Minnesota State will be back in action at home on Friday when it begins a series against Northern Michigan.
That's Northern Michigan, which comes in on a nine-game unbeaten streak. Northern Michigan, with goaltender Atte Tolvanen, who has shutouts in his last five games (including a 48-save performance against Alaska on Saturday), which has tied an NCAA men's record.
In total, his shutout streak has gone 335 minutes, 39 seconds, which ranks second in NCAA men's history. He has made 207 saves over that span.
The Wildcats were in last place in the WCHA standings at one point but are now tied for sixth. Less than three weeks until the league playoffs begin, it's fair to say that no one wants to face them. But Minnesota State, trying lock down third place and maybe slide into second, will have the task of breaking Northern's and Tolvanen's stress this weekend.
Here's what teams have left in the WCHA season (in order of standings, points in parenthesis):
1. Bemidji State (61)* — bye ... vs. Minnesota State
2. Michigan Tech (51) — bye ... at/vs. Northern Michigan
3. Minnesota State (42) — vs. Northern Michigan ... at Bemidji State
4. Bowling Green (38) — bye ... vs. Alabama Huntsville
5. Ferris State (32) — vs. Alaska Anchorage ... at Lake Superior State
6. Lake Superior State (31) — at Alaska ... vs. Ferris State
Northern Michigan (31) — at Minnesota State ... vs./at Michigan Tech
8. Alaska (30) — vs. Lake Superior State ... at Alaska Anchorage
Alabama Huntsville (30) — bye ... at Bowling Green
10. Alaska Anchorage (26) — at Ferris State ... vs. Alaska Anchorage
* MacNaughton Cup champion
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Friday, February 10, 2017
Beavers win MacNaughton Cup
The Bemidji State men’s hockey team won the MacNaughton Cup as the WCHA’s regular-season champion on Friday night, defeating Alabama Huntsville 3-2.
It’s the first WCHA title for the Beavers.
Nate Arentz had a goal and an assist for Bemidji State. Gerry Fitzgerald and Jay Dickman had the other goals. Dickman’s goal at 6:00 of the third period gave the Beavers a 3-0 lead and stood as the game-winner, as the Chargers scored goals 38 seconds apart later in the period to make the game close. The Beavers outshot the Chargers 25-19. Michael Bitzer got the 17-save win.
Bemidji State (19-11-3, 19-4-2 in WCHA) won the title with three games remaining in its regular season and with several teams chasing them with games in hand.
In other WCHA action on Friday night, Ferris State defeated Michgan Tech 3-2, Northern Michigan blanked Alaska 3-0, and Alaska Anchorage beat Lake Superior State 3-2. Minnesota State is idle this weekend.
It’s the first WCHA title for the Beavers.
Nate Arentz had a goal and an assist for Bemidji State. Gerry Fitzgerald and Jay Dickman had the other goals. Dickman’s goal at 6:00 of the third period gave the Beavers a 3-0 lead and stood as the game-winner, as the Chargers scored goals 38 seconds apart later in the period to make the game close. The Beavers outshot the Chargers 25-19. Michael Bitzer got the 17-save win.
Bemidji State (19-11-3, 19-4-2 in WCHA) won the title with three games remaining in its regular season and with several teams chasing them with games in hand.
In other WCHA action on Friday night, Ferris State defeated Michgan Tech 3-2, Northern Michigan blanked Alaska 3-0, and Alaska Anchorage beat Lake Superior State 3-2. Minnesota State is idle this weekend.
Friday Morning Skate
The Mavericks are idle this weekend, although they played against some mites and squirts from Mankato Area Hockey Association on Thursday afternoon (see photo). They likely will be doing some scoreboard watching, however, as eight other WCHA teams are in action against each other tonight and tomorrow (and one other has a single nonconference game on Saturday).
