PucKato

MSU at Bemidji State — Game 1 live blog

2012-01-27T17:14:00.002-06:00

Lines can be found below the live chat ...

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=41a5862b25" &amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey at Bemidji State&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
23-Dorr 19-Lehrke 8-Gaede
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 25-Hayes
22-McInnis 26-Schiller 14-Jokinen
14-Mueller 29-Zuck 9-Louwerse

16-Elbrecht 2-Nelson
7-Palmquist 3-Cooper
17-Mosey 10-Knoll

30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Extras on trip: Stern, Thauwald. Back in Mankato: Burkemper (inj.), Grant (inj.), Heath (inj.), Lee (inj.), Leivermann

BEMIDJI STATE
9-Kinne 14-McLeod 28-George
18-Illo 11-Walters 4-Boehm
17-MacQueen 12-Jubinville 16-Mattson
7-Orban 13-Fisher 6-Findlay

8-Areshenko 25-Wacker
29-Hunt 22-Prapavessis
26-Brodie 15-Windle

33-Bakala
30-Walsh
35-Dugas

Referees: Don Adam, Timm Walsh, Linesmen: Andy Dokken, Phil Stodgell

Friday morning skate

2012-01-26T23:40:00.000-06:00

Coming at you a bit early since I'll be boogying off to Bemidji in the morning as Minnesota State gets its first peek at the Sanford Center when it plays Bemidji State.

The Mavericks are hoping to win a Friday-night game for the first time since Dec. 9. They are 5-5-0 since then, but all of the other wins have come on Saturdays. Included in the losses are a pair of 2-1 overtime defeats, one to Colorado College and one a week ago against Nebraska Omaha.

Minnesota State's lines should look like they did on Saturday when it beat Omaha 5-4 in OT. That means Eriah Hayes will stay on the top line with Matt Leitner and Jean-Paul LaFontaine. Max Gaede, then, moves to play with Zach Lehrke and Michael Dorr.

Phil Cook will start in goal, which is no surprise, but Austin Lee remains out with injury, so Evan Karambelas will be the backup. The extras skaters on the trip are F-Charlie Thauwald and D-Brett Stern.

Read more on The Free Press' gameday package here.

Meanwhile, I also have a feature on last week's overtime hero, Johnny McInnis. He may be a Boston boy, but he feels right at home in Minnesota. Actually, MSU has players from all over the country. Test your geography skills then check the story to see how you fared.

As for the Beavers, the Bemidji Pioneer's Eric Stromgren always does a fantastic job on his Up North Sports blog. The blog should have most of his coverage, but he did a nice piece on Lehrke, a Park Rapids native whose brother played for BSU. You can also watch some video of Beavers coach Tom Serratore talking about this weekend's series here.

Here are this weekend's WCHA matchups (for updated stories, check out the blog roll on the right of this page. Also, the Grand Forks Herald's Brad Schlossman always does a great job with his Friday roundup):

Michigan Tech at Minnesota Duluth ... St. Cloud State at/vs. Minnesota ... Wisconsin at North Dakota ... Denver at Alaska Anchorage.

More later, including a full lineups and my live blog, when I get to Bemidji.

I have answers!?!?

2012-01-26T09:54:00.002-06:00

Thanks for the questions. Not much on the current Mavericks but a lot about the future. I had to get out the crystal ball for a lot of these questions. Without further ado ...

From Michael Napier: What do you think about the reportin the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner about the "new" WCHA's 28-gameschedule factoring in travel to Alaska, and the possibilities of a 10th schoolbeing added (Alabama-Huntsville and three currently non-existing programs inMoorhead, Iowa State and Green Bay)?

Michael, there are definitely some things that have to befigured out in regard to how teams will handle having two Alaska teams on theschedule, whether that’s ensuring no more than one trip there per semester ortrying to fit in both schools on one trip over the holiday break (obviously,everyone can’t do that every year). I figure that when you see collegebasketball and football teams constantly criss-crossing the country, collegehockey teams will be able to handle this one way or another. As for a 10^thteam, MSU athletic director Kevin Buisman said that’s probably ideal. In myopinion, an established program like Alabama Huntsville makes the most sense —if can get its future figured out and stable. MSU-Moorhead keeps extending itsdeadline to secure the money to start D-I hockey. Iowa State, which has had asuccessful club program for years, has long been rumored to jump to D-I. As forUW-Green Bay, that was the first I heard of that school’s potential interest.Geographically, it makes a lot of sense, but there’s no hockey there right now.Read more from the Fairbanks news report here.

From MSU Grad 97: If the state bonding bill passes, whatexactly will we be able to expect for the Civic Center improvements? They kindof outlined it, but I am not sure what they mean. How will it change to thelook of the main part, and what will happen with the practice rink?

MSU Grad: The drawings they had at the bonding meeting werepreliminary ones. From a hockey standpoint, there will be men’s and women’slocker rooms and coaches offices, another team area, weight room and trainingareas. I would hope they will put in some nice amenities for the teams MSU ADKevin Buisman said there is a wish list, based on previous proposals. CoachTroy Jutting said he wants to see if this passes before getting to the bellsand whistles. I hope to find out more this weekend, but I understand theSanford Center in Bemidji did it right in the team/player areas That might be amodel. As for other improvements, the civic center need to replace the icesystem, dasher boards and bench areas and put in new spectator seating (purple,please). Not sure about a video scoreboard system, but they need that. Thedrawings also included updates to the current Blue Line Club meeting area — butnot a new room above the ice as the city floated several years ago.

From MSU Grad 97: Another question - are you getting thefeeling there is any 'buyer's remorse' from the NCHC teams and their mediaoutlets? I think you have brought up many valid points about how this didn'tseem to be a needed thing for any of those teams. In fact, I don't see if it issupposed to cost more to be in this other league how SCSU will be able tosupport the football team that almost ended last year, taking them potentiallyout of the NSIC in the other sports. That would be a sad loss of a rivalry forMSU.

MSU Grad: I think it’s way too early for anyone to havebuyer’s remorse. I think the folks in St. Cloud are still celebrating the factthat they found a way into the NCHC. I think the athletic budget situation withregard to hockey, the upgrades to the National Hockey Center and the footballprogram will be something to watch in St. Cloud in the coming years though.

From Sam: 1) Do you think Hayes will return to MSU forhis senior year? I know it has been said that NHL clubs have taken notice ofhim as a free agent, but it seems like he's been having a bit of a quiet year,save for this past weekend. 2) Are you surprised with Tyler Pitlick's lack ofsuccess (at least scoring-wise) for the AHL's OKC Barons this season? I thoughtfor sure it was only a matter of time before he cracked the Oilers line-upafter he signed his pro deal. Now I have no clue how it's all going to work outfor him.

Sam: At this time, I do believe Hayes will be back.Obviously, you never know what could happen. He is an intriguing prospect andmy guess is that he’s on a lot of scouts’ radars. But it’s not like he’s beendominant. He’s been very good at times and certainly was on Saturday when hefinished plays. Friday was another story; he was benched for part of a period.Let’s see how his season finishes up. I think the sky’s still the limit forhim, at least at the college level. It’s still pretty amazing to see where he’scome from. In some ways, I think he’s still learning a lot of things about thegame.

As to your second question, I haven’t paid a ton ofattention to what Pitlick’s done. He currently has four goals, five assists, 22PIM and is minus-7 in 34 games. He had a great season in the WHL last yearbefore getting hurt and missing the end of the season and the playoffs. Perhapsthe injury was a setback that’s still lingering. Not to get into the wholecollege vs. major junior debate, but he had a good rookie season in the WCHA asan 18-year-old in a league full of bigger, stronger, older players. Then hewent to Medicine Hat and racked up points against kids his age and younger. Nowhe’s in a AHL and struggling. Who knows? Maybe a second year at MSU would haveimproved his game in the areas where he’s now struggling. You can read ascouting report from an Oilers blogger here. Pitlick's pretty young, and so are the Oilers. He'll eventually get his shot. Maybe not this year, but I think he'll be OK in the long run.

From Hockey Girl: 1) There's been a lot of rumors aboutwho started up the NCHC, with most centered around UND and Denver. Is there anytruth to this rumor and if not, who did decide to startup the conference andpick which schools to invite? Also, what have they meant by 'Like-mindedInstitutions'? 2) Do you think the Mavs have a realistic shot at finishingabove their current 11th place this year? The next 3 weekends seem to be theirbest shot at getting out of the bottom.

Hockey Girl: I think North Dakota and Denver were theringleaders on this, but that doesn’t matter anymore. Six teams from the WCHAand two from the CCHA agreed to do this. They’re all on the same page rightnow. As for picking which schools to invite, that’s where the term“like-minded” has come from. You’re looking at schools that have big hockeybudgets, play in big cities/markets, utilize some of the best arenas in thesport and/or are considered perennial powers. Of course, that was the case forthose schools in 2011. Go back 10-15 years, and there’d be no way Miami,Western Michigan or St. Cloud State would be considered for something likethis. I’m still convinced that St. Cloud only got in because Notre Dame didn’twork out for the NCHC.

As for your second question, I do think MSU has thepotential to be a team that finishes higher than 11^th, but you’reright, this is the stretch where it has to make some hay. At Bemidji, homeagainst Tech, at Anchorage (all WCHA leftovers, along with MSU). Then they havea tough home series against Duluth, a week off and then a trip to North Dakota.

From Dave: Couple quick questions regarding theConference realignment. 1. Did you catch the interview of Denver’s Coach fromMoose on CHT? If not, i recommend listening. He put him on the hot seat about"like minded institutes" and as usual, no answers where given. 2. Isanything happening in regards to the new WCHA?? it seems like the silence is deafeningas to what direction they are going. I would hope that we leave Bruce McLeod inDenver and relocate the offices with a new commissioner in either MN or MI. 3.Lastly, what’s you opinion on an over/under in years before Miami and WesternMichigan realize they made a mistake adding all this travel with little or nogain in attendance at home to offset it? I'm saying 6 years.

Dave: I did not hear that interview. If you have a link, I’dlove to check it out before commenting.

On your second question, things are starting to come out,like the 28-game schedule. However, I agree that they need to start making somemore decisions, like their playoff format and championship location. It’s alsohard to promote that stuff when the current season is going on and thedeparting teams are still playing in it. I’d suspect more will be released inthe offseason or it will leak incrementally through the media that cover theleftover teams. I think I broke the 28-game schedule story, for example. I’mless worried about where the offices are located. While the commissioner worksout of Denver currently, the supervisor of officials is in the Twin Cities, andthe PR director is in Madison. It’s not like they have 100 employees working ina centrally located complex that would have to be moved to Mankato, Fairbanksor Big Rapids.

Finally, I know there are people rooting for NCHC failure orat least seeing teams struggle in it, whether it’s on the ice or financially. Idon’t see it right now. The NCHC doesn’t even start for over a year, so, it’sway to early to start speculating about buyer’s remorse. Again, teams/schoolsare still very excited about the new conference. You’re right, Miami doesn’tdraw a ton of fans (around 2,800 per game last weekend with Western Michigan intown!), but you can bet that the NCHC will be doing everything to get bigrevenue for its members. Whether it can do that or not remains to be seen, butthat’s why they picked the commissioner they did. That, not hockey, is hisexpertise.

I’m also going to answer a question or two from the‘Minnesota Cup’ thread …

From Sam: Well hey, how's that for a bit of good newsregarding the realignment? It's still depressing to see MSU left behind in asignificantly inferior conference, but man am I happy to know there is anall-MN tourney in the works. Unfortunately, I'm guessing the team on theoutside looking in during the first tourney will be either Mankato or Bemidji.Here's hoping it's Bemidji, although I think most MSU fans are even biggersupporters of the Beavers after all of the re-shuffling that's been going on.You've got to stand by the teams in your conference, no matter how irrelevantit may now seem.

Sam: I say it’s good news for a couple reasons. 1. Peoplehave been clamoring for a Minnesota version of the Beanpot for a long time, andit took having these teams not playing each other 2-4 times a year already tomake it happen. 2. It’s good news for all the teams, but MSU and BSU especiallybecause this event should help them recoup some of the money lost due to thedemise of the WCHA Final Five.

