Freddy's three thought of the game ...
1. Good goalie problem: You can read more about this in my gamer (link below), but any thoughts of the Mavericks having a set No. 1 goalie after Connor LaCouvee's two wins last weekend at home against Michigan Tech can be tempered. Jason Pawloski got the start on Friday and recorded his second shutout of the season (his first came in the second game at Boston University). It looked like it was going to be an easy night for him after one period. MSU led 1-0 and he saw just four shots on goal. But the second period turned his way, and he was up to the task, stopping 12 shots and helping the Mavericks kill three penalties. In all, he stopped 26 shots. The Mavericks had 27 shots on goal.
2. Killing time: Minnesota State was called for six penalties, and coach Mike Hastings has talked since that BU series. of trying to be better about going to the box. The bad news is that the Mavericks are still taking penalties; the good news is they're still doing a good job of killing them off. Said Hastings: "Gotta find a way to not to go to the box five or more times, but the guys are doing the job that way and it’s making the difference in games." Twelve of Northern Michigan's shots came during the power play.
3. Forwards, Line 4: Defenseman Ian Scheid got the scoring started for the Mavericks, and Brad McClure scored the third goal. The second, an important insurance marker, came at 8:09 of the third period, and it came from the fourth line. Max Coatta scored it, getting an assist from Jared Spooner. Nick Rivera is the other forward in that group, which was good from the opening faceoff tonight. The trio had six of MSU's shots and played with speed an energy — especially after power plays and penalty kills — that Northern Michigan didn't seem to have the depth to match.
Read my game story here.
Around the WCHA: Lake Superior State 3, Alaska Anchorage 2 (OT) ... Bowling Green 2, Michigan Tech 1 ... Ferris State 3, Michigan 2 (OT) ... Arizona State 3, Alabama Huntsville 2 ... Alaska 4, Bemidji State 3 (OT)
Friday, November 3, 2017
Live: Minnesota State at Northern Michigan
Minnesota State and Northern Michigan will square off at 6:07 p.m. Follow along with the action on the live chat below the lines:
MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Suess, 10-Knutson
16-Lutz, 26-French, 9-Gerard
6-Tuomie, 5-Jaremko, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 11-Spooner, 12-Coatta
8-Brickley, 3-McNeely
2-Mackey, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 24-Hookenson
39-Pawloski
37-LaCouvee
Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Duehr, Gerads*, Nelson, Schwalbe, Vanko*, Zmolek
* = also on trip
NORTHERN MICHIGAN
29-Payne, 24-Diamantoni, 37-Craighead
9-Loggins, 11-Rockwood, 23-Slattery
13-Voltin, 18-Nardi, 8-Pierce
12-Heikkila, 21-Paskaruk, 15-Schroer
40-Klimek, 27-Roeder
2-Vermeulen, 25-Beaulieu
44-Black, 6-Yarmeko
41-Tolvanen
32-Israelsson
MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Suess, 10-Knutson
16-Lutz, 26-French, 9-Gerard
6-Tuomie, 5-Jaremko, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 11-Spooner, 12-Coatta
8-Brickley, 3-McNeely
2-Mackey, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 24-Hookenson
39-Pawloski
37-LaCouvee
Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Duehr, Gerads*, Nelson, Schwalbe, Vanko*, Zmolek
* = also on trip
NORTHERN MICHIGAN
29-Payne, 24-Diamantoni, 37-Craighead
9-Loggins, 11-Rockwood, 23-Slattery
13-Voltin, 18-Nardi, 8-Pierce
12-Heikkila, 21-Paskaruk, 15-Schroer
40-Klimek, 27-Roeder
2-Vermeulen, 25-Beaulieu
44-Black, 6-Yarmeko
41-Tolvanen
32-Israelsson
Friday Morning Skate
Good morning from the road to Marquette ...
No. 9 Minnesota State is in the U.P. to take on Northern Michigan in a WCHA series. Through seven games, the Mavericks appear to be back to their ways of dominating puck possession, outshooting teams by an average of 10 shots per game. Much of that starts on the defensive end. Flying under the radar in the D-corps a bit is Clint Lewis, who had a solid junior season and is off to a good start as a senior. Lewis had 15 points and was +11 last season. He has two assists and is +3 this year.
Read more about the Mavericks' series with the Wildcats in The Free Press' College Hockey Gameday.
As for NMU, the Wildcats were off last weekend and have been preparing for a tough home matchup against MSU.
Going around the WCHA ...
Ferris State at Michigan: This is the second game of a two-game series. On Thursday, the Wolverines pounded the Bulldogs 7-2.
Alaska Anchorage at Lake Superior State: These two teams have one win between them, and that was the Lakers' win over Northern Michigan on Oct. 6. Something's got to give.
Bowling Green at Michigan Tech: This should be a good series in Houghton between Minnesota State's last two opponents. The Huskies are glad to be back home after the road trip to Mankato.
