Mavericks still No. 1; three get WCHA honors

Three Minnesota State men's hockey players earned WCHA awards this week for their play in this weekend's sweep at Minnesota Duluth.

Jake Jaremko was named the league's forward of the week after a three-point weekend. He had an assist in Friday's 4-1 victory and two power-play goals in Saturday's 3-1 win.

Dryden McKay was named goaltender of the week after stopping 64 of 66 shots in the series. That included a career-high 37 saves on Saturday.

Nathan Smith was named rookie of the week after a three-point weekend. He scored a power-play goal on Friday and assisted on two goals Saturday.

The Mavericks (12-1-1), who are ranked No. 1 in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll for the fourth week in a row, will host Lake Superior State on Friday and Saturday.

Here is the latest USCHO poll:

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
Minneapolis, Minn./December 02, 2019

   Team             (First Place)    Record   Pts  Last Week
 1 Minnesota State           (44)   12- 1-1   994     1
 2 Cornell                   ( 6)    9- 0-0   947     2
 3 North Dakota                     12- 1-2   889     3
 4 Denver                            9- 3-2   826     4
 5 Clarkson                         10- 3-1   758     6
 6 Penn State                       11- 4-0   656     7
 7 Ohio State                        9- 4-1   620    11
 8 Northeastern                     10- 4-2   528    12
 9 Notre Dame                        8- 4-2   527     5
10 Boston College                    9- 4-0   522    14
11 Massachusetts                     9- 4-1   491    10
12 Harvard                           6- 1-0   488     9
13 Bowling Green                    10- 5-0   478    16
14 Minnesota Duluth                  7- 6-1   429     8
15 Providence                        8- 4-3   388    13
16 UMass Lowell                      9- 3-4   375    15
17 Western Michigan                  7- 5-2   200    17
18 Omaha                             6- 4-2   128    18
19 Wisconsin                         7- 8-1    41    19
20 Arizona State                     7- 4-1    39    NR

Others receiving votes: Maine 27, Quinnipiac 21, Northern
Michigan 20, Michigan State 19, Army 17, Sacred Heart 14,
Alaska 12, Bemidji State 12, Michigan Tech 10, Dartmouth 7,
RIT 7, New Hampshire 6, Robert Morris 3, Minnesota 1.

Mavericks 3, Bulldogs 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Special team: Minnesota State won a tough game on Saturday night to pull off the sweep of Minnesota Duluth in Amsoil Arena. Thanks to three power-play goals and an outstanding penalty kill that had to put in "some road miles," Mike Hastings said, they ground out the the win. Minnesota State killed nine minutes of penalties over the final 10:45 of the second period. That included Jared Spooner's five-minute major that was called after a video review. Kudos to veterans Josh French and Nick Rivera, along with defensemen Riese Zmolek, Connor Mackey, Jack McNeely and Edwin Hookenson, the latter of whom Hastings said had his best weekend of the year.

2. Don't forget the goalie: And then there was Dryden McKay, who stopped 37 of 38 shots, including all 16 he faced in that tough second period. McKay made some crazy back-door saves early in the second period and, really, was the difference between an MSU sweep and a series split. In each game of the Mavericks' current seven-game winning streak, he has not allowed more than one goal. The Mavericks have outscored teams 27-5 over that stretch.

3. Welcome back, Sowder: Freshman Lucas Sowder had such a good start to the season then hit a little bit of a rookie lull and was a scratch for a few games, including Friday night. He was back in the lineup on Saturday and ended up with a goal and an assist. He set up the first of Jake Jaremko's two goals in the first period, making a heady play by taking the rebound of a Reggie Lutz shot around the net and dishing to Jaremko in the left circle. In the third period, he was involved in a very similar play, only that time, he took the Lutz rebound and jammed in in for a 2-1 lead less than two minutes after UMD had tied the game.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Bemidji State 2, Lake Superior State 2 (LSSU wins the 3x3 OT) ... Bowling Green 5, Notre Dame 2 ... Northern Michigan 3, Alabama Huntsville 1 ... Ferris State 4, Alaska Anchorage 4 (UAA wins the shootout) ... Michigan Tech at Alaska (late)

Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth, Game 2

Here are tonight's lines for Game 2 between the No. 1 Mavericks and No. 8 Bulldogs. Couple of changes for Minnesota State, as Lucas Sowder and Chris Van Os-Shaw are in, and Walker Duehr and Julian Napravnik are out.