As for having one team out, no one wants to be that team thefirst year. MSU AD Kevin Buisman said that’s still being figured out. Perhaps,the “imbalanced home-and-home schedule” the teams are trying to work out withMinnesota (in addition to the Minnesota Cup) could include the Gophers going onthe road to play the team that won’t be in the tournament. I have no insight onthis, only my own speculation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Bemidji is leftout first since organizers will want to try to get the most bang for the buckin the first year. Nothing against the Beavers, but they’d probably want UMDand St. Cloud in for sure and then MSU since Mankato is just 85 miles down theroad.

From Troy: How will the Goofers end up playing everyonefrom Minnesota every year? If this is a bracketed tournament, they will onlyend up playing two of the three teams involved. Otherwise, it everyone playseach other once, then it would have to take place over a three day period. Idon't like this idea at all. All it does is allow the Goofers to stay in theTwin Cities and make everyone else travel to their barn or to the X, which isbasically a home game for the Goofers. The Goofers will never again leave the494-694 loop to play another Minnesota team. I hope the financial incentivesfor UMD, SCSU, MSU-M and BSU are decent since the Goofers and the Big Ten arethe ones that created this mess to begin with.

Troy: You’re right, they would only play two of the threeteams. As I mentioned above and in my Free Press story today, the teams arestill trying to work out some nonconference games with Minnesota in addition tothe tournament. Likely, Gopher series in Mankato will be few and far between,but it’s not like they’re here every year right now. Let’s face the facts,though: Minnesota doesn’t have to do this tournament. It could schedule a bunchof nonconference home games and never travel anywhere outside its Big 10commitments if it wanted. It could play a bunch of eastern teams and NorthDakota (or more Sacred Hearts) and ignore the MSUs and BSUs altogether. Buismanheaped a lot of praise on the Gophers for wanting to keep its in-state rivalriesintact and support those programs after the WCHA breaks up. That’s about theonly peace offering any of the WCHA’s departing teams has made during thiswhole ordeal.

'Minnesota Cup' coming? (updated)

2012-01-24T15:29:00.001-06:00

College hockey fans in Minnesota have been waiting for a Beanpot of their own, and the breakup of the WCHA may be leading to one.

There have been whispers of an annual tournament involving the University of Minnesota and the four other Division I schools at the Xcel Energy Center for a couple of months, and now it seems like it's about to be a reality.

UPDATE: I got some comments from Minnesota State athletic director Kevin Buisman on this. Read more here.

The Star Tribune's Roman Augustoviz is reporting that a deal for late-January tournament in 2014 is close to being struck. Presumably, the Gophers would play in the tournament every year, with three of the following, Minnesota State, Bemidji State, St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth, making up the rest of the field. If that's the case, one team would have to sit out each year (who will have to sit out first and how will they decide?).

I wonder if Minnesota would play the left-out team on the road or maybe in a home-and-home series. No matter what happens, this is about the first positive thing to come out of the WCHA's demise. In 2013, Minnesota will go to the Big 10, St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth will join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and Minnesota State and Bemidji State will remain in a revamped WCHA.

"We want to play every one of them," Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi told the Strib. "(The tournament) is the way we are going to do it."

Maturi said finances will have to be worked out, but this could be a nice financial split for the teams, especially since the golden goose that is the WCHA Final Five will be killed after the 2012 event.

Jess Myers of Inside College Hockey, tweeted that he hopes the tournament is part of Hockey Day in Minnesota, especially when that event has often ignored MSU and the other outstate programs. The late-January date could mean that that's a possibility.

This should be an exciting event, certainly better than the DQ Cup.

You want answers?!?!

2012-01-24T09:42:00.003-06:00

It's been too long. ... Let's do a You Want Answers?!?! Q&A. ... You know the drill: Go to the comments section of this post and drop me a questions about MSU hockey (or anything, really — seriously, where's the creativity?), and I'll answer them in a post on Thursday afternoon.

Out of the cellar

2012-01-23T08:12:00.001-06:00

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Minnesota State is officially out of the WCHA basement. The Mavericks are in 11th place, two points ahead of Alaska Anchorage, which was swept at Wisconsin over the weekend. So how far can MSU climb?

The schedule seems amenable for movement over the next three weeks, as the Mavericks travel to 10th-place Bemidji State (three points ahead of MSU), host tied-for-seventh Michigan Tech (eight points ahead) and go to Anchorage.

After that, MSU hosts No. 1 Minnesota Duluth, has a week off and then closes the regular season at North Dakota. So where do you think they'll finish up?

Meanwhile, here is The Free Press' Monday notebook/review, featuring Eriah Hayes best-of-times-worst-of-times weekend. .. There also is a photo gallery of Pat Christman pics from the series. ... Minnesota State posted a brief video interview with Johnny McInnis following his overtime game-winner on Saturday.

MSU 5, Omaha 4 (OT)

2012-01-21T23:29:00.001-06:00

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Johnny on the spot: Minnesota State bounced back from Friday's crushing overtime loss to Nebraska Omaha and won in extra time Saturday when Johnny McInnis blasted a shot in as he skated into the high slot. Joe Schiller assisted on the game-winner. MSU looked like it was going to close out the game in regulation, but Omaha's Jayson Megna tied it up with 9.6 remaining in the third period. Credit MSU for bouncing back from that blow to get the victory. It was a wild, back-and-forth game in which Omaha had three one-goal leads. Omaha outshot MSU 43-42, and each team failed to score on a five-minute major (on Omaha's MSU failed to convert four 2-on-1 short-handed chances!).

2. Purple Hayes: Minnesota State junior forward Eriah Hayes rebounded from what he called his worst college game ever to perhaps his best. Moved to a line with freshmen Jean-Paul LaFontanie and Matt Leitner, Hayes got his first college hat trick, including a pair of third-period goals that tied the game aat 3-3 at the 9:09 mark and gave MSU a 4-3 lead at 17:46. The rookies made some nifty passes for assists on those goals. LaFontaine's backhander to Hayes' tape for the go-ahead goal was as good as it gets. "I don't score that goal without Jean-Paul making that play," Hayes said.

You'll be able to read more about Hayes' weekend — from being benched to being one of the stars of the game — in Monday's series review in The Free Press.

3. Suddenly ... dangerous? Is Minnesota State getting better, as Jutting and his player suggest? MSU is 5-5-0 in its last 10 games and has outscored its opponents 31-26 in those games. Meanwhile, goalie Phil Cook, who was brilliant again with 39 saves on Saturday, is 3-1 in his last four starts and has a .951 save percentage in that stretch. "We set our goals really high for the second half of the season," McInnis said. "To do that we're going to have to play better than .500 hockey."

Deep thought: It was good to hear that Omaha goalie Ryan Massa was in the building on Saturday and that he was released from the hospital late Friday night/early Saturday morning following that scary collision in his net in overtime Friday. Dayn Belfour, the son of Hall of Famer Ed Belfour got the start on Saturday and made 29 saves before being pulled from the game when Hayes made it 3-3. John Faulkner, who didn't make the original trip with UNO but came up to Mankato on Saturday to back up Belfour, finished the game and took the loss. It should remind MSU fans of the time Cook got hurt at North Dakota on a Friday night, and Kevin Murdock was beckoned from Mankato the next morning to back up Austin Lee.

Quote of the night: "Stud. Just a stud tonight." — Johnny McInnis on Eriah Hayes

Read The Free Press' game story here.

Around the WCHA: Minnesota 2, Colorado College 1 ... Northern Michigan 5, Michigan Tech 2 ... Wisconsin 3, Alaska Anchorage 2 ... Minnesota Duluth 4, Alabama Huntsville 3 ... North Dakota 3, St. Cloud State 2

MSU vs. Nebraska Omaha - Game 2 live blog

2012-01-21T17:13:00.000-06:00

Lines can be found below the live blog.

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=ba3bfa5b8e" &amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. Nebraska Omaha&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE

23-Dorr 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
24-Mueller 26-Schiller 14-Jokinen
22-McInnis 29-Zuck 9-Louwerse

16-Elbrecht 2-Nelson
7-Palmquist 17-Mosey
3-Cooper 10-Knoll

30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Burkemper (inj.), Grant (inj.), Heath (inj.), Lee (inj.), Stern (inj.), Stern (inj.), Thauwald

NEBRASKA OMAHA
17-Broadhurst 12-Montpetit 21-White
19-Walters 11-Megna 13-Raubenheimer
23-Searfoss 25-Gwidt 15-Archibald
16-Krause 22-Schmit 10-Simonson

7-Young 24-Anelsoski
8-Megna 5-Ensign
2-Smith 28-O'Rourke

29-Belfour
30-Faulkner

Omaha 2, MSU 1 (OT) ... updated

2012-01-20T23:38:00.000-06:00

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Sobering ending: Firstly, everyone's thoughts have to be with Omaha goalie Ryan Massa, who was knocked out of the game in the first minute of overtime. Massa had to be taken out of the rink on a stretcher after MSU's Evan Mosey crashed into him on the rebound of a good scoring chance. Mosey and an Omaha defender raced for the loose puck, and Mosey appeared to hit Massa in the head. It didn't appear to be a dirty play; there was hardly any retaliatory reaction by Omaha players after the collision. Massa lay prone on the ice for several minutes and was tended to by paramedics, trainers and doctors for about 15 minutes before play resumed. Omaha coach Dean Blais was not available after the game, however, a couple of sources, including WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod, who was in attendance, said Massa was moving. It is presumed Massa was taken to the hospital.

UPDATE: Here is a good-news Tweet from Ryan Massa from late Friday night/early Saturday morning: Glad to be back in my room with @JSearfoss23. Thank you everyone for the wishes and support tonight. Great OT win for the #mavs thanks boys!

2. Penalty problem: The purple Mavericks were called for seven penalties. Eriah Hayes was even benched for the end of the second period for taking his third, the second that negated an MSU power play. Minnesota State killed them all — with the brilliant Phil Cook making 16 of his 35 saves during UNO power-play time — until Adam Mueller's slashing penalty in overtime. With Mueller in the box, Omaha defenseman Bryce Aneloski fired a shot from the high slot that deflected in of a defenseman's stick and won the game for the red Mavericks. Massa finished with 39 saves, but Dayn Belfour, who made one save in relief, got the victory.

3. Back in the scoring column: After being held without a point for three games, MSU freshman and top scorer Jean-Paul LaFontaine got on the board in a big way with a power-play goal that tied the game at 8:10 of the third period. LaFontaine put a close-range shot upstairs over Massa off the rebound of a Matt Leitner shot. Hayes also assisted on the goal. However, that was MSU's only goal on 41 shots, including 16 in the first period alone.

Quote of the night: "That was tough to swallow. We had so many Grade A chances that we didn't score on, and we took too many penalties." MSU senior forward Michael Dorr.

Read The Free Press game story here.

Around the WCHA: Wisconsin 4, Anchorage 0 ... Duluth 2, Alabama Huntsville 1 ... Colorado College 2, Minnesota 1 ... St. Cloud State 3, North Dakota 1

MSU vs. Nebraska Omaha — Game 1 live blog

2012-01-20T15:55:00.001-06:00

Tonight's lines are posted below the live chat.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=6f6c10ffed" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. Nebraska Omaha&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
23-Dorr 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
24-Mueller 26-Schiller 14-Jokinen
22-McInnis 29-Zuck 9-Louwerse

16-Elbrecht 2-Nelson
7-Palmquist 17-Mosey
3-Cooper 10-Knoll

30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Burkemper (inj.), Grant (inj.), Heath (inj.), Lee (inj.), Stern (inj.), Stern (inj.), Thauwald

NEBRASKA OMAHA
17-Broadhurst 12-Montpetit 15-Archibald
19-Walters 11-Megna 21-White
23-Searfoss 25-Gwidt 22-Schmit
9-Polk 16-Krause 13-Raubenheimer

7-Young 24-Aneloski
8-Megna 5-Ensign
2-Smith 28-O'Rourke

31-Massa
29-Belfour

Referees: Matt Ulwelling, Craig Welker. Linesmen: Jarod Moen, Brandon Polich

Friday morning skate

2012-01-20T08:48:00.001-06:00

Pat Christman/The Free Press

The Mavericks wrap up a four-game homestand this weekend when they host the red Mavs of Nebraska Omaha, a team they are winless again in the last five meetings. This will be the first and only conference series between these two teams in Mankato. They played last year in Omaha and will play there again next year. Time will tell if the two schools will continue the Spirit of the Maverick Trophy series in nonconference play after UNO moves to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

Minnesota State will have virtually the same lineup as it did last Saturday with a couple exceptions. Forward Corey Leivermann is out with an injury suffered in the weight room, and defenseman Brett Stern continues to fight the injury bug and will not play tonight. However, Mike Louwerse will be back from his injury and take Leivermann's spot on the line chart. Mat Knoll will take Stern's spot. Phil Cook will start in goal, as Austin Lee, too, remains out with an injury.

