Friday Morning Skate

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Hey there hockey fans ... Depressed about seeing no end to the NHL lockout? ... Well have no fear, college hockey is here!

Once again, all 12 WCHA teams are in action against each other this weekend, including right here in Mankato with Minnesota State hosting Alaska Anchorage. The Mavericks will try to make it five, maybe six, wins in a row as they play another of their fellow left-behind teams.

While the Mavericks' success has been largely due to the play of their high-end veterans, like Matt Leitner, Eriah Hayes and Jean-Paul LaFontaine, the freshmen are certainly making an impact now, most notably goaltender Stephon Williams (pictured). Also, Dylan Margonari is on a five-game scoring streak, while World Juniors-bound Teddy Blueger is coming off probably his best game as a college player.

For more on the series, see The Free Press' gameday preview here.

As for the Seawolves, they scored their first WCHA victory last Saturday, but MSU coach Mike Hastings isn't taking them lightly, noting that they've taken at least one point in every series they've played so far. However, Anchorage also has a pretty thin roster right now.

If you haven't read it yet, here is my column on the WCHA's hands being tied a bit when it comes to promoting its future new-look league while the upstart NCHC touts its future teams. Appropriate considering Minnesota State and Alaska Anchorage are playing each other this weekend.

Going around the rest of the WCHA ...

Bemidji State at Minnesota Duluth: The Beavers are coming off a forgettable series (for them) in Mankato and are back at "ground zero" says senior defenseman Jake Areshenko. For the Bullodgs, they're showing improvement after a tough start, and their freshmen are starting to come through.

Denver at North Dakota: The WCHA's two best teams over the last 10 years (and the ringleaders for the NCHC's formation) will square off at The Ralph. This must be the week college hockey writers like me, Duluth's Kevin Pates and Grand Forks' Brad Schlossman are scrambling for ideas and heading for the freshmen, as Schloss takes a look at UND's Drake Caggiula. The Pioneers, meanwhile, are coming off a one-point home weekend against Wisconsin and are on a four-game winless skid.

Nebraska Omaha at St. Cloud State: The red Mavericks were 7-0 in November before losing at Minnesota last Saturday (Dec. 1) and would like to keep it rolling. For the Huskies, they're beginning a stretch of 10 straight home games that goes through Jan. 19.

Minnesota at Colorado College: All right, Mike Russo, joining the trend and writing about freshmen, too! The Gophers have two rookies heading to the United States' World Junior Team camp later this month, but for now, their focus is on CC. In other Minnesota news, sophomore Nick Bjugstad, by the numbers, appears to be off to a surprisingly slow start. Not so, Bjugstad says. For the Tigers, they're 1-4-1 in their last six games, but don't blame the goalies.

Michigan Tech at Wisconsin: The Huskies are coming off a tough, even bitter and certainly frustrating, nonconference loss to rival Northern Michigan on Tuesday night and now head to Madison for a key series for both teams. For the Badgers, who bounced back from their two losses to MSU with a win and a tie at Denver last week, the concern isn't just winning games but putting butts in the Kohl Center seats.

More WCHA coverage from USCHO.

Be sure to check back later for more news and during the game tonight when I'll be live blogging during the game.

You want answers?!?! You got 'em

Sam said ...
First and foremost, I love this year’s squad. Perhaps the most talented collection of players MSU has ever assembled.
1) Can we expect Coach Hastings to stick with Stephon Williams in goal the rest of the way, barring a disaster? He’s clearly the most talented netminder on the team, and one of the most talented in all of the WCHA.
2) Any word on how the imminent decline of the WCHA is affecting the recruiting efforts of MSU? I’ve got to imagine sights are going to be shifted to lesser-known commodities in the junior circuit, sadly.
3) Do you anticipate Teddy Blueger will be a one and done, or will we be lucky enough to see him in a Mavs uniform for at least one more season?
4) Can you tell us anymore about the pro prospects of some of the other talented Mavs? Hayes is obviously going to get something, but what about the under-sized, yet gifted, duo of Leitner and Lafontaine? Are they destined for the overseas ranks like a Jack Connolly?
Keep it going MSU! No surprise to me that you’re starting to click!

Sam,

1) Whoa, there … I’m not ready to call Stephon Williams one of the most talented goalies in the WCHA just yet, but his numbers are impressive right now, and he’s been on a nice run. I’d sure expect Hastings to ride the guy while he’s hot. I think Troy Jutting recruited the kid to be a No. 1 goalie, so we’ll if he’s got that in him for the long haul.