Bemidji State is at Alabama Huntsville where it has a chance to clinch the MacNaughton Cup as the league's regular-season champion for the first time. The Beavers have to win one game against the Chargers, who are trying to maintain at least their eighth-place spot in the standings and avoid falling to a non-playoff position. They have a two-point cushion currently, but the teams below them have two games in hand.
Michigan Tech hosts Ferris State on the annual Winter Carnival weekend. The Huskies all but lost their chance to defend the MacNaughton Cup (shared with MSU) when they were swept at Bemidji, but they don't want that to define their season. Meanwhile, with six games remaining in the season, Ferris State hopes to give itself a chance at home ice for the playoffs. The Bulldogs are nine points behind Bowling Green, which only has two league games remaining.
Alaska is at Northern Michigan, and the Nanooks are in a slightly better position than Ferris. They are eight games out of fourth and also have four games in hand on BG. The Wildcats are in ninth place and trying to crawl out of the WCHA cellar. They've been doing a fantastic job of late, as they're on a seven-game unbeaten streak, one that includes three straight shutouts by goalie Atte Tolvanen.
Alaska Anchorage plays at Lake Superior State where it, too, is trying to get out of the basement. The Seawolves are 10th in the league following their home split against MSU and will spend the next two weekends in Michigan (they're at Ferris State next week). They have yet to win a game outside of Alaska this season. The Lakers hope to do what Ferris and Alaska are trying to do. They're tied with the Bulldogs and also have a full slate of six games left.
Bowling Green will not play another league game until it closes out the regular season with a home series against UAH so it will definitely be doing some scoreboard watching. On Saturday, the Falcons will host Mercyhurst in a celebration of its arena's 50th year. The festivities for the nonconference game include the return of some prominent alumni, but also famed hockey announcer Mike "Doc" Emrick, who will do radio with Evan Pivnick. Emrick basically started his radio career in Bowling Green received his doctorate from BGSU in 1976.
Read more about Emrick in this week's USCHO column and more about Northern Michigan's surge from College Hockey News.
Closer to home, Gustavus' Hill Crew will host a Teddy Bear Toss benefit during Saturday night's men's game against Bethel. Fans who bring a new stuffed animal to the rink will receive free admission to the game, which will benefit Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare and Partners for Affordable Housing in Mankato. After the Gusties score their first goal, fans will throw the toys on the ice where they will be collected and donated to the two Mankato organizations.
The WCHA announced its scholar-athletes for this season, and 21 MSU men's and women's players (10 men, 11 women) made the list.
The New York Times has had some good college hockey articles this season. Recently, it profiled Bemidji State's Fitzgerald triplets, and this week, it looked at former Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves' transition to Division III St. Olaf.
ICYMI: Scroll down on the blog to read my update on Minnesota State's recruits for next season.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Recruits shine in USHL
With Minnesota State idle this week and the stretch run starting next week (two more weeks in the regular season followed by up to three weeks of conference playoffs), I thought this would be a good time to check in on the team's recruits for next year.
It's a pretty impressive class.
The group of nine players already signed with the Mavericks includes the United States Hockey League's top goaltender and top-scoring defenseman, as well as three forwards who rank among in that league's top 25 scorers.
Goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks might be the most intriguing prospect (especially considering MSU's up-and-down goalie situation this season). The Sioux City Musketeers goalie is 21-5-4 in 32 games, ranking second in the USHL in wins. He leads the league with a .937 save percentage and 1.77 goals-against average.
Defenseman Connor Mackey has 33 points in 40 games for the Green Bay Gamblers. He's the USHL's No. 1-scoring defenseman and No. 13 overall. His 33 assists rank third in the league.
Mackey's teammate, Jared Spooner, ranks 10th in USHL scoring with 34 points in 36 games. He has 14 goals.
The Chicago Steel have three MSU forwrd recruits, and they play together on the team's "Mankato Line." Reggie Lutz is 10th in the USHL in goals with 33 and 11th in points with 33, playing 39 games. Jake Jaremko has 30 points in 39 games, which ranks 21st in scoring. His 21 assists rank 11th. Walker Duehr has 27 points, including 12 goals, in 36 games, which ranks 30th in the league.