Bemidji State at Alaska: This will be the first long road trip for the Beavers, who have played just one game away from Bemidji so far. It will the first WCHA series in Fairbanks this season.
Alabama Huntsville at Arizona State: These will be the final two games of an eight-game road swing to start the season for the one-win Chargers.
No. 9 Minnesota State is in the U.P. to take on Northern Michigan in a WCHA series. Through seven games, the Mavericks appear to be back to their ways of dominating puck possession, outshooting teams by an average of 10 shots per game. Much of that starts on the defensive end. Flying under the radar in the D-corps a bit is Clint Lewis, who had a solid junior season and is off to a good start as a senior. Lewis had 15 points and was +11 last season. He has two assists and is +3 this year.
Read more about the Mavericks' series with the Wildcats in The Free Press' College Hockey Gameday.
As for NMU, the Wildcats were off last weekend and have been preparing for a tough home matchup against MSU.
Going around the WCHA ...
Ferris State at Michigan: This is the second game of a two-game series. On Thursday, the Wolverines pounded the Bulldogs 7-2.
Alaska Anchorage at Lake Superior State: These two teams have one win between them, and that was the Lakers' win over Northern Michigan on Oct. 6. Something's got to give.
Bowling Green at Michigan Tech: This should be a good series in Houghton between Minnesota State's last two opponents. The Huskies are glad to be back home after the road trip to Mankato.
Bemidji State at Alaska: This will be the first long road trip for the Beavers, who have played just one game away from Bemidji so far. It will the first WCHA series in Fairbanks this season.
Alabama Huntsville at Arizona State: These will be the final two games of an eight-game road swing to start the season for the one-win Chargers.
Monday, October 30, 2017
Knutson, Lewis receive WCHA honors
For their play in Minnesota State's series sweep over Michigan Tech, seniors Zeb Knutson and Clint Lewis received WCHA player of the week awards.
Knutson, a forward, scored five points (two goals, three assists) in the two games to earn the Offensive Player of the Week award. He leads MSU with 11 points and five goals and is tied for tops in assists with six. He has two of the team's game-winners, too. He has a point in each of MSU's last six games.
Lewis, a defenseman, was name Defensive Player of the Week. He had two assists, two blocked shots and was plus-3 in the series.
Knutson, a forward, scored five points (two goals, three assists) in the two games to earn the Offensive Player of the Week award. He leads MSU with 11 points and five goals and is tied for tops in assists with six. He has two of the team's game-winners, too. He has a point in each of MSU's last six games.
Lewis, a defenseman, was name Defensive Player of the Week. He had two assists, two blocked shots and was plus-3 in the series.
Mavericks move up to No. 9
Minnesota State moved up to No. 9 in the latest U.S. College Hockey Online rankings following its sweep of Michigan Tech this weekend in Mankato. The Mavericks were ranked No. 12 going into the series. Here's the poll:
UPDATE: The Mavericks are also No. 9 in the latest USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings, moving up from No. 14.
USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll Minneapolis, Minn./October 30, 2017 Team (First Place) Record Pts Last Week 1 Denver (42) 4- 0-2 991 1 2 St. Cloud State ( 8) 5- 0-0 952 2 3 Harvard 1- 0-0 900 3 4 North Dakota 5- 2-1 775 4 5 Minnesota 5- 3-0 759 7 6 Providence 5- 2-0 689 11 7 Wisconsin 6- 3-0 654 5 8 Minnesota Duluth 4- 2-2 621 10 9 Minnesota State 5- 2-0 605 12 10 Notre Dame 4- 3-1 515 8 11 Quinnipiac 3- 1-1 459 13 12 Boston University 3- 4-1 436 6 13 Clarkson 4- 3-1 422 9 13 New Hampshire 5- 1-1 422 14 15 Northeastern 4- 2-1 268 20 16 Ohio State 5- 1-2 220 NR 17 Penn State 4- 4-0 194 15 18 Cornell 2- 0-0 133 NR 19 Air Force 5- 2-1 108 18 20 Michigan Tech 4- 4-1 95 16 Others receiving votes: Michigan 77, Omaha 52, Bemidji State 50, Colorado College 47, UMass Lowell 34, Northern Michigan 12, Boston College 5, Colgate 2, Miami 2, Brown 1.
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Mavericks 5, Huskies 3
Freddy's three thoughts of the game:
1. Everybody gets a penalty! What a crazy third period. I've seen games with more penalties called, but the stretch of about 8 1/2 minutes in the third period when eight separate minor penalties (seven in a span of about 6 1/2 minutes) was insane. How the Mavericks managed to get through that with two 5-on-3 power-play goals was somewhat impressive. Daniel Brickley broke a 3-3 tie with a low, laser shot at 16:07, and C.J. Suess put one in at the doorstep at 17:04. Zeb Knutson assisted on both goals. Suess and Knutson each had a three-point game.