Today's Free Press story takes a look at the the all-senior line of Justin Jokinen (pictured), Joe Schiller and Adam Mueller. While they might make up a defensive-minded third line, their roles will be vital over the final six weekends of the regular season. Read the Freep's series preview here.

As for Omaha, it is coming off a win over top-ranked Minnesota Duluth that broke the Bulldogs' 17-game unbeaten streak. But players say they're not overlooking 11th-place MSU, giving the purple Mavericks the respect many teams have this year.

A couple of other UNO notes from the World-Herald: Omaha boasts the top penalty kill in the WCHA ... The red Mavericks will be without forward Dominic Zombo tonight. He's been suspended by the league for one game for a knee-to-knee hit on Duluth's J.T. Brown. UNO coach Dean Blais says he supports the suspension but says there was more to the incident than met the league's eye.

Also, Omaha blogger Matthew Semisch did a little online Q&A with PucKato previewing the series.

Going around the WCHA ...

Colorado College at Minnesota: Quick story: When the Mavericks hosted CC in December, Gophers assistant coach Mike Guentzel was in attendance to watch his on Gabe, a defenseman for the Tigers, play. I talked to him briefly and he said he was hoping for a three-point game from Gabe but an MSU win to help Minnesota in the standings. Neither happened. Tonight Guentzel will face Guentzel as CC heads to Minnie. The dad had the son and his teammates over for dinner on Thursday night, but there's no question as to who Mike wants to win this weekend.

Alaska Anchorage at Wisconsin: Anchorage is tied with MSU for 11th place in the WCHA and suddenly senior defenseman Curtis Leinweber is suddenly leading the Seawolves in scoring. As for the Badgers, coming off last weekend's split in Mankato, they have two freshman wingers who have drawn comparisons to MSU alum and NHL standout David Backes.

North Dakota at St. Cloud State: There was a lot of excitement surrounding North Dakota freshman Rocco Grimaldi this season, but injuries have hampered him all year, and now he's being shut down to have knee surgery. He'll be eligible for a medical hardship season, but speculation is that he won't be in college for four more years anyway. Meanwhile, the Huskies are being led by a lunch-pail guy in senior center Jordy Christian.

Alabama Huntsville at Minnesota Duluth: Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Bulldogs' unbeaten streak was that they haven't played a home game in 63 days. Before falling 3-1 at Omaha on Saturday, they didn't lose in seven straight road games. They return to Amsoil Arena tonight to take on the Chargers in a nonconference series. One reason for UMD's success has been the brilliant play of J.T. Brown — and the NHL scouts are drooling over the free agent.

Northern Michigan at Michigan Tech: The UP rivals will play a single game on Saturday.

More WCHA coverage from USCHO, Inside College Hockey and a good column on checking from behind from College Hockey News' Dan Myers.

Check back later tonight for my live blog. And follow my on Twitter @puckato for any other college hockey tidbits I come across.

'New' WCHA to stick with 28-game schedule

2012-01-18T10:13:00.000-06:00

When the WCHA breaks up and re-forms in 2013, the conference will stick with a 28-game schedule, Minnesota State athletic director Kevin Buisman said this week.

Buisman recently returned from the NCAA convention in Indianapolis, and the future WCHA schools all met there. Buisman was there, and said presidents of all nine of those schools were also there to discuss the future of the conference. MSU President Richard Davenport, it appears, has taken a real leadership role in the new league.

While they left the meetings without finalizing the WCHA's postseason format and location, they did decide to stay with an imbalanced 28-game schedule, not unlike what the league has now. That likely means teams will have 6-10 nonconference games to schedule, depending on how many trips to Alaska they make (teams that travel to Alaska are given an exemption that allows them to schedule additional games).

The conference that year will include MSU, Bemidji State, Alaska Anchorage, Alaska, Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State, Ferris State and Bowling Green.

Trying to do the math, it looks like they will play six four-game home-and-home series (24 games) and two two-game series (four games).

Verizon to be Mavs' fulltime home?

2012-01-17T17:42:00.000-06:00

The city of Mankato made a presentation to the Senate Bonding Committee on Tuesday, and it included a $14.5 million request for a Verizon Wireless Center project that includes several upgrades amiable to Minnesota State hockey.

The $31 million project includes $5.8 million to make the arena the permanent home of Mavericks men's and women's hockey. It includes locker room upgrades, coaches offices and off-ice training areas, as well as upgrades to seating concourses, improved ice system and dasher boards and a new Blue Line Club room (but not one that overlooks the rink, it appears).

While the project might not be as sexy as a new on-campus rink (which was vetoed in a previous bonding bill), it ought to be a much-needed upgrade for the program in terms of recruiting and as an every-day home for the teams — compared to the yellow tin shed that is All Seasons Arena.

As MSU coach Troy Jutting told me today, All Seasons Arena has been a good home to the program for a long, long time, but college hockey has passed it by.

Think about this: since the Mavericks went Division I and moved downtown in 1996, the following WCHA teams have moved into new arenas: Bemidji State (2010), Minnesota Duluth (2010), Nebraska Omaha (2003 ... and there are plans for an on-campus arena), North Dakota (2001), Denver (2000), Wisconsin (1998), Colorado College (1997). Meanwhile, Minnesota's rink added suites in 2001 and Michigan Tech added suites in 2009 and a big team facility a couple of years earlier. St. Cloud State is in the midst of a $30 million renovation.

There's no question that, the Mavericks need some upgrades to their home rink and practice facility. Now they'll get both — if it remains in the bonding bill. Veto isn't an issue this time, as it is included in Gov. Dayton's wish list, but will it get through the committee?

The proposal seemed effective today, as it concentrated on the city's partnership with MSU and the economic impact of the civic center (there is more to the arena proposal than just the hockey areas), and there was no mention about Mankato finally deserving the money that other college-hockey towns have received for their rinks in recent years (Duluth, Bemidji, St. Cloud, etc.).

Read more about it in Wednesday's Free Press.

Mavericks 3, Badgers 0

2012-01-14T23:15:00.004-06:00

John Cross/The Free Press

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Cooking up a win: Phil Cook (pictured) is back. The junior goaltender stopped 32 shots to shut out Wisconsin and help the Mavericks break a 10-game WCHA winless streak that dated back to Nov. 11. Cook struggled mightily in his last two league games, allowing nine goals on 11 shots over one two-game stretch. But he was brilliant on Saturday night, making a couple of unbelievable stops to help the MSU hold on to a 2-0 first-period lead. Coach Troy Jutting said the plan was to start Cook all along, however, Friday's starter, Austin Lee was injured in Saturday's pregame skate, taking a hard shot off his facemask from Eriah Hayes. The shot broke Lee's mask. Lee did not dress for the game.

(Read much more about Cook in the Freep game story.)

2. No ordinary Joe: Senior forward Joe Schiller finished Saturday's game with two assists and an empty-net goal with 30 second remaining to seal the win. Schiller also was responsible for hanging out in the back pocket of Mark Zengerle, the Badgers' best forward. Schiller shut down Zengerle on Saturday and held him to just one even-strength point for the weekend (Zengerle scored an even-strength goal and had a power-play assist on Friday). Said Zengerle: "That No. 26 guy followed me around no matter where I went the entire two games." Zenglere's 20-game point streak ended Saturday, leaving him one game shy of the team record set by Mike Eaves, who is now Wisconsin's coach.

(I'll be writing more about Schiller for my Monday notebook/review.)

3. A win in need: The Mavericks are 4-4-0 in their last eight games, but getting the WCHA victory was important. "It was a huge win," Jutting said. "We had to have it." Said Schiller: "It's bigger for confidence. It's huge." Besides shutting down Zengerle, the Mavericks kept the nation's top-scoring defenseman, Justin Schultz, off the score sheet for the weekend. Schultz, who Jutting called the best player in college hockey has 32 points for the season.

Deep thought: Wisconsin still has never swept a series in Mankato. The Badgers will get one more chance next season before the WCHA breakup takes place. I have a hard time thinking we'll see Wisconsin back in the VWC after that.

Quote of the night: "We couldn't solve the riddle of the man between the pipes." — Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 6, Alaska Anchorage 4 ... Minnesota 6, North Dakota 2 ... Nebraska Omaha 3, Minnesota Duluth 1 ... Denver 3, Bemidji State 2 ... St. Cloud State 5, Colorado College 4 (OT)

Minnesota State vs. Wisconsin — Game 2 live blog

2012-01-14T16:34:00.000-06:00

Lines are posted below ... Eli Zuck is back in the lineup ... Phil Cook will start in goal ...

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=822ac40a5f" &amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State hockey vs. Wisconsin&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
23-Dorr 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
24-Mueller 26-Schiller 14-Jokinen
22-McInnis 29-Zuck 11-Leivermann

16-Elbrecht 27-Stern
7-Palmquist 2-Nelson
3-Cooper 17-Mosey

30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Burkemper (inj.), Grant (inj.), Heath (inj.), Knoll, Lee (inj.) Louwerse (inj.), Thauwald

WISCONSIN
7-Labate 9-Zengerle 7-Barnes
8-Paape 23-Lee 25-Mersch
26-Navin 14-Dahl 18-Little
21-Woods 12-Meuer 20-Little

27-Simonelli 6-Schultz
19-McCabe 55-Ramage
4-Springer 24-Faust

33-Rumpel
30-Peterson

Badgers 4, Mavericks 0

2012-01-13T23:20:00.000-06:00

John Cross/The Free Press

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Quieting the crowd: Minnesota State finally got a nice crowd for a game after six home games with the students out of town. The announced attendance was 3,656 and the student section was full. But the building stayed quiet throughout the night, as Wisconsin freshman goalie Joel Rumpel shut them out with 36 saves. It was the Badgers' first road win of the season and Rumpel's first college shut out.

2. Badgers' big guns: Wisconsin and Minnesota State are pretty evenly matched – with the exception of two players, forward Mark Zengerle and defenseman Justin Schultz. Schultz, the nation's top-scoring defenseman, was kept off the board but was brilliant at times, including on the power play. Zengerle had a goal and an assist. MSU center Joe Schiller was charged with sticking to him like glue and did a fairly good job. When Schiller did lose Zengele briefly in the first period, the Badgers sophomore promptly scored the game's first goal (photo).

3. Playing short-handed: The Mavericks appeared to come out of the game all right on the injury front, but had to play the last four minutes of the second period and all of the third without Max Gaede, who was called for checking from behind and, by rule, was booted from the game. MSU killed the major penalty but had to shuffle the lineup, including its top power play after that.

Deep thought: The loss kept the Mavericks buried in the WCHA basement. They are two points behind 11th-place Anchorage but now seven behind the Badgers and Bemidji State, who are tied for ninth. St. Cloud State is eight points ahead.

Quote of the night: "It was awesome coming out right away and seeing the fans in the stands and finally having a big crowd. To let them down really doesn't feel the best." — Mavericks senior forward Adam Mueller.

Read the Free Press game story here, and the Wisconsin State Journal coverage here.

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 6, Alaska Anchorage 2 ... Minnesota Duluth 6, Nebraska Omaha 2 ... North Dakota 2, Minnesota 1 ... Denver 6, Bemidji State 3 ... Colorado College 3, St. Cloud State 1

Minnesota State vs. Wisconsin — Game 1 live blog

2012-01-13T16:22:00.002-06:00

Tonight's lines can be found below the live box. Notes: With C-Eli Zuck scratched for a team rules violation (he will be available for Saturday's game), D-Evan Mosey will fill in the center spot on the fourth line. Mosey was a forward until his last year of junior hockey. ... Check back between 7 and 7:30 p.m. for the live blog.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=93d4ad36d2" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. Wisconsin&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE

23-Dorr 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
24-Mueller 26-Schiller 14-Jokinen
22-McInnis 17-Mosey 11-Leivermann

16-Elbrecht 27-Stern
7-Palmquist 2-Nelson
3-Cooper 10-Knoll

1-Lee
30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Burkemper (inj.), Grant (inj.), Heath (inj.), Louwerse (inj.), Thauwald, Zuck

WISCONSIN
16-Labate 9-Zengerle 7-Barnes
8-Paape 23-Lee 25-Mersch
26-Navin 14-Dahl 18-S.Little
21-Woods 12-Meuer 20-R.Little

27-Simonelli 6-Schultz
19-McCabe 55-Ramage
4-Springer 24-Faust

33-Rumpel
30-Peterson

Referees: Bruian Thul, C.J. Beaurline. Linesmen: Jarod Moen, Brandon Polich

East-West goalie wars

2012-01-13T09:33:00.002-06:00

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Holy moly, what a bunch of goalies!

