Brickley is back for Mavericks

Minnesota State should get a nice boost this weekend when sophomore defenseman Daniel Brickley returns to the lineup after missing eight games with an upper-body injury.

Brinkley returned to practice in full this week and will get in a game for the first time since Oct. 22 at Alaska when he was hurt in the third period after appearing to lose an edge and crash into the boards with a checking player falling on top of him. Coincidently, the Mavericks will be hosting the Nanooks on Friday and Saturday in Mankato.

“It’s been tough watching the team play when you want to be out there,” the sophomore said after practice Wednesday. 

Brickley has been doing a lot of skating after practice in recent weeks with student-assistant Tim Jackman, so his conditioning should be up to speed, he said.

Brickley turned the heads of fans and pro scouts alike over his first five games of the season, scoring 10 points, nine of which were assists, and helping MSU get off to a 5-0-0 start.

The Mavericks lost the game in which he got hurt and are 3-4-1 since.

“I have to give it up to the guys; the team is real close,” Brickley said. “We all bonded well, and it translated to the ice. The power play was working well at times. We knew where everybody was going to be, and we were all on the same page and meshed really well. We just have to get back to that.”

The Mavericks averaged 4.8 goals per game and were 30 percent on the power play in their first five games. Since then, they’ve averaged 2.33 goals per game and are 12.2 percent with the man advantage.

Read more in The Free Press story here.

Mavericks ranked 15th

After being off over Thanksgiving weekend, Minnesota State dropped one spot to No. 15 in the latest U.S. College Hockey Online rankings. 

A few things threw the pollsters for loop this weekend, including red-hot Bemidji State getting an ice bath in the form of previously winless Princeton. The Tigers (whom MSU will play on the road in a couple of weeks) went to Bemidji and swept the Beavers 4-1 and 3-1.

Bemidji State (35 points) remains firmly atop the WCHA standings at 11-0-1, with an eight-point lead over second-place Michigan Tech (27). Both have played 12 conference games.

Bowling Green, Minnesota State and Ferris State, each of whom has played 10 league games, are next in line at 20, 16 and 14 points, respectively. Alabama Huntsville, which has played 12 games also sits at 14 points.

The Mavericks will host eighth-place Alaska (11 points, 10 games) this weekend before closing out the first of their WCHA schedule at Ferris State and playing Princeton before winter break.

Pawloski honored; MSU moves up

Minnesota State sophomore goaltender Jason Pawloski was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in last weekend's two nonconference games against Minnesota, a 4-1 win and a 1-0 loss.

The Omaha, Neb., native stopped 62 of 64 shots for a .969 save percentage and a 1.01 goals against average in the series, including 25 in the win in Mankato on Friday and a career-high 37 in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Pawloski is 2-2-1 with a 2.02 goals against average and a .919 save percentage this season. He has started four of MSU's last five games. You can read more about him in today's MSU Hockey Review. For more on the WCHA players of the week this week, go here.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks moved up one spot, to No. 14 in the latest USCHO rankings and USA Today/USA Hockey poll.

In case you're wonder how the Minnesota teams are ranked ...

1. Minnesota Duluth
10. Bemidji State
11. Minnesota
14. Minnesota State
15. St. Cloud State

Gophers 1, Mavericks 0

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Tough-luck loss: That was the case for goalie Jason Pawloski, who stopped a career-high 37 shots, only to fall 1-0 to the Gophers. He was nothing short of outstanding, and even made two good saves on a scramble in front of his net before giving up the game's lone goal, a power-play goal by Justin Kloos. The 38 shots were the most MSU has allowed this season. The previous high was 29 to Lake Superior State. The Mavericks' 23 shots on goal tied a season-low when they had that number on opening night against Michigan Tech. They had just 12 shots through two periods, three in the second.

2. Tale of two nights: Other than Pawloski's play, the things the Mavericks did well in Friday night's win over Minnesota didn't show up on Saturday. They didn't get bodies in front of goalie Eric Schierhorn. They didn't get on loose pucks and rebounds. They didn't control the puck up top in the offensive zone. It was a struggle getting any offense going. "I didn’t think we were as hard, and I thought they were harder," coach Mike Hastings said. "I thought they defended a lot better than last night, and our second and third efforts weren’t what they were last night. (We) didn’t get a lot of second and third opportunities. When we got pucks to the net and they were laying between the hash marks, a white jersey was getting there, not a purple one."