2) I don’t know if it has or not. I think Hastings is approaching recruiting a little differently than the previous regime, and it looks (on paper, anyway) like he’s already landed some decent recruits who would be good fits no matter what the WCHA looks like in the next few years. Remember, even with the conference shakeup, only one team has been added to college hockey (Penn State), yet the talent pool remains the same.

3) I don’t think so. Blueger just turned 18 in August and still looks like he’s getting his feet wet. He’s had a solid start, but he’s certainly not dominating the game and looking like he’s ready to play for the Penguins next year. MSU is being patient with him, and, based on their reputation, I’m thinking Pittsburgh probably is, too.

4) Gotta love the way Hayes is playing right now, and I’m guessing scouts are taking notice. As for the other guys, I think they look like very good college hockey players, four-year guys (MSU hopes you can compare one or both to Jack Connolly!) who may or may not get a shot after they’re done.

Chris said ...
I am not from them there parts but have a few questions and observations. 
1. I have always been told that Minnesota is the U.S Mecca for hockey, why is the Arena never full?
- What can be done to fill the seats?
- Can you give away more tickets to students?
- Is it possible for someone to critique the arena’s “DJ”? The music could be a little fresher and have more energy. And could he stop playing “All By Myself” when our guys go to the box? 
2. Can someone tell the TV announcers to stop mentioning the words “shut out” while the game is still going? Do they know nothing about jinxes?

Chris,

Average attendance is up from last year, and I suspect that will continue to rise over the second half of the season, especially with Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota coming to town. I do, however, think more can be done to draw people in, and I think they’re working on that. Winning certainly will help. As for student tickets, they give 1,100 free ones away for each game and those usually get gobbled up. They also sell tickets to students at a discounted rate; they could probably do a better job of promoting that deal.

As for your “shutout” jinx, did the announcers talk about it on Friday night? Did Williams still get the shutout? Thought so. Jinx, schminx.

More honors for MSU players

For the second week in a row Minnesota State has two WCHA weekly award winners, and one of those again went to goalie Stephon Williams.

Williams

Williams was named WCHA Rookie of the Week for his play in the Mavericks' sweep of Bemidji State last weekend. He didn't see as much rubber as he did the week before at Wisconsin but still allowed just one goal against the Beavers (37 saves on 38 shots). The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Fairbanks, Alaska, has now won four consecutive games and is now 4-3-1 with a 1.92 GAA and a .923 SV%. By the way, Williams' shutout on Friday was the first by an MSU rookie in WCHA play since Dan Tormey did it twice in 2005-06.

Stern

Meanwhile, sophomore defenseman Brett Stern was named co-Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the BSU series. The 6-3, 185-pound Lino Lakes native was +4 in the series and was credited with seven hits. He also scored his first career goal and had an assist for a two-point game on Saturday.

Stern shared the award with Wisconsin goaltender Landon Peterson. Minnesota Duluth's Austin Farley was named Offensive Player of the Week. More on the WCHA awards here.

Blueger

In other MSU player news, it was announced that freshman center Teddy Blueger has been invited to participate in Latvia's pre-tournament camp for the upcoming. World Junior Championships. Blueger said on Tuesday that he will leave for the came immediately following MSU's series at Nebraska Omaha  on Dec. 14-15. Blueger, a Riga, Latvia, native who played for Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault the last few years, also played on last year's Latvian team at Worlds. The World Junior Championships. will take place Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Ufa, Russia. Read more about Blueger here. I'll have more about the MSU rookie in Thursday's Freep.

You Want Answers?!?!

It's been kind of quiet on the blog ... maybe too quiet ...

Well, we're just about two months into the season, and it seems like a good time for some Qs and As. That's right, the first and long overdue You Want Answers?!?! of the year

If you don't know the drill, here's how it goes: If you have a question about Minnesota State hockey, hockey in south-central Minnesota or anything else, really, put your question in the comment section of this blog post. Later in the week (Thursday, maybe Friday), I'll put up a post with the answers to your questions.

So, have at it. Ask away.

Movers and shakers

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Minnesota State's series sweep over Bemidji State put them into a tie for fifth place in the WCHA standings (although the teams they share that with, North Dakota and Colorado College, each have two games in hand). With 10 points, they're just two behind second-place Minnesota and St. Cloud State. Four straight wins will do that for you.