The Mankato East/Loyola and Mankato West girls and boys hockey teams clashed on Thursday night at All Seasons Arena, and both of the winning goaltenders recorded shutouts.

But it was the losing goalies who nearly stole the shows.

In the girls game, a 3-0 victory for East/Loyola, Melany Anderson (pictured) got the 16-save shutout victory. But West eighth-grader Maggie Cusey kept the game close by stopping 57 of 60 shots.

The shots were even more lopsided in the nightcap, an 8-0 victory for the West boys. Zach Fox got the win with just 10 saves. However, East/Loyola's Lucas Weihe shut out the Scarlets for two periods and finished the game with 53 saves. Earlier this season, Weihe stopped 65 shots against the Scarlets.

Friday Morning Skate

2012-01-13T00:10:00.001-06:00

The second half of the WCHA season begins tonight with all 12 league teams in action against each other. Here in Mankato, Minnesota State will host Wisconsin in a matchup of teams that haven't won a conference game since Nov. 11.

The Mavericks are hoping to get out of the WCHA cellar, and senior defenseman Cameron Cooper is putting almost all of his focus on that (he can afford to, since he has just one class this semester before graduating in May).

Minnesota State's line chart will have some changes today. Coach Troy Jutting said on Thursday that Eli Zuck will be sitting this one out due to a team rules violation. Zuck will be available for Saturday's game, though. Defenseman Brett Stern will be back after missing a good chunk of the season with an injury. J.P. Burkemper and Mike Louwerse remain out (as do Danny Heath and Chase Grant, of course).

Speaking of Grant, he's back in town, said surgery was successful and is now working to rehab his hip for next year.

Lines will be official later today, but the top three lines should be as they've been, and Austin Lee will get the start in goal for the Mavericks. See more on the Freep's gameday preview here.

As for the Badgers, they, too, are too deep in the WCHA standings for their liking and are not only going on the road, where they have yet to win this year, but are going to the "hostile environment" of the Verizon Wireless Center, a place that hasn't been overly kind to them. Also, like MSU, Wisconsin has had its share of injuries, but it will be getting junior wing Ryan Little back this weekend from a broken hand.

Going around the rest of the WCHA ...

Minnesota at North Dakota: The Gophers are tied atop the conference but after a 9-1 start to the season they are 6-6-1 and looking for some consistency. ... In Grand Forks, meanwhile, they are noting that this will be Minnesota's final trip there for a WCHA series. The rivalry, like many in the league, is ending after the 2012-13 season with the conference breakup.

Minnesota Duluth at Nebraska Omaha: More than 14,000 people are expected to fill Omaha's CenturyLink Center (formerly Qwest Center ... are people going to make fun of this name change confusion like they do Mankato's arena?) tonight as the No. 1 Bulldogs, the nation's top-scoring team, is there for another matchup of future NCHC teams. Duluth also remains the hottest team in the country, riding a 16-game unbeaten streak. ... Meanwhile Omaha coach Dean Blais isn't sounding like someone who's only a couple of years from retirement; he has big plans.

Bemidji State at Denver: The Beavers are in the midst of a five-game winning streak, on that started with a victory over Denver on Dec. 10. ... The Pioneers, meanwhile, are lauding the way freshman forward Ty Loney (son of former NHLer Troy Loney) stepped up while Jason Zucker was playing in the world junior tournament.

St. Cloud State at Colorado College: In another matchup of future NCHC rivals, the Huskies will head to Colorado Springs. For St. Cloud, Travis Novak is having his best — and most pain-free — season of college hockey. ... For the Tigers, star forward and Team Canada junior captain Jaden Schwartz was back at practice this week and raring to go.

Alaska Anchorage at Michigan Tech: Despite the departure of leading scorer Mickey Spencer this week, the Seawolves feel like the schedule sets up for a second-half run. ... As for the Huskies, they have added a couple of players for the second half of the season and now appear to have a lot of depth at all of their positions.

Other stuff to check out: I was asked to participate in Wisconsin blogger Chuck Schwartz's weekly Take Five post regarding this week's series. ... Read the USCHO weekly conference preview here. ... Inside College Hockey looks at some second-half storylines in the WCHA.

Be sure to check my Twitter later for tonight's official lines and any other college hockey happenings, and jump on the live blog right here during the MSU-UW game.

Wristbands for Jabs

2012-01-11T08:16:00.000-06:00

The Mankato Area Hockey Association acquired 500 of the 50,000 wristbands made as a fundraiser for paralyzed Benilde-St. Margaret's hockey player Jack Jablonski and will sell them for $2 apiece during Thursday's girls and boys games between Mankato East/Loyola and Mankato West. All proceeds will go to the Jablonski family. If and when the wristbands sell out, orders for more can be made.

Meanwhile, check out my Wednesday Free Press column on how local high school teams are reacting to the tragic injuries to both Jablonski and, more recently, St. Croix Lutheran's Jenna Privette.

MSU recruit picked for prospects game

2012-01-10T09:05:00.000-06:00

Lincoln Journal-Star

Minnesota State's goalie of the future, Stephon Williams was chosen to play in the inaugural USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game later this month in Muskegon, Mich. The game will feature the USHL's top players who are eligible for this summer's NHL draft.

Williams, who is one of four goalies selected for the game, plays for the Sioux Falls Stampede. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound native of Fairbanks, Alaska, currently ranks second in the USHL in save percentage at .917 and is tied for fifth with a 2.54 goals-against average.

The prospects game will take place Tuesday, Jan. 24.

It will be interesting to see if and where Williams gets drafted this summer. The Mavericks have never had a goaltender who has been drafted nor one who has gone on to play in the NHL.

Weekend reaction

2012-01-10T08:50:00.002-06:00

With the Mavericks playing at St. Lawrence, I ended up covering some Mankato East basketball and Gustavus Adolphus men's hockey over the weekend (check out my story on the Gusties' 6-foot-8 goaltender — yes, 6-foot-8 — John McLean, here ... he's helped Gustavus to a seven-game winning streak).

Anyway, I wasn't able to get reaction to Minnesota State's split with the Saints until after what appeared to be a pretty hard-skating practice on Monday (MSU has today off). You can see some of coach Troy Jutting's comments in this story.

Jutting said his team played five good periods against a fast-skating St. Lawrence team that has a real stud player in Kyle Flanagan. The one not-so-good period, however, was not the one in which they allowed two late goals. It was the first of the weekend when the Mavericks took some time to adjust to the small rink. Jutting said the Saints' game-winning goal was a combination defensive breakdown/soft goal.

The Mavericks bounced back to win on Saturday, thanks in part to a spectacular outing by Phil Cook in goal. Jutting said Cook got back to playing "like Phil" and that Austin Lee did a fine job on Friday night.

Now, it's back to WCHA action. If you want a jumpstart on what's going on with Wisconsin, this weekend's opponent, you can read the transcript of coach Mike Eaves' Monday press conference here.

In other WCHA news, St. Cloud State forward Cam Reid is leaving the team to play in the Western Hockey League. Reid has 15 points in 22 games for the Huskies, so that's a bit of a blow for St. Cloud.

Mavericks 3, Saints 1 (updated)

2012-01-07T20:54:00.001-06:00

Watertown Daily Times photo

Minnesota State stayed out of the box for the most part and got a senior to step up on Saturday night as it defeated St. Lawrence for a weekend split.

Senior forward Justin Jokinen scored the game-winning goal with 4:09 left in the third period, and senior Adam Mueller's empty-netter sealed the nonconference win.

The Mavericks, who went to the box 10 times in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Saints, committed just five penalties on Saturday and were perfect on the penalty kill.

Freshman defenseman Zach Palmquist put MSU up 1-0 with 18 seconds left in the second period, scoring a power-play goal from fellow rookie Matt Leitner. St. Lawrence tied the game at 6:56 of the third, but Jokinen took back the momentum with what would stand as his first game-winner since his freshman year. Evan Mosey assisted on the goal.

In another good sign for the Mavericks, goalie Phil Cook, making his first start since Nov. 26, stopped 29 of 30 shots for his first win of the season. He had struggled in his his previous two regular-season appearances, although he was perfect in one period of action in last week's exhibition game against the Under-18 National Team.

UPDATE: Read coverage of the game from the Watertown Daily Times here.

Minnesota State (6-15-1) finished its nonconference schedule with a 4-4-0 record. From here on out, it's all WCHA action, starting Friday when Wisconsin comes to Mankato.

St. Lawrence 4, Minnesota State 3

2012-01-06T23:30:00.000-06:00

The Mavericks did what they do well on Friday. They got scoring from their young players and two goals from their power play. But their Achilles heels did them in again, as they went to the penalty box 10 times and gave up a pair of power-play goals in the nonconference loss to St. Lawrence on Friday night.

Jean-Paul LaFontaine had a goal and an assist. Matt Leitner had a goal, and Zach Palmquist had two assists. The freshmen again! LaFontaine and sophomore Johnny McInnis had power-play goals.

LaFontaine's goal put MSU up 3-2 midway through the third period. But MSU's ninth penalty of the game — a high-sticking call on Justin Jokinen (his second trip to the box) — led to St. Lawrence's second power-play goal of the game (the Saints also had a 5x3 goal in the first period), with 5:19 to play. Seventy second later, St. Lawrence scored the game winner.

See postgame comments by coach Troy Jutting here. See the box score here.

MSU's loss was part of a tough night for the WCHA. While Duluth and Wisconsin won against Western Michigan and RIT, respectively, Colorado College lost to Cornell, and — how about this stunner — Alabama-Huntsville defeated Denver 3-2 Friday night.

Friday Morning Skate

2012-01-06T08:58:00.000-06:00

The Mankato East/Loyola girls hockey team's tribute to Jack Jablonski.

Judging by the tweets from various Minnesota State players, they made it to Canton, N.Y., last night after a long day of travel (Mankato —> Minneapolis —> Atlanta —> Syracuse, N.Y. —> Canton, N.Y.) for this weekend's series against St. Lawrence.

(Meanwhile, PucKato is safely nestled back home where he'll be covering East High School basketball and Gustavus Adolphus men's hockey this weekend.)

It's the last nonconference series of the season for the Mavericks, who are hoping to get on the winning track against the Saints and build momentum for the second half of the WCHA season. Co-captain Tyler Elbrecht insists the team is not that far from being a winner.

Looking at some of the conference coverage from USCHO, neither the WCHA correspondents nor the ECAC writer have much confidence the Mavs can do that this weekend.

Going around the rest of the WCHA ...

Minnesota Duluth at Western Michigan: In a meeting of future NCHC mates, the Bulldogs will go to Kalamazoo, Mich., for the first time and will try to keep their No. 1 ranking and unbeaten streak (currently at 14 games) intact as they continue a long road trip.

RIT at Wisconsin: The Badgers, like MSU, will try to kick start a second-half surge after a tough first half of the season with a pair of nonconference games against Rochester Institute of Technology. The two teams last met in the 2010 Frozen Four semifinals.

Alabama Huntsville at Denver: While it's no longer a farewell tour, Huntsville's long and winding road of a schedule stops in Denver where, despite the potential return of their top two goalies, the Pioneers appear to have found a gem in their third guy, freshman Juho Olkinuora, who has been outstanding in 14 games this season.

Cornell at Colorado College: While lots of coverage around CC and other NCHC teams this week are looking toward 2013-14 with the announcement of the conference's first commissioner, there's still a year and half to go, including the Tigers' series this weekend against Cornell. CC could get a boost by having Jaden Schwartz back in the lineup after his stint in the World Junior Championship.

Notre Dame at Minnesota (Saturday): The Hall of Fame game should be a good one with No. 3 hosting No. 5. But it will also be a bittersweet one after the passing of the Irish's legendary coach, Lefty Smith. Smith was Gophers coach Don Lucia's college coach and ex-Gophers coach Doug Woog's high school coach at South St. Paul.