3. Break time: The Mavericks will get their first idle weekend of the season over Thanksgiving, and it probably comes at a good time. They have played seven straight weeks to start the season and have a record of 8-5-1. After the week off, they will play three series, including two on the road before the holiday break. The hope is they'll have defenseman Daniel Brickley from injury back sometime in that stretch. With some struggles by their defensemen to control the puck against the Gophers, they sure could have used him on Saturday.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Ferris State 7, Lake Superior State 5 ... Bemidji State 5, Northern Michigan 2 ... Bowling Green 8, Alabama Huntsville 3 ... Michigan Tech at Alaska Anchorage (late)

Live coverage: MSU at Minnesota

The Mavericks will go for the series sweep against the Gophers, with Game 2 taking place at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. No TV tonight. The puck drops at 8:05 p.m. Follow along or join the conversation below tonight's lines:

MINNESOTA STATE 

20-Michaelis, 15-Franklin, 10-Knutson
6-Tuomie, 17-Huntebrinker, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 16-Nelson, 12-Coatta
25-Stepan, 26-French, 9-Gerard

11-Flanagan, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 5-Foguth
14-Bigelbach, 27-Schwalbe

39-Pawloski
34-Huggins
29-Nelson

Scratches: Brickley, Cooper, Hookenson, Madry, Vanko

MINNESOTA

21-Reilly, 25-Kloos, 22-Sheehy
18-Bristedt, 25-Kloos, 16-Ramsey
9-Szmatula, 19-Lettieri, 13-Cammarata
10-Gates, 26-Romanko, 12-Marooney

5-Lindgren, 28-Bischoff
4-Johnson, 2-Sadek
20-Zuhlsdorf, 3-Glover

37-Schierhorn
34-Lehr
1-Kautz

Mavericks 4, Gophers 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Big crowd, big win: Last season, Minnesota State flopped in front of its biggest home crowds, getting shut out at home three times against Omaha, Minnesota and Bemidji State. On Friday, with 5,048 in the Verizon Center, the Mavericks put on a good show for their home fans. "That was in the back of our heads," said Brad McClure, who scored two goals. "Last year we didn't perform as well as we could in front of big crowds. It was a learning experience. But this was good for our team inside that locker room, too." Indeed, the Mavericks looked like the team that started out so strong at home in October with wins over Michigan Tech and St. Cloud State, scoring four times including two power-play goals.

2. Leaders lead: Coach Mike Hastings said his team needed a good effort from its older players, and the Mavericks got that. McClure, who was moved to Michael Huntebrinker's line, scored both of his goals in 5-on-5 play. Huntebrinker assisted on both. C.J. Franklin had a goal and an assist and could have had so much more, with eight shots on goal, including some high-quality chances. "I think it all starts with us playing hard and getting on their D right away," Franklin said. "We weren't panicking. We were possessing pucks, getting pucks behind their D and forechecking. That's always big.

3. Youngsters, too: Parker Tuomie had perhaps his best game of the season so far. The freshman forward, playing with McClure and Huntebrinker, had a goal and two assists. His power-play goal, which gave MSU a 3-1 lead, came after he was elbowed in the head at center ice. The penalty was just a 2-minute one, but Tuomie got the last laugh, blasting a shot through traffic from the high slot. Freshman defenseman Ian Scheid and two assists, and sophomore goaltender Jason Pawloski was outstanding with 25 saves, only allowing a point-blank power-play shot to get past him.

Read my game story here. Check out Pat Christman's photo gallery here.

Around the WCHA: Ferris State 3, Lake Superior State 0 ... Bemidji State 2, Northern Michigan 1 ... Bowling Green 4, Alabama Huntsville 1

Live coverage: MSU vs. Minnesota

The No. 15 Mavericks will host the No. 7 Gophers at the Verizon Center in the first game of a home-and-home series. Follow along or join the conversation below tonight's lines:

MINNESOTA STATE 

20-Michaelis, 15-Franklin, 10-Knutson
6-Tuomie, 17-Huntebrinker, 19-McClure
23-Rivera, 16-Nelson, 12-Coatta
25-Stepan, 26-French, 9-Gerard

11-Flanagan, 18-Scheid
4-Lewis, 5-Foguth
14-Bigelbach, 27-Schwalbe

39-Pawloski
34-Huggins
29-Nelson

Scratches: Brickley, Cooper, Hookenson, Madry, Vanko

MINNESOTA

9-Szmatula, 25-Kloos, 13-Cammarata
21-Reilly, 17-Novak, 22-Sheehy
10-Gates, 19-Lettieri, 18-Bristedt
23-Norman, 26-Romanko, 16-Ramsey

5-Lindgren, 28-Bischoff
4-Johnson, 2-Sadek
20-Zuhlsdorf, 6-Collins

37-Schierhorn
34-Lehr
1-Kautz