this year's team has a chance to surprise some teams. I said that at the beginning of the year. But to answer your question, there are just 58 Division I men's hockey teams in the country. Almost all of them would be an attractive jobs to any coach.

From Hockey Girl: Why does it seem like the current administration doesn't care about hockey? With it being the only sport operating in the black, you would think they could put more resources to making sure it can compete with the 'big' schools and maybe tried harder to get into the future NCHC instead of settling for the 'new' WCHA. St. Cloud and Duluth, both DII schools, have had success in DI hockey. What are they doing differently than MSU and what can MSU learn from them?

I wouldn't say that the administration doesn't care about hockey, although I certainly understand the criticism. There does seem to be a different philosophy at MSU when it comes to hockey than there is at St. Cloud State and Duluth. Now, I don't know if hockey is the only sport at MSU that operates in the black. In fact, I can't imagine that basketball is in the red — fewer players, scholarships, their own facility, etc. I'm not even sure if hockey is making big money. The last time I checked it was close to being self-sustaining as well as pay for women's hockey scholarships. As for trying to get into the NCHC, MSU wasn't invited; they were on the outside looking in. In my opinion, the breakaway teams wanted a higher profile in order to be on par with the Big 10, and they weren't going to do that by inviting Mankato, Bemidji, Michigan Tech and Anchorage to their party. I am still firmly of the belief that St. Cloud would still be right with MSU had Notre Dame been in the new league from the beginning. I'm not so sure Duluth is invited without their brand-new building and their national title.

From BIGhkyfan: so, is Huntsville coming back? New donors came forward


BIG, I saw that story, too, but I'm wondering if it's too little, too late. Apparently donors say they can fund the program for three more years. But what happens after three years? Also, Huntsville is still without a conference, which is just a killer in college hockey. I hope they can find a way to make something work down there, but they have to get support from the school as well as in the rest of the college-hockey community. And, given all of the dealings in this past offseason, who’s going to come to  rush to UAH’s aid? It’s every program for itself right now, it seems.

From TMAVS18: On the topic of recruiting can we get updates or interviews with our current commits? Do you know any possible kids the Mavericks are looking at for 2013? Thanks.

TMAVS, I don’t have time to do that update in this post, but I’ll plan on doing an update on the recruits very soon. The early signing period begins next Wednesday (Nov. 9), so that would be a good time for an updatee, maybe interviews, too. Once the players’ letters of intent are in, coaches can talk about them, too, so there will be some fodder for some stories. One teaser: Forward recruit Dylan Margonari of Youngstown was named USHL offensive player of the week last week

Thanks for your questions everyone. We’ll do it again real soon.

Friday-morning skate

The Mavericks are back in action today after a much-needed weekend off to nurse their bumps, bruises and other ailments. They'll be healthier when they play No. 16 Michigan Tech tonight and Saturday but not completely.

Forwards Michael Dorr and Eriah Hayes will be back in the lineup, giving MSU a full lineup of forwards (but still no extras). But with only five healthy defensemen, senior center Joe Schiller is going back on the blue line, a position he's been in before.

While forwards Max Gaede and J.P. Burkemper practiced this week, neither has been cleared to play yet. Defenseman Danny Heath put on his skates on Wednesday and hopes to be ready soon. Meanwhile, Chase Grant, Tyler Elbrecht and Brett Stern have not returned to the rink.

With veterans Dorr and Hayes back, the Mavericks have some depth up front. Interestingly, their top-scoring line is made up of two freshmen and a sophomore — Jean-Paul Lafontaine (3-1—4), Matt Leitner (0-3—3) and Johnny McInnes (1-1—2). Rookie defenseman Zach Palmquist (2-0—0) is the only other player besides Lafontaine with multiple goals.

As for Michigan Tech, the Huskies are off to a surprising start and unbeaten at home. Two of their players earned WCHA player-of-the-week honors this week. They are also getting a great start from freshman and Iowa native defenseman Nick Cecere. Led by some veteran players, new coach Mel Pearson noted when he took the job over the summer that the cupboard wasn't bare in Houghton.

Time to go around the WCHA ...

North Dakota at Minnesota: With the Gophers back in the Top 5, much is being made out of this series, including the claim that it's the best rivalry in college hockey. It's been fueled by the fact the UND has several players from Gopher territory. Of course, with the changes coming to college hockey, it might not be the same in a couple of years. Meanwhile, Minnesota has the nation's top scorer in sophomore Erik Haula, and North Dakota is going to have to wait a year for the highly touted Colten St. Clair, who is not eligible to play this season.

Colorado College at Nebraska-Omaha: CC might be the nation's second-ranked team, but the Tigers aren't looking past the unranked red Mavericks, who are 3-1 in WCHA play. Meanwhile, Omaha is fired up to play one of the nation's — and the conference's — top teams.

Wisconsin at St. Cloud State: The Badgers are off to a rocky star with a young team, and in no place is that more apparent than in their penalty kill, which has allowed 11 goals already, including six last weekend. For the Huskies, freshman defenseman Andrew Prochno is off to a fast start. Could his secret be whiffle ball?

Minnesota Duluth at Denver: The Duluth News-Tribune has a good feature on Bulldogs goalie Kenny Reiter, who holds some UMD records at the position and is continuing a family tradition between the pipes. Meanwhile, it's been a long time since the Pioneers have been unstable in goal, but there's no sure thing there right now.

Bemidji State at Lake Superior State: The Beavers will take on a future WCHA team in the Lakers. But this year's Lake Superior team is one of the nation's real surprise teams at 7-1-0 (check out my column on the success of future WCHA teams here).

Check back later for blog updates, including tonight's MSU lines and the answers to the season's first You Want Answers?!?! post.

I'm not in Houghton but will try to post some game updates on Twitter tonight as I get them. If you're in need of a football fix or some live blogging of any kind, I'll be covering the Mankato West section championship football game. You can follow that live blog here.

You want answers?!?!?

This is long overdue: It's time for your favorite PucKato segment: You. Want. Answers?!?!?

You know the drill: Ask a question in the comments section below, and I'll answer them. Questions can be but are not limited to Minnesota State hockey.

You have two days to ask questions, and I'll answer them on Friday afternoon sometime.

Unfortunately, I will not be traveling to Houghton, Mich., this weekend since, like the Mavs, the Freep is a little short-handed back in Mankato. I'll be covering a few other things but will try to keep a close eye on MSU's series against Michigan Tech.

So ... ask away!