Clarkson vs. North Dakota at Winnipeg (Saturday): Now-nicknameless and logoless North Dakota will head north a couple of hours for a game that has the Manitoba natives on the roster pretty excited. (Going to Canada ought makes College Hockey Inc. pretty excited, too.)

Burkemper out and other odds and ends

2012-01-05T08:06:00.000-06:00

The Mavericks left Mankato this morning for a long trek to northern New York (Canton) and a nonconference series against St. Lawrence. The games will take place Friday and Saturday. PucKato will not make the trip but will try to monitor the games from Mankato and have updates right here.

A few notes about the Mavericks and other happenings in college hockey to the start of the second half of the season:

• J.P. Burkemper indeed broke his wrist in Friday's game against the U.S. Under-18 Team. He said on Wednesday that he's not sure how long he'll be out and it has yet to be determined if surgery is necessary. It's just another blow to the Mavericks in what has been an injury-riddled season.

• Players not on the trip to St. Lawrence: Burkemper, Mike Louwerse, Danny Heath, Chase Grant, Evan Karambelas. Of that group, only Karambelas, the third goalie, is not injured.

• One injured player who may play this weekend is defenseman Brett Stern. Stern practiced this week but with a "red cross" helmet on, meaning no contact. Coach Troy Jutting said on Wednesday Stern is making the trip but did not know for sure if he'd put Stern in the games.

• In case you were wondering about that 3-3 tie wit the U.S. team, the U18s went to Wisconsin the next night and lost to the Badgers 4-3.

• The National Collegiate Hockey Conference on Wednesday named its first commissioner, former United States Olympic Committee CEO Jim Scherr. According to the Grand Forks Herald, Scherr, who was also the head of USA Wrestling, will make $150,000 per year over the next 4 1/2 years. The conference, which starts up after the 2012-13 season, will also be hiring a director of hockey operations since Scherr's expertise is in sports business and sports marketing. A 16-game national TV contract with the CBS Sports Network apparently is also in the works.

Mavericks 3, Team USA 3 (OT)

2011-12-30T23:22:00.002-06:00

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game ...

1. Late-game heroics: After the Mavericks fell behind 3-2 with 2:37 to play in the third period, it took a short-handed goal with an extra attacker on the ice to force overtime. Eriah Hayes scored the game-tying goal with 51.7 seconds left in the third period, firing back the rebound of a Zach Lehrke shot. Michael Dorr also assisted on the play. Other goal scorers for the Mavericks were Corey Leivermann and Matt Leitner (power play) both in the second period to give MSU a 2-1 lead.

2. No slouch: The U.S. team might not have been as dynamic as the Phil Kessel-led one that played here several years ago, but it was nothing to sneeze at. Miami recruits Ryan Hartman (two) and Riley Barber scored the goals, and Ohio State-bound Collin Olson was solid in goal, with 33 saves, including six in overtime. Remember: that team beat Vermont earlier this season and lost to Michigan 3-1 and Denver 3-0. It was a good start-of-the-second-half test for the Mavericks.

3. Cook & Co.: All three MSU goalies played, combining for 27 saves. Austin Lee got the start and allowed one goal. Evan Karambelas finished, giving up two goals in the third period and stopping one shot late in overtime. But it was nice to see Phil Cook play the second period and bounce back from a couple of very rough outings. He stopped all 10 shots he faced in the second period, including a tough one moving across the crease on an open put-back try after giving up a fat rebound.

Deep thought: You thought the Mavericks would come out of a weekend unscathed? Not this year. Sophomore forward J.P. Burkemper was hit hard into the boards on his first shift and came off holding his wrist. He did not return. Sounds like it might be broken. We'll find out more this week.

Check out my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Boston College 2, Michigan Tech 1 ... Minnesota 5, Niagara 1 ... Western Michigan 2, St. Cloud State 1 (OT) ... Bemidji State 4, Bowling Green 1 ... Harvard 4, North Dakota 4 (OT) ... Quinnipiac 2, Nebraska Omaha 2 (OT) ... Air Force 2, Colorado College 1 ... Denver 3, Union 1

Happy new year, everybody!

MSU vs. U.S. Under-18 National Team — live blog

2011-12-30T19:13:00.002-06:00

Lines are posted below the live blog ...

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=4824c00fe0" >Minnesota State men's hockey vs. USA 18s</a>

MINNESOTA STATE
23-Dorr 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
6-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
15-Burkemper 29-Zuck 14-Jokinen
24-Mueller 26-Schiller 22-McInnis
11-Leivermann 20-Thauwald

17-Mosey 16-Elbrecht
7-Palmquist 2-Nelson
3-Cooper 10-Knoll

1-Lee
31-Karambelas
30-Cook

Scratches: Grant, Heath, Stern, Louwerse

TEAM USA
21-Lane 14-DiPauli 22-Barber
9-Osterberg 17-Kerdiles 19-Darcy
13-Vatrano 27-Shore 18-Hartman
11-Olsson 12-Koules 20-Silk
26-Copp

10-Sieloff 6-Wade
16-Skjei 3-Pesce
7-Grzelcyk 24-Carrick
5-Stoick

29-Olson
1-Rutledge

Friday Morning Skate

2011-12-30T08:44:00.000-06:00

There's hockey tonight in Mankato. Minnesota State will play the U.S. Under-18 National Team in an exhibition game. For the Mavericks, they believe it's a good way to kick off the second half of the season.

Like the exhibition at the beginning of the season, MSU can dress everyone for this game. That means the only players who won't be in uniform will be Mike Louwerse (upper body), Brett Stern (upper body), Danny Heath (upper body) and Chase Grant (hip surgery).

Coach Troy Jutting said each of the team's three goalies will play one period. But that's just to give them all some playing time. Austin Lee remains the No. 1 goaltender right now and should be the starter next Friday at St. Lawrence.

The U.S. team is loaded with Division I prospects but is missing defenseman Jacob Trouba, who is playing in the World Junior Championships. Against other college teams this year, the Under-18s are 1-4-0 against D-I schools, losing to Michigan (3-1), Colorado College (5-0), Denver (3-0) and Maine (6-4) and beating Vermont (2-1). They are also 3-2-0 against D-III schools.

The last time MSU played the national team was in 2005, and that game ended in a 5-5 tie. That year, the Under-18s featured Phil Kessel and Jack Johnson.

Several WCHA teams are in action this weekend ...

Minnesota will host the Mariucci Classic and will play Niagara then Northeastern or Princeton. Gophers goalie Michael Shibrowski is ready to play — even if it's not until next year.

Michigan Tech is in the Great Lakes Invitational. After losing to Michigan State on Thursday, the Huskies will play Boston College today.

St. Cloud State upset Western Michigan on Thursday, and those teams will play the second game of the series today.

Bemidji State hosts Bowling Green in a nonconference series. For the Beavers, it marks the second time this season they're playing a future WCHA team.

North Dakota hosts Harvard, and the Sioux are hoping to help the WCHA improve its not-so-dominant nonconference record. That mark could limit the number of league teams that make the national tournament. Currently, just two — maybe three — teams would be in.

Nebraska Omaha hosts Quinnipiac and has the same designs on the weekend as North Dakota. Like a few other teams in the WCHA, Omaha is without a player who is skating in the World Junior Championships. However, the red Mavericks are also without their coach, Dean Blais, who is coaching the U.S. team.

Colorado College hosts Air Force and Union, and Denver will play the same two teams this weekend. The Colorado Springs Gazette takes a look at Air Force and its lack of success against CC and DU. Perhaps the Falcons will be aided by those teams losing Jaden Schwartz and Jason Zucker to the Junior tournament.

Wisconsin will play the Under-18s on Saturday night, and Madison will get a peek at recruit Nic Kerdiles, who leads the U.S. team in goals.

USCHO takes a look at the second half of the WCHA season here.

Break time's over (updated)

2011-12-29T14:34:00.001-06:00

After getting a little rest around the holiday break, PucKato is back!

I'm writing this from the Verizon Wireless Center where the Mavericks are practicing in preparation for Friday night's exhibition game against the U.S. Under-18 National Team.

A few observations from practice:

• Mike Louwerse, who left the Friday game against Colorad College in the first period with an upper-body injury is not skating today. He said he's out for a couple more weeks.

• Defenseman Brett Stern (upper body) is skating but is wearing a white helmet with red crosses on it. This is a new thing for MSU, I believe. I've heard of other teams incorporating red-cross jerseys or ones designated for no contact. Not sure how long Stern will remain out.

• Defenseman Danny Heath is skating but with a track suit similar to ones the coaches wear. Good to see him back on the ice, but I believe he remains out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.

UPDATE: Coach Troy Jutting is clearly tired of talking about injuries, since they began happening on the first game of the season. He did not give a timeline to any of the players' return to action. "Until they're out there," he said. Louwerse, Stern, Heath and Chase Grant, who is out for the season after having hip surgery earlier this month, are all out for Friday's game.

• Staying on the subject of defensemen, Joe Schiller is skating as a forward today. Injuries have put him on the blue line most of the season. I wonder how long he'll stay up front. Speculation here, but I"m guessing he's playing forward tomorrow so the coaches can get a look at freshman Mat Knoll back on D. Knoll has played in 11 games this season. Or they're preparing for Stern's eventual return. With Louwerse out, the Mavericks need a boost at center. Remember: Schiller began the season as the team's No. 1-line center.

UPDATE: Jutting said Schiller likely will play both F and D throughout the rest of the season, whether that's during games or within games. "It gives us the opportunity to have seven defensemen if we need it because of injury or whatever," Jutting said, "and we'll still have the ability to play 12 forwards. It's great when you have the flexibility of a guy like Joe."

More to come Friday morning in the Friday Morning Skate.

Tigers 6, Mavericks 2

2011-12-17T23:00:00.000-06:00

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game ...

1. Playing from behind: Colorado College scored two power play goals in the first 10 minutes of the game, and Minnesota State simply couldn't play well from behind the rest of the night. The Tigers finished 3 for 6 on the power play and outshot MSU 44-26 for the game. The Mavericks might have thought they deserved better in Friday's 2-1 overtime loss, but they earned Saturday's loss.

2. A highlight (or two): MSU didn't give the small crowd of 2,622 much to cheer about, but there were two nice moments. The Mavericks made a pretty play for a power-play goal that made it 2-1 at 15:13 of the first period. Zach Lehrke and Max Gaede each made a spinning pass, with the latter skimming across the crease before Jean-Paul LaFontaine slammed it into the net at the right post. It was LaFontaine's 10th goal of the year. The other highlight was Michael Dorr's short-handed breakaway at 10:04 of the third period. But that made it a 5-2 game.

3. Looking for a win: Sure, the Mavericks beat Alabama Huntsville handily a week ago, but they have not won a WCHA game in their last nine tries, going 0-8-1 in that span. They are 2-11-1 at the midway point of the league schedule, the worst 14-game start since they joined the league in 1999-2000. They're last in the WCHA, two points out of 11th place and five points out of 10th. With an exibition game on Dec. 30 and a nonconference series at St. Lawrence on Jan. 6-7, the Mavericks won't play a WCHA series again until Jan. 13-14 when they host Wisconsin.

Deep thought: LaFontaine's uncle, Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine, attended Saturday's game, as did MSU recruit Teddy Blueger of Latvia via Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, who signed with the Mavs last month.

Quote of the night: "Stick penalties, not good penalties." — MSU coach Troy Jutting on his team's three tripping penalties committed in the game's first 8 1/2 minutes.

Around the WCHA: St. Cloud State 5, Denver 1 ... Bemidji State 5, Alabama Huntsville 0 ... North Dakota 5, Russian Red Stars 1 (exhibition)

MSU vs. CC — Game 2 live blog

2011-12-17T14:18:00.002-06:00

Lines are posted below the live chat. The only change for MSU is on the fourth line where Corey Leivermann will play in the place of Mike Louwerse, who was hurt in the first period on Friday.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=bffc307d02" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. Colorado College&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
23-Dorr 14-Jokinen 22-McInnis
15-Burkemper 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
24-Mueller 29-Zuck 11-Leivermann

3-Cooper 26-Schiller
7-Palmquist 16-Elbrecht
17-Mosey 2-Nelson

1-Lee
31-Karambelas
30-Cook

Scratches: Grant, Heath, Knoll, Louwerse, Stern, Thauwald

COLORADO COLLEGE
12-Skalbeck 13-Schwartz 27-Rapuzzi
16-Krushelnyski 22-Dineen 15-Hamburg
9-Eveland 11-Civitarese 21-Collett
18-Wamsganz 23-Hall 19-Morin

10-Guentzel 7-McDermott
5-Harstad 4-Marciano
6-Stoykewych 28-Bovin

39-Thorimbert
31-Howe

Tigers 2, Mavericks 1 (OT)

2011-12-16T22:56:00.001-06:00

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game ...