MINNESOTA STATE
6-Tuomie, 20-Michaelis, 9-Gerard
16-Lutz, 5-Jaremko, 8-Smith
22-Gerads, 11-Spooner, 21-Sowder
23-Rivera, 26-French, 14-Sandelin
19-Van Os-Shaw

2-Mackey, 3-McNeely
25-Zmolek, 18-Scheid
4-Carroll, 24-Hookenson

29-McKay
31-Berger

MINNESOTA DULUTH
21-N. Cates, 20-J. Cates, 10-Roth
17-Koepke, 19-Richards, 13-Laderoute
15-Olson, 18-Jacques, 16-Loheit
11-Bender, 26-Miller, 22-Puricelli
28-Meyer

4-Samberg, 7-Perunovich
3-Anderson, 6-Roehl
12-Hilderman, 27-Rosenbaum

32-Shepard
36-Patt
39-Fanti

Mavericks 4, Bulldogs 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. First line shines (again): The Run-TMG line (yes, I'm going with that) was really good at home a week ago against Alaska Anchorage, but would they be able to do it on the road against No. 8 Minnesota Duluth? They answer was yes. Parker Tuomie and Marc Michaelis each had a goal and an assist, and Charlie Gerard had an assist in Friday's win. The trio hooked up for the game's first goal at 4:30 of the second period. Tuomie scored from Michaelis on a power play goal that made it 2-0 at 9:39 of the frame. They had 11 shots on goal in all.

2. Happy homecoming: Ryan Sandelin said he caught himself looking over at his dad (UMD coach Scott Sandelin) a couple of times during the game and thinking about what he might be thinking. For the most part, though, he was into the game and assisted on a big goal — Josh French's that made it 3-0 at 14:13 of the second period. "It was different," he said about returning to the Duluth area to play as a visitor. "But it was a good experience. I'm glad we got the win. It was a tough start, but we found a way to play together the last 40 minutes. I hope that carries over to tomorrow."

3. McKay keeps going: Dryden McKay stopped 27 of 28 shots, allowing a power-play goal with 10:40 remaining in the game. He's allowed one or fewer goals in a game in each game of the Mavericks' six-game winning streak. He made 10 saves in the first period, including a point-blank stop on Quinn Olson on a low 2-on-0 after a bad turnover late in the first period. "When we made  mistakes, he's been there for us," coach Mike Hastings said.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Bowling Green 5, Notre Dame 2 ... Bemidji State 4, Lake Superior State 1 ... Alabama Huntsville 4, Northern Michigan 2 ... Ferris State at Alaska Anchorage (late) ... Michigan Tech at Alaska (late)

Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth

Here are tonight's lines for Game 1 between the No. 1 Mavericks and No. 8 Bulldogs:

MINNESOTA STATE
6-Tuomie, 20-Michaelis, 9-Gerard
16-Lutz, 5-Jaremko, 8-Smith
22-Gerads, 11-Spooner, 17-Duehr
23-Rivera, 26-French, 14-Sandelin
15-Napravnik

2-Mackey, 3-McNeely
25-Zmolek, 18-Scheid
4-Carroll, 24-Hookenson

29-McKay
31-Berger

MINNESOTA DULUTH
21-N. Cates, 20-J. Cate, 10-Roth
17-Koepke, 19-Richards, 13-Laderoute
15-Olson, 18-Jacques, 16-Loheit
11-Bender, 26-Miller, 22-Puricelli

5-Wolff, 7-Perunovich
4-Samberg, 6-Roehl
3-Anderson, 12-Hilderman
27-Rosenbaum

32-Shepard
36-Patt
39-Fanti

Friday Morning Skate

The No. 1 Mavericks are on the road for the holiday weekend, taking on No. 8 Minnesota Duluth in what should be a great matchup between two of the country's top teams.