Forward Dallas Gerads of the Dubuque Fighting Saints has 24 points, including eight goals, in 38 games.
Back on defense, Riese Zmolek of the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders has 10 points in 26 games, and Jack McNeely of the Muskegon Lumberjacks has five points in 35 games.
The group of nine players already signed with the Mavericks includes the United States Hockey League's top goaltender and top-scoring defenseman, as well as three forwards who rank among in that league's top 25 scorers.
Goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks might be the most intriguing prospect (especially considering MSU's up-and-down goalie situation this season). The Sioux City Musketeers goalie is 21-5-4 in 32 games, ranking second in the USHL in wins. He leads the league with a .937 save percentage and 1.77 goals-against average.
Defenseman Connor Mackey has 33 points in 40 games for the Green Bay Gamblers. He's the USHL's No. 1-scoring defenseman and No. 13 overall. His 33 assists rank third in the league.
Mackey's teammate, Jared Spooner, ranks 10th in USHL scoring with 34 points in 36 games. He has 14 goals.
The Chicago Steel have three MSU forwrd recruits, and they play together on the team's "Mankato Line." Reggie Lutz is 10th in the USHL in goals with 33 and 11th in points with 33, playing 39 games. Jake Jaremko has 30 points in 39 games, which ranks 21st in scoring. His 21 assists rank 11th. Walker Duehr has 27 points, including 12 goals, in 36 games, which ranks 30th in the league.
Forward Dallas Gerads of the Dubuque Fighting Saints has 24 points, including eight goals, in 38 games.
Back on defense, Riese Zmolek of the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders has 10 points in 26 games, and Jack McNeely of the Muskegon Lumberjacks has five points in 35 games.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Mavericks 5, Seawolves 0
Minnesota State bounced back on Saturday night, defeating Alaska Anchorage 4-0 for a WCHA series split.
Junior forward Zeb Knutson scored two goals for the Mavericks.
Aaron Nelson got the start in goal after sitting out the last three games and faced just 13 shots for the shutout, his second of the season. The Mavericks put 27 shots on goal.
Michael Huntebrinker finished with a goal and two assists. Brad McClure and C.J. Franklin scored MSU’s other goals.
The Mavericks got off to a strong start, something they hadn’t done in their previous four games, and scored two goals.
Knutson got things started at 6:45, getting assists from Huntebrinker and Zach Stepan. McClure made it 2-0 at 15:34 on assists from Marc Michaelis and Ian Scheid.
Knutson extended the lead to three goals at 11:33 of the second period with Huntebrinker assisting.
Anchorage, desperate to get on the board, pulled goalie Olivier Mantha during a power play with 7:20 remaining in the game. However, Franklin scored a short-handed goal into the empty net to all but ice the MSU win.
Junior forward Zeb Knutson scored two goals for the Mavericks.
Aaron Nelson got the start in goal after sitting out the last three games and faced just 13 shots for the shutout, his second of the season. The Mavericks put 27 shots on goal.
Michael Huntebrinker finished with a goal and two assists. Brad McClure and C.J. Franklin scored MSU’s other goals.
The Mavericks got off to a strong start, something they hadn’t done in their previous four games, and scored two goals.
Knutson got things started at 6:45, getting assists from Huntebrinker and Zach Stepan. McClure made it 2-0 at 15:34 on assists from Marc Michaelis and Ian Scheid.
Knutson extended the lead to three goals at 11:33 of the second period with Huntebrinker assisting.
Anchorage, desperate to get on the board, pulled goalie Olivier Mantha during a power play with 7:20 remaining in the game. However, Franklin scored a short-handed goal into the empty net to all but ice the MSU win.
Max Coatta and Sean Flanagan had assists. Huntebrinker added a power-play goal from Carter Fought and Clint Lewis with 2:22 to play.