1. No Howe, no matter: Colorado College goalie Joe Howe has scored 1-0 victories over Minnesota State in Mankato (the town of his birth) in each of the last two seasons. But he was on the bench Friday night, as Josh Thorimbert got the nod. Thorimbert did a pretty good impression of Howe, holding a 1-0 lead until 4:34 remained in regulation. Mavericks freshman Matt Leitner tied the game then and that eventually forced overtime where CC's David Civitarese scored the game-winning goal at 1:28. Thorimbert stopped 37 shots for the win, including 15 of 16 in the third period.

2. Slowing CC: The Tigers went into the series as the nation's top-scoring team but dropped to second after Friday's game after being held to their lowest offensive output of the season. Jeff Collett scored on a back-door play from Dakota Eveland at 12:51 of the second period, and Civitarese walked out of the corner dangling the puck and ripped a wrister for the game winner in OT. Mavericks goalie Austin Lee was rock-solid, making 27 saves. Minnesota State simply couldn't cash in on its opportunities — just six days after putting nine goals on the board against Alabama Huntsville.

3. Quick whistle? The Mavericks very nearly scored their first goal of the game with about three minutes remaining in the second period. That's when Zach Lehrke made a nice move cutting to the inside and firing a tricky shot on Thorimbert from the slot. Lehrke must have seen the puck not yet secure and darted toward the goalie. But the referee behind the net lost sight of the puck and blew his whistle. Moments later, Lehrke was tapping the puck into the goal, but it was clearly after play was blown dead.

Deep thought: Want a better idea of how small a crowd 2,395 is at the VWC? Well, about an hour or so after the game, the arena's clean-up crew found a puck that had been shot into the stands and tossed it on the ice. Apparently, there wasn't anyone in that area around during the game to grab it four a souvenir.

Quote of the night: "I definitely wish we would have won the game for as well as our team played. Tomorrow we have to play the same game but execute on our chances." MSU senior forward Justin Jokinen.

Around the WCHA: Northern Michigan 4, Michigan Tech 1 ... Bemidji State 3, Alabama Huntsville 0 ... Denver 3, St. Cloud State 2 (OT)

MSU vs. CC — Game 1 live blog

2011-12-16T15:15:00.001-06:00

Lines are posted below the live blog ...

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=ef58b051d8" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. Colorado College&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE

23-Dorr 14-Jokinen 22-McInnis
15-Burkemper 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
24-Mueller 29-Zuck 9-Louwerse

3-Cooper 26-Schiller
7-Palmquist 16-Elbrecht
17-Mosey 2-Nelson

1-Lee
31-Karambelas
30-Cook

Scratches: Grant, Heath, Knoll, Leivermann, Stern, Thauwald

COLORADO COLLEGE

12-Skalbeck 13-Schwartz 27-Rapuzzi
16-Krushelnyski 22-Dineen 15-Hamburg
9-Eveland 11-Civitarese 21-Collett
19-Morin 23-Hall 17-Taft

10-Guentzel 7-McDermott
5-Harstad 4-Marciano
6-Stoykewych 28-Boivin

39-Thorimbert
31-Howe

Referees: Tom Sterns, C.J. Beaurline. Linesmen: Chris Olson, Sterling Egan

Friday Morning Skate

2011-12-16T08:21:00.003-06:00

The Mavericks will close out the first half of their WCHA schedule this weekend when they host seventh-ranked Colorado College (last weekend marked the halfway point of the regular season). Minnesota State is hoping that injuries were indeed the biggest factor to their slow start (even a sweep of the Tigers ensures of them of no better than equalling their worst first-half conference record) and that they can build off a solid outing at Minnesota and a sweep of Alabama Huntsville.

The lineup shouldn't be much different than last Saturday against the Chargers, with the exception of Eli Zuck's return from injury. More from the Freep's gameday package: MSU might have caught a break with CC's Jaden Schwartz and Scott Winkler out to play in international competition. But goalie Joe Howe will be here. Born in Mankato, he has a pair of 1-0 shutouts at the Verizon Wireless Center, one in each of the last two seasons.

From the Tigers side, however, it looks like goaltender Josh Thorimbert might have the edge over Howe right now after Howe struggled last weekend in a home loss to Alaska Anchorage. Check out The Gazette's series preview here. Also, like many coaches, CC's Scott Owens says Minnesota State is much better than its record shows.

Going around a quiet weekend in the WCHA ...

Denver at St. Cloud State: The Pioneers will have Jason Zucker in the lineup tonight before heads off to practice with Team USA before the World Junior Championships. For the Huskies, Nick Oliver is starting to score, and St. Cloud hopes that can help it separate itself from a clump of teams in the middle of the WCHA.

In nonconference action, Bemidji State hosts Alabama Huntsville for two games, and Michigan Tech will play at Northern Michigan tonight.

Meanwhile, Nebraska Omaha is off this weekend and before coach Dean Blais headed out to coach the U.S. junior team, he had to dismiss senior and one-time captain Alex Hudson.

More coverage from USCHO and a midseason WCHA review from Inside College Hockey.

Another D commits to MSU

2011-12-15T20:21:00.000-06:00

According to Minnesota Hockey Hub on Thursday, Eagan High School defenseman Eli May has committed to Minnesota State. The senior is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound blue liner on a team purportedly loaded with Division I talent. May played two seasons in the fall Elite League, too.

According to the Hub's story, May is sold on the MSU coaches, saying: "I like the coaching staff. I just really liked the environment. They say you should go with your gut feeling, and I went with my gut."

May is a co-captain on the state's fourth-ranked team.

The story doesn't say when May is coming to Mankato. I'm speculating it will be after a year of junior hockey, considering he's a current high school player (there just aren't many who are making the direct leap these days) and the fact that MSU has two D coming in next season and is losing just one, Cameron Cooper — well, two, if we count Joe Schiller, which I suppose we should be doing now.

Answering your questions

2011-12-15T09:39:00.001-06:00

Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. So without furtherado ...

From crossjcek: Do you see Phil Cook getting playingtime this season to gain some confidence back or do we see Karambelas get timeto prep for next year? I am excited about Williams but I was also aboutMurdock. Hopefully we will get to see Murdock play in the building when LSSUjoin the WCHA.

Crossjcek, the line chart last week listed Karambelas as thebackup to Lee, and Karambelas also went to Minnesota as the No. 2. I’m reallynot sure right now what the Mavericks will do if Lee struggles or needs abreak. Jutting has said all the right things in regards to Cook, that he’s agood goalie, that he needs to get back on track mentally, etc. Games are tooimportant to simply test a goalie’s confidence, so they’ll have to be convincedfrom practice and in talking to him that he’s good to go. As for StephonWilliams, I’ve heard good things about him. Currently, he has a league-leading.924 SV% as well as a 2.46 GAA for Sioux Falls of the USHL. Meanwhile, one-timeMav Kevin Murdock is now at Lake Superior. He’s played just two games behindfellow sophomore Kevin Kapalka, but he stopped 51 of 54 shots in those gamesand is 1-1.

From Dave: I like the way theguys have been playing lately, how much does being healthy have to do with thator is just growing into college hockey? Also, other than CC this weekend andUMD, UND at the end, the remaining schedule looks favorable. How do you see theboys finishing?

Dave, I think health is huge. Getting Tyler Elbrecht helpedthe team in so many ways. Besides providing depth on defense, he’s the team’svocal and emotional leader. It’s hard to be that guy while wearing a suit and acast. You could see what he brought in those Minnesota games. But I also thinkthat you’re seeing a team that is led by young players. They have a lot oftalent and have showed it, but the next step is figuring out how to win games.We’ll see if the Huntsville games can carry over into conference play. As topredicting how they’ll finish, I think with a more favorable second-halfschedule, especially with a lot of home games, they have a good chance to climbout of the cellar. How many teams they’ll pass, though, I’m not sure yet.

From MSU Grad 97: Who do yousee as the next Maverick to play in the NHL, and how many Mavericks are outthere professionally not in the NHL right now? It would be good to get updateson who is still out there playing either in the minors or in Europe.

MSU Grad, Of the current players, I think the next MSUplayer to get a banner up in the VWC for playing in the NHL is probably EriahHayes. I think there’s some intrigue about him as a free agent, whether it’safter this season or next. Then there’s Tyler Pitlick, who is one of theOilers’ top prospects. Who knows? Maybe Ben Youds will get a cup of coffee forthe Blackhawks. He’s playing for their top minor-league team right now. As forhow many pros are out there, the latest MSU weekly press release shows 24 alumsplaying in the NHL, the minors and Europe. I’ll try to put an update on theblog about them next week.

From MSU Grad 97: Another question - is there any realplans of action they have to help get people back in the Wireless after thisseason? The schedule, as you have mentioned, with weekends without students andhaving to go at the same time as basketball, is killing the atmosphere there. Iam hoping there is a plan for making sure that they're leagues do notintertwine this much again and a plan to get people back interested in the teamand the Civic Center other than better performance.

MSU Grad, That’s a great question. I haven’t seen any realplans in place. However, a after this weekend, the students should be back, andthere are games on the schedule they’d probably like to see — Wisconsin, Omaha,Duluth. If the numbers are accurate from the last couple of home games withattendance at about 2,400, having 1,100 students added to that could make theatmosphere much better. But, including Thanksgiving and this weekend againstCC, to have three straight home series with no students around is ridiculous,as is the conflicting schedule with home basketball.

From Dave, I was happy to seethe Mavs play real hockey against UAH last Saturday instead of the chippy stylethey used against the Gophers the previous weekend. I have had severalconversations over the last couple of weeks on this subject. Do you think thatthe Mavs style of play against top tier teams like the Gophers and Sioux is biton the chippy side to take those teams out of their game? Or am I on an islandin this thinking? Why don't the Mavs employ the style that won them both gameslast weekend?

Dave (this appears to be a different Dave than earlier),Interesting observation. I think with a lot of teams, they’re going to get upfor playing a rival and you might get some extra curricular activity along withthat. That being said, MSU has had some success against the Gophers in recentyears by playing a hard, edgy style. You want to call that “chippy,” fine. Butit’s worked. I think it has gotten the Gophers off their game a bit. Those pastMinnesota teams seemed a bit soft despite having so much talent on paper. I’mnot sure you could describe this year’s Minnesota team that way. I think MSUplayed two pretty good games against the Gophers, and I don’t think theirchippiness was out of control by any means.

From Jeff: Shane, What do you attribute the better playthe last couple of weekends to? Is it simply getting healthier? Is it gettingkey guys like Elbrecht back? Or are they just finally starting to get collegehockey since it seems the guys leading the team are so young?

Jeff, See my answer to the first Dave’s question above.

From Hockey Girl: I could asklots of questions but I will try to keep it short and save the rest for anotherday.

I live out of state and have beenfortunate enough to catch some of the Charter broadcasts of MSU games (as wellas SCSU and BSU) out here in South Dakota. Does MSU have plans to continuebroadcasting their games in the future on Charter or elsewhere, especiallyconsidering the conference changes coming up?

I have been impressed with thefreshman class so far this year, especially when they had to step it up soearly in their careers for their injured teammates. Given the current freshmanand sophmore classes and future known recruits, how do you see the Mavs faringnext year in the old WCHA, and the new WCHA beyond that?

Thanks for taking the time to answereveryone’s questions! I always look forward to reading your blog!

Hockey Girl, As far as I know the Charter broadcasts willcontinue. The games are basically on a glorified cable access channel, so I seeno reason why they’d stop, even when the conference shakeup takes place. Also,the broadcasts provide a great opportunity for local college students toproduce and broadcast the games. The students at Bethany Lutheran College havedone a great job and have some unbelievable equipment and facilities to workwith. As for the young players, they have played really well to start theseason. I think they have a chance to make a nice run in the final year of theold WCHA and be pretty darn good in the first year or two of the revampedleague, especially if next year’s class plays as advertised.