This weekend marks the first clash of the Sandelins as MSU freshman Ryan has the chance to go up against his dad, UMD coach Scott. What better time than Thanksgiving for that to happen? There are other story lines, of course, which you can read about in the College Hockey Gameday.

This has been an interesting week for the Mavericks, who lost freshman goaltender Jaxson Stauber after he opted to return to junior hockey because he wanted to play games, something he wasn't doing behind Dryden McKay. The Mavericks got Stauber's future replacement with a commitment on Thanksgiving from Bismarck Bobcats goalie Andrew Miller, although that doesn't solve their short-term situation, if they want a third goalie for the rest of this season and next.

The Duluth News-Tribune also takes a look at the Sandelin matchup, as well as the relationship between the two coaches, Mike Hastings and Scott Sandelin. Like Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth has fought through some early season injuries, but also like MSU, UMD is getting healthier.

Going around the WCHA ...

Bowling Green at/vs. Notre Dame: This is another nonconference matchup between top teams with the No. 16 Falcons playing the No. 5 Fighting Irish home and home.

Bemidji State at Lake Superior State: The red-hot Beavers, who have won three in a row and five of their last six, will take on the Lakers for the second time in four weeks. On Nov. 8-9 in Bemidji, BSU swept LSSU 7-1 and 5-1. That began a five-game Lakers losing streak that finally ended last Saturday at Bowling Green. The Bemidji Pioneer takes a closer look at senior defenseman Tommy Muck.

Northern Michigan at Alabama Huntsville: The Wildcats, who have lost three straight, will try to get back on track when they take on the winless Chargers. UAH is 0-11-1. Don't chalk down two Ws for the Wildcats just yet, though. As with Bemidji and Lake State, this will be the second meeting already between these teams.

Ferris State at Alaska Anchorage: The Bulldogs will play their second week of back-to-back series in Alaska when they take on the Seawolves, who are fresh off their weekend in Mankato.

Michigan Tech at Alaska: The Huskies take a four-game winning streak to Fairbanks where, in yet another quirk in this year's WCHA schedule, they and the Nanooks are already meeting again. Alaska swept Tech in Houghton on Oct. 11-12. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner features shot-blocking senior Tyler Cline.

Mavericks 3, Seawolves 0

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Saturday night special: As coach Mike Hastings hints at in my game story (linked below), Saturday nights are rarely carbon copies of Friday nights in college hockey. Indeed, before the game, a few people asked me if it would be another blowout. I said it was doubtful. I figured it would be closer, and it was. Kudos to Anchorage for its defensive play. The Seawolves seemed content to keep the game scoreless as long as possible. Marc Michaelis' power-play goal with 41 seconds left in the second period was the turning point.

2. Speaking of defense: The Mavericks were pretty good in their end, too, even with a bit of a different lineup than they've used pretty much all season. That's because Riese Zmolek was out with a foot injury suffered when he blocked a shot with his skate on Friday. Zmolek, who was wearing a boot as he watched from the stands, said he's OK, just sore. No word on how long he's expected to be out. Wyatt Aamodt played in Zmolek's stead, and freshman Colby Bukes played for the first time this season. He was listed as the extra skater on the line chart.

3. Don't forget Dryden: Dryden McKay recorded his third shutout of the season and the seventh of his career, making 20 saves. He only had to make a couple of tough stops, but the Mavericks know they have someone very steady between the pipes. After allowing just one goal on the weekend, McKay's season save percentage is up to .951 right now. In 12 games this season, Minnesota State has allowed just 14 goals while scoring 46. The competition stiffens next weekend when the Mavericks go to Minnesota Duluth for a pair of games.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 3, Northern Michigan 2 ... Bemidji State 7, Alabama Huntsville 0 ... Lake Superior State 3, Bowling Green 1 ... Ferris State at Alaska (late)