The victory firmed up Minnesota State’s third-place position in the WCHA standings. The Mavericks (16-10-4, 12-8-4 in WCHA) are four points ahead of Bowling Green, which was swept at home by Northern Michigan over the weekend, and have two games in hand on the Falcons. They are six points behind Michigan Tech, which was swept in a series at first-place Bemidji State.
The victory firmed up Minnesota State’s third-place position in the WCHA standings. The Mavericks (16-10-4, 12-8-4 in WCHA) are four points ahead of Bowling Green, which was swept at home by Northern Michigan over the weekend, and have two games in hand on the Falcons. They are six points behind Michigan Tech, which was swept in a series at first-place Bemidji State.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Seawolves 4, Mavericks 3
There was no third-period comeback for the Minnesota State men’s hockey team on Friday night in Anchorage.
The Mavericks fell to Alaska Anchorage 4-3 in their WCHA series opener, losing to the Seawolves for the first time in seven games.
Minnesota State outshot Anchorage 43-17 but couldn’t solve goaltender Olivier Mantha for much of the game.
The Seawolves led 2-0 until 31 seconds remained in the second period. Daniel Brickley finally got MSU on the board with help from C.J. Franklin.
That wasn’t enough to spark a big final period as they had in four of their last five games.
Midway through the third, the Seawolves got the Mavericks chasing in their defensive zone, and Mason Mitchell finished off a tic-tac-toe play for a 3-1 lead.
Fifty seconds later, MSU’s Sean Flanagan got the goal right back. Ian Scheid assisted, but the Mavericks were still playing from behind.
With two minutes remaining in the third period and an offensive faceoff coming up, coach Mike Hastings called timeout and pulled goalie Cole Huggins (13 saves) for an extra attacker. The Mavericks got a scoring chance, but couldn’t get it to goal. Quickly, Anchorage’s Tad Kozen cleared the puck from deep in his own end, putting it right down the middle of the ice and into the empty net for the 4-2 lead.
Minnesota State made another push with a power play and an extra attacker but didn’t score until Marc Michaelis’ goal with 6.9 remaining.
The goal was the team-leading 32nd point of the season for Michaelis, a freshman forward. Brickley assisted on the goal for a two-point game.
With the loss, the third-place Mavericks (15-10-4, 11-8-4) failed to pick up ground on second-place Michigan Tech, which lost at Bemidji State, or create space from Bowling Green, which lost at home to Northern Michigan.
The Mavericks fell to Alaska Anchorage 4-3 in their WCHA series opener, losing to the Seawolves for the first time in seven games.
Minnesota State outshot Anchorage 43-17 but couldn’t solve goaltender Olivier Mantha for much of the game.
The Seawolves led 2-0 until 31 seconds remained in the second period. Daniel Brickley finally got MSU on the board with help from C.J. Franklin.
That wasn’t enough to spark a big final period as they had in four of their last five games.
Midway through the third, the Seawolves got the Mavericks chasing in their defensive zone, and Mason Mitchell finished off a tic-tac-toe play for a 3-1 lead.
Fifty seconds later, MSU’s Sean Flanagan got the goal right back. Ian Scheid assisted, but the Mavericks were still playing from behind.
With two minutes remaining in the third period and an offensive faceoff coming up, coach Mike Hastings called timeout and pulled goalie Cole Huggins (13 saves) for an extra attacker. The Mavericks got a scoring chance, but couldn’t get it to goal. Quickly, Anchorage’s Tad Kozen cleared the puck from deep in his own end, putting it right down the middle of the ice and into the empty net for the 4-2 lead.
Minnesota State made another push with a power play and an extra attacker but didn’t score until Marc Michaelis’ goal with 6.9 remaining.
The goal was the team-leading 32nd point of the season for Michaelis, a freshman forward. Brickley assisted on the goal for a two-point game.
With the loss, the third-place Mavericks (15-10-4, 11-8-4) failed to pick up ground on second-place Michigan Tech, which lost at Bemidji State, or create space from Bowling Green, which lost at home to Northern Michigan.