Sweeps aren't easy to come by. All 12 WCHA teams were in action against each other over the weekend, and Mavericks were the only team to win twice.

And before you pan the competition, remember that MSU hasn't strung together four consecutive wins in conference play since 2007-08 when it won seven in a row. The Mavericks finished in a tie for fourth place in the league that year and hosted a playoff series.

Matt Leitner is tied for fifth in the WCHA in points with 18 (Omaha's Ryan Walters leads the league with 20) and is tied with Walters for the assist lead with 14. Eriah Hayes is tied for fourth in goals with 8 (UMD's Mike Seidel and CC's Scott Winkler lead with 10). And Stephon Williams is second in the league in goals-against average with a 1.92 (Minnesota's Adam Wilcox leads with 1.61) and fourth in save percentage at .923 (Denver's Juho Olkinuora is tops at .934).

The Mavericks have just one win against a team with a winning record (Minnesota), but they don't have to apologize for the schedule. Don't forget that Wisconsin bounced back from losing twice to MSU and took three points at Denver this weekend, and earlier this season, Bemidji State won and tied at Omaha.

For more on the wins over the Beavers, including some notes on freshman Teddy Blueger's three-assist game on Saturday, check out my Monday review/notebook here.

Mavericks 6, Beavers 1

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Surprising Stern: Sophomore defenseman Brett Stern scored his first college goal at 5:59 of the first period to start the Mavericks' onslaught. It came at a key time, too, because Bemidji State had a fast start that included a Grade A scoring chance that rookie goalie Stephon Williams stopped about 2 minutes in. Stern finished off a scramble in front of goalie Mathieu Dugas that started with is initial shot on goal. At that point, the tide had turned, and it was all MSU after that. Stern finished with a goal and an assist, doubling his career point total.

2. Dominating defense: It was easy to forget about the Beavers' fast start by the time the first period ended. At that point, the Mavericks had outshot BSU 18-2, and that 2 remained on the board until late in the second period. Bemidji attempted just seven shots in each of the first two periods, and by the time Matt Leitner scored to make it 4-0 with 3 minutes remaining in the second period, MSU had as many goals as the Beavers had shots on goal. After some major penalties in the third period, the final shot total ended up 32-18 in favor of the Mavericks.

3. Blueger plays big: Freshman center Teddy Blueger assisted on three power-play goals and now has eight points on the year. He set up Johnny McInnis, Chase Grant and Josh Nelson for goals, getting the second power-play unit to come through for the first time in awhile. For Grant, it was his first goal since getting a hat trick in the Mavericks' season-opening game at Alabama-Huntsville on Oct. 12. McInnis scored for the first time since Nov. 3 against Minnesota. "It's huge to have two good (power-play) units that can score," Blueger said.

Deep thought: A bit more on Williams, who has been in net throughout the win streak. He shut out Wisconsin and Bemidji State for 152 minutes, 18 seconds before the Beavers scored on the power play with 7:53 left in the third period on Saturday. For the year, he now has a .923 save percentage and a 1.92 goals-against average.

Read the The Free Press game story here.

Around the WCHA: Minnesota Duluth 4, Michigan Tech 4 (OT) ... Minnesota 3, Nebraska Omaha 2 ... North Dakota 3, Colorado College 2 (OT) ... Wisconsin 3, Denver 1 ... St. Cloud State at Alaska Anchorage (late)

MSU vs. Bemidji State — Game 2 live blog

Lines can be found below the live chat ...

MINNESOTA STATE
26-Margonari      18-Leitner           19-Lehrke
24-Knowles        12-LaFontaine     25-Hayes
21-Grant              23-Blueger          22-McInnis
9-Gervais             29-Zuck               8-Gaede

16-Elbrecht          2-Nelson
7-Palmquist          4-Buchanan
27-Stern               28-Jutzi

35-Williams
30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Burkemper (inj.), Herndon, Knoll (inj.), Leivermann, Mosey, Thauwald

BEMIDJI STATE
9-Kinne              12-Jubinville         28-George
7-Orban              14-McLeod          16-Mattson
18-Illo                 13-Ward               4-Boehm
17-Robbins         29-Brewer            27-Cain

8-Areshenko       25-Wacker
22-Prapavessis    15-Windle
20-Rendle           3-Hansen

35-Dugas
30-Walsh

Referees: Tom Sterns, Chris Perrault. Linesmen: Matt Tyree, Rick Nelson