2. Important sweep: Coach Hastings preaches protecting home ice, and the Mavericks did that after losing their home opener against St. Cloud State three weeks earlier. They came from behind to get Saturday's win with three unanswered goals. "Early in the season, a point can cost you at the end of the season," Suess said. "It was important to get the sweep and not a tie or a loss." Hastings also opted to go with Connor LaCouvee in goal in back-to-back games for the first time this season. He stopped 16 of 19 shots Saturday.
3. Freshmen impress: Reggie Lutz had a goal and an assist, and Connor Mackey scored the game-tying goal. Both rookies looked the part against good competition. Jack McNeely, who had the big blocked shot on Friday, also had an assist, and Jared Spooner was plus-1. In the end, the veterans came through with the big power-play goals, but the freshmen are making key contributions early in the season. Lutz said he didn't play much late due to all of the special teams action. "I'm not on the power play or penalty kill, so I just had to stay with it, stay positive on the bench and stay vocal on the bench."
Read my gamer here.
Around the WCHA: Bemidji State 3, Ferris State 0 ... Alaska 2, Bowling Green 2 (Alaska wins in shootout) ... Cornell 3, Alabama Huntsville 0 ... Michigan State 6, Lake Superior State 0
1. Everybody gets a penalty! What a crazy third period. I've seen games with more penalties called, but the stretch of about 8 1/2 minutes in the third period when eight separate minor penalties (seven in a span of about 6 1/2 minutes) was insane. How the Mavericks managed to get through that with two 5-on-3 power-play goals was somewhat impressive. Daniel Brickley broke a 3-3 tie with a low, laser shot at 16:07, and C.J. Suess put one in at the doorstep at 17:04. Zeb Knutson assisted on both goals. Suess and Knutson each had a three-point game.
2. Important sweep: Coach Hastings preaches protecting home ice, and the Mavericks did that after losing their home opener against St. Cloud State three weeks earlier. They came from behind to get Saturday's win with three unanswered goals. "Early in the season, a point can cost you at the end of the season," Suess said. "It was important to get the sweep and not a tie or a loss." Hastings also opted to go with Connor LaCouvee in goal in back-to-back games for the first time this season. He stopped 16 of 19 shots Saturday.
3. Freshmen impress: Reggie Lutz had a goal and an assist, and Connor Mackey scored the game-tying goal. Both rookies looked the part against good competition. Jack McNeely, who had the big blocked shot on Friday, also had an assist, and Jared Spooner was plus-1. In the end, the veterans came through with the big power-play goals, but the freshmen are making key contributions early in the season. Lutz said he didn't play much late due to all of the special teams action. "I'm not on the power play or penalty kill, so I just had to stay with it, stay positive on the bench and stay vocal on the bench."
Read my gamer here.
Around the WCHA: Bemidji State 3, Ferris State 0 ... Alaska 2, Bowling Green 2 (Alaska wins in shootout) ... Cornell 3, Alabama Huntsville 0 ... Michigan State 6, Lake Superior State 0
Minnesota State vs. Michigan Tech
The Mavericks will go for the sweep tonight against the Huskies. Follow along on the live blog below tonight's lines. No changes for the Mavericks, but the Huskies have done some shuffling.
MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Suess, 10-Knutson
6-Tuomie, 26-French, 9-Gerard
23-Rivera, 5-Jaremko, 19-McClure
16-Lutz, 11-Spooner, 12-Coatta
8-Brickley, 3-McNeely
2-Mackey, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 24-Hookenson
37-LaCouvee
39-Pawloski
29-Nelson
Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Duehr, Gerads, Schwalbe, Vanko, Zmolek
MICHIGAN TECH
MINNESOTA STATE
20-Michaelis, 15-Suess, 10-Knutson
6-Tuomie, 26-French, 9-Gerard
23-Rivera, 5-Jaremko, 19-McClure
16-Lutz, 11-Spooner, 12-Coatta
8-Brickley, 3-McNeely
2-Mackey, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 24-Hookenson
37-LaCouvee
39-Pawloski
29-Nelson
Scratches: Bigelbach, Cooper, Duehr, Gerads, Schwalbe, Vanko, Zmolek
MICHIGAN TECH
28-Baltus, 15-Lucchini, 9-Gillies
23-Brice, 8-Steman, 17-Misiak
10-Jackson, 18-Reitmeier, 11-L'Esperance
14-Gould, 20-Smith, 13-Beretta
7-Ford, 27-Meek
2-Donohue, 5-Reinke
12-Auk, 4-Birks
30-Munson
31-Kero
7-Ford, 27-Meek
2-Donohue, 5-Reinke
12-Auk, 4-Birks
30-Munson
31-Kero
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)