Friday, February 3, 2017
Friday Morning Skate
Minnesota State has gone "North to Alaska" to take on the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves tonight and Saturday. The Mavericks hope to get out to good starts in the road games, but, lately, they have found themselves trailing after two periods and have had to find a way to get wins or ties. "Just find a way," seems to be MSU's motto.
The matchup features the WCHA's highest scoring team, MSU, vs. the league's lowest-scoring team, UAA. For more on the series, check out the Free Press' College Hockey Gameday feature.
Prior to getting swept at Northern Michigan last week, the Seawolves were 4-4-5 with two extra-point wins following a rough, 1-10-0 start to the year.
Going around the WCHA:
The big matchup of the weekend will take place in Bemidji where first-place Bemidji State is trying to hold off surging Michigan Tech. Beavers freshman defenseman Zach Whitecloud is a First Nations member from Manitoba but has an appreciation for Bemidji's Native American culture. The Huskies, meanwhile, enter the weekend fully aware that every league point counts.
Bowling Green, which trails Minnesota State by a point, will host Northern Michigan. The Falcons sound a lot like MSU when talking about their season in that they have been inconsistent. The Wildcats are coming off a sweep of Anchorage but are still in a tie for ninth place as they try to get into playoff position.
Five points separate fifth through eighth place in the WCHA, and two of those teams, seventh-place Alaska and eighth-place Alabama Huntsville will square off in Fairbanks. Not only are they trying to improve their own playoff position but they're trying to avoid falling into a spot that eliminates them from the postseason.
For more on the WCHA, read this week's USCHO column.
The big news around college hockey on Thursday was the death of Jeff Sauer, the former Wisconsin (and Colorado College coach). He was quite the figure in the sport, touching a lot of people — even those, like me, who only had a handful of dealings with him. There were several fitting tributes to "The Dean," as he was known around the WCHA, yesterday. His work after coaching the Badgers has been notable, coaching the U.S. sled hockey team in international competition, for example. But he also worked with the WCHA as an associate commissioner, watching men's and women's games and evaluating referees. The WCHA's statement about Sauer can be found here.
The matchup features the WCHA's highest scoring team, MSU, vs. the league's lowest-scoring team, UAA. For more on the series, check out the Free Press' College Hockey Gameday feature.
Prior to getting swept at Northern Michigan last week, the Seawolves were 4-4-5 with two extra-point wins following a rough, 1-10-0 start to the year.
Going around the WCHA:
The big matchup of the weekend will take place in Bemidji where first-place Bemidji State is trying to hold off surging Michigan Tech. Beavers freshman defenseman Zach Whitecloud is a First Nations member from Manitoba but has an appreciation for Bemidji's Native American culture. The Huskies, meanwhile, enter the weekend fully aware that every league point counts.
Bowling Green, which trails Minnesota State by a point, will host Northern Michigan. The Falcons sound a lot like MSU when talking about their season in that they have been inconsistent. The Wildcats are coming off a sweep of Anchorage but are still in a tie for ninth place as they try to get into playoff position.
Five points separate fifth through eighth place in the WCHA, and two of those teams, seventh-place Alaska and eighth-place Alabama Huntsville will square off in Fairbanks. Not only are they trying to improve their own playoff position but they're trying to avoid falling into a spot that eliminates them from the postseason.
For more on the WCHA, read this week's USCHO column.
The big news around college hockey on Thursday was the death of Jeff Sauer, the former Wisconsin (and Colorado College coach). He was quite the figure in the sport, touching a lot of people — even those, like me, who only had a handful of dealings with him. There were several fitting tributes to "The Dean," as he was known around the WCHA, yesterday. His work after coaching the Badgers has been notable, coaching the U.S. sled hockey team in international competition, for example. But he also worked with the WCHA as an associate commissioner, watching men's and women's games and evaluating referees. The WCHA's statement about Sauer can be found here.
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