From D Kunze: How much longer is Chase Grant going to be out?

D, Grant is out for the season. He went home to OklahomaCity after last weekend’s series and I believe was scheduled to have surgery onWednesday for a torn labrum in his hip. For as much that’s been made about theMavs getting healthier, they’ll never be 100 percent with Grant out. That’s ahuge loss for this team. The only real positive about it is that they’ll havehim for three years when he returns since he’ll get a medical hardship waiver.

UMD women's coach suspended

2011-12-15T09:09:00.001-06:00

Minnesota Duluth women's coach Shannon Miller has been suspended by the WCHA for one game due to a violation of the league's Code of Conduct. She will miss Friday's game here in Mankato against Minnesota State.

According to a league press release, the suspension comes after the executive committee reviewed "an incident that occurred following a game versus Ohio State on Nov. 26."

The Duluth News-Tribune confirmed that the incident involved an official.

This is the second time that Miller has been suspended by the league and the second time that the suspension affects a game in Mankato. Miller was reprimanded for an incident at the 2003 women's Final Five, and the punishment took place during the next season's opener against MSU.

Strangely, Miller opted to skip the entire trip to Mankato to start the '03-04 opener, not just the game for which she was suspended. The Mavericks upset the Bulldogs both nights, as goalie Shari Vogt (now one of the MSU assistant coaches) stopped 72 shots in the series.

A column (and a correction)

2011-12-14T09:43:00.001-06:00

In my Free Press column today, I went after the NCHC a little but. But, really, it was a call to the WCHA to start getting its own message out before it becomes the Island of Misfit Hockey Teams, as some (at least around Kato town) are fearing it will become.

Anyway, one issue I had with the NCHC was the fact that it was sending out weekly press releases, similar to that the WCHA does, touting the play of its teams. North Dakota sports information director and good guy Jason Hajdu told me via Twitter this morning that those releases were discontinued a few weeks ago. Thanks for the clarification. Consider this a correction.

But I'm going to ask my readers: What do you think the WCHA/Minnesota State need to do over the next year and a half to prepare for 2013-14? Any thoughts?

Mavs get D commit

2011-12-13T16:54:00.000-06:00

Minnesota State recently received a verbal commitment for next season from defenseman Nick Buchanan of the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League. Buchanan is a 6-foot-3, 205-pound defensive defenseman from the BCHL's top team. He has seven assists in 31 games.

Buchanan, a Victoria, B.C., native, is teammates with another future Maverick, forward Bryce Gervais, who was traded to the Vees from the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Gervais has 28 goals and 15 assists in 31 games.

The Vees are loaded with future college players, including Minnesota-bound Connor Reilly, Mike Reilly and Ryan Reilly (three brothers from Chanhassen); St. Cloud State-bound Joey Benik of St. Francis; and Notre Dame-bound Mario Lucia, son of Gophers coach Don Lucia.

You want answers?!?!?

2011-12-13T09:56:00.002-06:00

It's been awhile since I've offered up a Q&A. But with the season nearing its midway point, it's probably a good time to get your questions. Here are the rules: Post a question about MSU hockey or, really, anything you want, in the comment section of this post, and, probably Thursday, I will put up a blog post answering said questions. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Mavericks 9, Chargers 1

2011-12-10T22:22:00.001-06:00

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game:

1. Check the record book: The Mavericks haven't swept anyone for awhile, but you only had to go back to last season (Jan. 7-8 against American International) to find that. As for scoring nine goals, well, that took some work. That hasn't happened since March 6, 2004 when they beat Nebraska Omaha 9-1. This game was all MSU, and it really didn't matter what the situation was. The Mavericks scored three short-handed goals and two power-play goals. Huntsville's only goal came in a 5x3 situation.

2. Everybody's scoring: Michael Dorr scored two short-handed goals, and Zach Lehrke had the other. Lehrke also had another goal and an assist for a three-point game (he was the No. 1 star). Eriah Hayes had a goal and an assist, and Josh Nelson finished with two assists. Other goal scorers included Matt Leitner, J.P. Burkemper, Johnny McInnis and Corey Leivermann. That was Leivermann's first goal and first point of the year. In all, 13 players had at least one point for the Mavericks.

3. Confidence before CC: So what does MSU get out of beating up a 1-17-1 team that just found out this week that it won't be eliminated as a program at the end of the season? Well, confidence. The Mavericks got a lot of guys on the score sheet and really took it to the Chargers from the get-go on Saturday. For Dorr, who had just one goal going into the night, two shorties certainly seemed to give him a lift. "A lot of guys have been frustrated with the lack of scoring, myself included, so a blowout really helps with confidence," he said. Next week will be a little tougher, as the Mavericks will host No.6 Colorado College.

Deep thought: Lehrke's first goal, which made it a 2-0 game, was a thing of beauty. He jumped over the boards for a shift and picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, then he skated it in and fired on net. He got his own rebound and skated around the back of the net and back out to the left circle and took another shot through traffic. That one went in for the unassisted goal.

Quote of the night: "It was a great weekend, and we still had to work hard to do it. Four goals last night and nine tonight. Obviously, something was working. Our forecheck. We were shooting pucks, getting on rebounds, so that's good. Hopefully, we can carry the momentum to next weekend."

Read the game story here.

Around the WCHA: Bemidji State 2, Denver 1 ... North Dakota 1, Nebraska Omaha 0 ... Minnesota Duluth 4, Wisconsin 2 ... Colorado College 4, Alaska Anchorage 3 ... Minnesota 6, Michigan Tech 2

MSU vs. UAH — Game 2 live blog

2011-12-10T16:27:00.001-06:00

A couple of changes for the Mavericks tonight. J.P. Burkemper is back in the lineup. Lines can be found below the live blog ...

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=0aff97076e" &amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. Alabama Huntsville&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
15-Burkemper 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
23-Dorr 14-Jokinen 22-McInnis
24-Mueller 9-Louwerse 11-Leivermann

3-Cooper 26-Schiller
7-Palmquist 16-Elbrecht
17-Mosey 2-Nelson

1-Lee
31-Karambelas
30-Cook

Scratches: Grant, Heath, Knoll, Stern, Thauwald, Zuck

ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE

12-Roy 26-Cseter 27-Lysaght
22-S. Geoffrion 7-Easton 19-Pierce
5-B. Geoffrion 18-Creppin 16-Reid
13-Webley 8-Allan 15-Kotlarz

2-Strukoff 23-deBruyn
28-Reinhardt 24-Durnie
20-Uusivirta 14-Gatt

33-Saunders
32-Groh
31-Griggs

Referees: Pat Britt, Brett Klosowski
Linesmen: Matt Anderson, Nick Bradshaw

Mavericks 4, Chargers 2

2011-12-09T22:56:00.001-06:00

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game

1. Much-needed win: The Mavericks snapped a seven game winless streak on Friday by beating Alabama Huntsville before 2,421 at the Verizon Wireless Center. Minnesota State's last win came on Nov. 11 against St. Cloud State. "It's great to get a win," MSU coach Troy Jutting said. "I thought we played well, but we needed to win."

2. Suddenly, a power play: Minnesota State finished 3 for 5 on the power play and also held Huntsville scoreless on three power-play chances. Eriah Hayes (pictured), Johnny McInnis and Zach Lehrke all scored power play goals. Lehrke's was an empty-netter to seal the win with 30 seconds remaining. McInnis' goal stood up as the game-winner. He has proven in his year-plus as a Mavericks that he can shoot the puck, but the goals haven't come. That was his second of the season and the third of his career. Read more about McInnis in The Free Press' game story.

3. 15 yards or 5 minutes: Late in the second period, there was a scuffle around the MSU net after a Chargers scoring chance. Officials took at least 10 (maybe 15?) minutes to sort out the penalties, and they doled out four 5-minute majors for facemasking, including one each to the Mavs' Tyler Elbrecht and Zach Palmquist. Huntsville's Jeff Vanderlugt also got a game DQ during the altercation. Neither team ended up on the power play after the situation. The refs also ended up reviewing the scoring chance and determined that no goal was scored. Weird.

Quote of the night: "Everyone wants to score big goals. But to lose seven in a row and finally get the W, as a hockey player you want to contribute to that." — MSU forward Johnny McInnis (the Mavs actually went 0-6-1 in their last seven games)

Around the WCHA: Minnesota Duluth 3, Wisconsin 3 (OT) ... Michigan Tech 3, Minnesota 2 (OT) ... Denver 3, Bemidji State 2 ... Nebraska Omaha 2, North Dakota 1 ... Alaska Anchorage 6, Colorado College 3

MSU vs. UAH — Game 1 live blog

2011-12-09T15:42:00.001-06:00

Lines can be found below the live blog ...

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=19d6258a54" &amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. Alabama Huntsville&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
24-Mueller 9-Louwerse 23-Dorr
11-Leivermann 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
22-McInnis 14-Jokinen 20-Thauwald

3-Cooper 26-Schiller
7-Palmquist 16-Elbrecht
17-Mosey 2-Nelson

1-Lee
31-Karambelas
30-Cook

Scratches: Burkemper (inj.), Grant (inj.), Heath (inj.) Knoll, Stern (inj.), Zuck (inj.)

ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE
12-Roy 26-Cseter 27-Lysaght
19-Pierce 7-Easton 21-Vanderlugt
5-Geoffrion 18-Creppin 16-Reid
13-Webley 8-Allan 15-Kotlarz

2-Strukoff 23-deBruyn
28-Reinhardt 24-Durnie
20-UUsivirta 14-Gatt

33-Saunders
32-Groh
31-Griggs

Referees: Pat Britt, Brett Klosowski
Linesmen: Matt Anderson, Nick Bradshaw

Friday Morning Skate

2011-12-08T18:59:00.001-06:00

The Mavericks are back in Mankato this weekend and are taking on Alabama Huntsville, whose players surely have spring in their step after their program appeared to get a reprieve this week.

More on the Chargers in a sec ...

As for Minnesota State, it is looking to break a seven-game winless streak after playing Minnesota pretty tough, only to get swept, a week ago. The Mavericks got some bad injury news this week, as Eli Zuck and J.P. Burkemper are out with minor injuries. They will be replaced by recent healthy scratches Mike Louwerse and Charlie Thauwald. Louwerse will center Adam Mueller and Michael Dorr. Thauwald will play on the fourth line, with Corey Leivermann moving up to Burkemper's spot with Zach Lehrke and Eriah Hayes.

Staying on the subject of Lehrke, he is the subject of today's feature in The Free Press. He is the third of three Lehrke brothers from Park Rapids, all of whom went on to play college hockey. Derek attended D-III Northland in Ashland, Wis., and Tyler played at Bemidji State.

For more on the Mavericks, see today's gameday preview.

Meanwhile, The Huntsville Times has plenty of coverage on the effort to save hockey, including this story on UAH's new president and a rather scathing column on the old interim president and current University of Alabama system chancellor Malcolm Portera, the man who gave hockey the ax a couple of months ago. Meanwhile, coach Chris Luongo has been given the go-ahead to schedule games for next year (Troy Jutting told me that MSU had Huntsville on the schedule for next year already and that those games have not been changed).

Going around the WCHA ...

Michigan Tech at Minnesota: Fresh off their sweep of the Mavericks the Gophers will host the much-improved Huskies, whose first-year coach, Mel Pearson, played against Minnesota's Don Lucia when the two were in high school. Tech is in the meat of its schedule right now, having been swept for the first time this season a week ago against defending national champion Minnesota Duluth.

Minnesota Duluth at Wisconsin: The Bulldogs are No. 1 in the country and riding a 12-game unbeaten streak into Madison, and some are wondering if this will be UMD's last trip to the Kohl Center. For the Badgers, much has been made about all-star defenseman Justin Schultz, but what about his partner, Frankie Simonelli?

Denver at Bemidji State: Apparently, you can't discuss anything Denver-related right now without mentioning Tim Tebow, and DU hockey is no exception. The Beavers, meanwhile, are expecting a tough matchup with the Pioneers in town.

Nebraska Omaha at North Dakota: It's the Blais bowl as Omaha coach Dean Blais returns to Grand Forks. But the UND's old coach won't be the only familiar name to fans in The Ralph tonight. As for the team formerly known as the Fighting Sioux (TFKATFS — put that on the jersey!), junior Corban Knight seems to do it all.

Alaska Anchorage at Colorado College: The Seawolves are tied for last place in the WCHA with MSU and are trying to grab some points before the first half of the season ends against a good CC team. As for the Tigers, superstar Jaden Schwartz is excited to get a second chance at playing in the World Junior Championships later this month. An injury derailed the opportunity to play for Team Canada a year ago. (His selection to the team, by the way, will force him to miss next weekend's series in Mankato — a nice break for the Mavs.)

More WCHA coverage at USCHO.

Be sure to stop back on the blog later today for tonight's lineups and PucKato's world-famous live blog.

Huntsville coming with good news

2011-12-07T08:13:00.001-06:00

Don't bury the Alabama Huntsville Chargers just yet. On the eve of their trip to Mankato for this weekend's nonconference series against Minnesota State, the program just might have been saved, according to The Huntsville Times.

Plans have not been put in place, but after a Tuesday meeting, school officials announced:

"Members of The University of Alabama in Huntsville administration met this evening with hockey supporters, following discussions with Chancellor Malcolm Portera, and came to a consensus to work closely together to pursue institutional and community support to continue UAH hockey at the Division I level.
"Several scenarios were discussed to ensure recurring support is in place, and the two groups will continue to meet in the coming days to finalize a workable plan."

This comes nearly two months after it was announced that the team would be dismantled as an NCAA Division I program after this season be reverted to club status. However, there has been a grass-roots effort to save the program, and the group says it has raised $500,000 in pledges, according to the Times' story.

It will be interesting to see what happens going forward, as Chargers players have already begun looking into transferring (it was reported earlier this week that goalie Clarke Saunders is headed to North Dakota), and the issue of remaining an independent program amid all of the upcoming conference changes has yet to be resolved (the WCHA could use a 10th team, no?).

Huntsville and MSU will play on Friday and Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Center.

Post, post, spin, save

2011-12-06T08:32:00.001-06:00

Here's that Austin Lee save from Saturday night at Mariucci Arena:

Minnesota 3, Minnesota State 2

2011-12-03T22:54:00.001-06:00

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game:

1. Digging a hole: Minnesota State fell behind 3-0 in the first period Saturday, and it tried to mount a comeback from there. But this wasn't Alaska-Anchorage. The Gophers made the Mavericks work. Zach Lehrke scored two power play goals — one in the second period and one in the third — but that was as close as MSU would get. Jean-Paul LaFontaine assisted on both MSU goals.

2. Can't make it up: Lehrke probably needed a hat trick to make up for his first-minute penalty, one that Mavericks coach Troy Jutting called "stupid," "dumb" and "selfish" in separate statements. Forty seconds into the game, Lehrke hit Minnesota's Erik Haula after the whistle and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. Seth Ambroz scored on the power play to give the Gophers the early lead. "I just got frustrated, I guess, with Haula," Lehrke said. "Even last night he was getting in my head a little bit. I just gotta control that."

3. Breaking away: The Mavericks missed out on two breakaway chances Saturday and ended up 0 for 5 for the weekend in that category. With the game 1-0, Gophers goalie Kent Patterson gloved a shot by Justin Jokinen, and when it was 3-1 late in the second, Patterson made a nice play to get his blocker on Matt Leitner's open rush. Patterson finished the game with 26 saves.

Deep thought: MSU goaltender Austin Lee (37 saves) played much better than he did on Friday, and made an amazing save in the second period, as Kyle Rau fired a shot that hit the right post then the left before Lee reached behind his back while spinning around to swat the puck away. Good stuff.

Quote of the night: "I'm worried about the next game. The winless streak, with the things that have gone on with our hockey team this year, don't bother me. We just played an excellent hockey team two nights in a row in their building and battled them to the end both nights. We're getting better." — MSU coach Troy Jutting on the Mavericks' seven-game winless streak.

Around the WCHA: Nebraska Omaha 6, Alabama Huntsville 2 ... Minnesota Duluth 5, Michigan Tech 3 ... Bemidji State 3, St. Cloud State 1 ... North Dakota at Alaska Anchorage (late)

Minnesota State at Minnesota - Game 2 live blog

2011-12-03T18:43:00.001-06:00

Minnesota State's lineup is the same tonight as last night. Lines can be found below the live blog ...

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=98d7e67996" >Minnesota State men's hockey at Minnesota</a>

MINNESOTA STATE
15-Burkemper 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
24-Mueller 29-Zuck 23-Dorr
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
22-McInnis 14-Jokinen 11-Leivermann

3-Cooper 26-Schiller
7-Palmquist 16-Elbrecht
17-Mosey 2-Nelson

1-Lee
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Cook, Grant (inj.), Heath (inj.), Knoll, Louwerse, Stern (inj.), Thauwald

MINNESOTA
16-Condon 9-Matson 17-Ambroz
7-Rau 27-Bjugstad 24-Budish
14-Serratore 22-Boyd 18-Larson
11-Warning 19-Haula 21-Isackson

4-Helgeson 12-Holl
10-Marshall 20-Alt
6-Parenteau 29-Schmidt

35-Patterson
1-Shibrowski
30-Kremer

Gophers 4, Mavericks 2 (updated)

2011-12-02T22:37:00.001-06:00

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game:

1. Ten-second turning point: A close game hinged on a Minnesota power play early in the third period. Minnesota State senior (and one-time Gopher) Michael Dorr had a short-handed breakaway but fired his shot wide. Minnesota came right back down to the other end of the ice, and Erik Haula blasted a shot past goalie Austin Lee (26 saves) from the right point. Not sure if Lee was screened on the play. Replay seemed to show that defenseman Josh Nelson was in front of his teammate, but coach Troy Jutting suggested that there was no screen. Either way, it was the difference in the game.

2. Long goals: Haula wasn't the only player with a long goal that the opposing goaltender would have liked back. MSU defenseman Evan Mosey scored the Mavericks' first goal, tying the game at 1-1 at 8:04 of the first period with a skipping shot from just inside the blue line that beat goalie Kent Patterson (26 saves). Lee also gave up a low, far-side shot from the right circle on the game's opening goal by Taylor Matson and didn't cover the near post enough on Nick Larson's goal that made it 2-1 at the start of the third period. Minnesota's other goal was an empty-netter by Jake Hanson.

3. Youngsters step up again: The Mavericks tied the game at 2-2 with a power-play goal at 9:28 of the second period. Freshman Jean-Paul LaFontaine scored it for his eighth goal of the season, but the play started with a heady play by rookie defenseman Zach Palmquist. Palmquist kicked the puck near the blue line to keep the puck in the zone. Then he gathered it up, beat a defender and charged hard to the net. He was checked into the goal, creating a pile-up in the net on top of Patterson, and LaFontaine fired in a loose puck. Zach Lehrke also assisted on the play.

Deep thought: It's got to be frustrating for MSU right now. They played the country's fifth-ranked team toe to toe only to extend their winless streak to six games. They've also had a six-game losing streak already this season.

Quote of the night: "That's a 10-second difference that could have been the exact opposite, a huge momentum for us at obviously a key point in the hockey game." — Troy Jutting on the turning point of the game.

See the box score here. Read my gamer here. More coverage from the Star Tribune, the Pioneer Press, USCHO and College Hockey News.

Around the WCHA: Minnesota Duluth 5, Michigan Tech 3 ... Alabama-Huntsville 3, Nebraska Omaha 1 ... Bemidji State 6, St. Cloud State 6 - OT ... Colorado College 4, Denver 3 - OT (CC wins on penalty shot in OT) ... North Dakota 5, Alaska Anchorage 2

Minnesota State at Minnesota

2011-12-02T13:25:00.001-06:00

Tonight's lines can be found below the live blog ...

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=4aa1a34a6d" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey at Minnesota&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
15-Burkemper 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
24-Mueller 29-Zuck 23-Dorr
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
22-McInnis 14-Jokinen 11-Leivermann

3-Cooper 26-Schiller
7-Palmquist 16-Elbrecht
17-Mosey 2-Nelson

1-Lee
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Cook, Grant (inj.), Heath (inj.), Knoll, Louwerse, Stern (inj.), Thauwald

MINNESOTA
11-Warning 19-Haula 21-Hansen
16-Condon 9-Matson 17-Ambroz
7-Rau 27-Bjugstad 24-Budish
14-Serratore 22-Boyd 18-Larson

4-Helgeson 12-Holl
10-Marshall 20-Alt
6-Parenteau 29-Schmidt

35-Patterson
1-Shibrowski
30-Kremer

Friday Morning Skate

2011-12-02T07:49:00.001-06:00

It's Gopher weekend!

The Mavericks will head to No. 5 Minnesota today in hopes of keeping some recent history going against that team. They are 5-1-0 in their last six games against Minnesota, but the two teams appear to be going in separate directions right now.

For Minnesota State, junior forward Eriah Hayes is on a six-game point-scoring streak and has that look about him over the last three weekends. There aren't a lot of players in the league like Hayes, who came from a small town on the outskirts of the State of Hockey.

The Mavericks will be healthier than they were last Saturday, as defenseman Tyler Elbrecht makes his return to the rink. Forward Adam Mueller also will be back after missing a game. Austin Lee is expected to go in goal, and he'll have to be good against the high-scoring Gophers. Read more in The Free Press' preview here.

As for Minnesota, the Star Tribune takes a look at freshman defenseman Ben Marshall, who is learning on the fly. The Strib also has a preview here. Remember that the Gophers had risen to No. 1 in the nation but have slipped recently. The Pioneer Press looks at one of the reasons why.

Want more about the series? Jess Myers writes about Michael Dorr's return to Mariucci Arena for ESPN Twin Cities. And back to the Strib for a bit, beat writer Roman Augustoviz challenged me to a pick 'em contest with this weekend's WCHA schedule.

Time to go around the rest of the WCHA ...

Minnesota Duluth at Michigan Tech: The champs enter this series riding a 10-game unbeaten streak. As well as their big guns from last year are playing, Duluth is getting other contributions, too, including senior defenseman Scott Kishel, who played in just seven games a year ago. ... For Michigan Tech, it has doubled its win total from a year ago and now takes on a team that beat Michigan in the national title game last spring. Why is that significant? Huskies coach Mel Pearson was an assistant coach on that team

Nebraska Omaha vs. Alabama Huntsville: Huntsville may be winless and on its way out as an NCAA program, but the red Mavericks aren't looking past the Chargers after getting upset by them 10 months ago. This series will be played in Nashville.

Bemidji State at St. Cloud State: The Beavers head south to take on the Huskies and will have to play on that dreaded Olympic ice. Bemidji State is 8-33-3 on the big ice since 1999 (I'm pretty sure a couple of those wins have taken place in Mankato). Lots more on BSU on that link. ... For St. Cloud, injuries have hampered its start to the season, but the development of the defensemen is one reason why the Huskies have stayed near the .500 mark.

Denver at Colorado College: The Gold Pan series continues with just one game tonight, and all eyes seem to be on CC super sophomore Jaden Schwartz, who has four hat tricks this season (he'll be in Mankato in two weeks!). Schwartz scored two of those hat tricks a week ago at North Dakota, but the Tigers were outscored 11-9 and swept.

North Dakota at Alaska Anchorage: North Dakota might have turned the corner last week against CC, but now it heads to Anchorage where its record hasn't been very Sioux-like. By the way, we're nearing the end of the Fighting Sioux era. This week UND officials requested that all media stop using the nickname and logo as they will be retired on Jan. 1. ... For the Seawolves, their freshman have been picking up their play of late, including during last weekend's three-point series in Mankato.

More WCHA coverage from USCHO, INCH and College Hockey News (here and here).

Programming note

2011-12-01T08:23:00.001-06:00

The Minnesota State vs. Minnesota series will be broadcast on Fox Sports North this weekend. However, there is a conflict with the Minnesota Wild game, so you might have to do some sleuthing to find the Mavericks on TV, as it will be on an alternate channel.

Read more and see the entire state alt-channel lineup here, but in the Mankato area, you should be able see the game on the following channels:

• Charter ~~890~~ (fixed) 980
• Hickory Tech 1
• DirecTV 675 (675-1 for HD)
• Dish Network 450 (9573 for HD)

Elbrecht likely to play against Gophers

2011-11-30T11:30:00.001-06:00

Minnesota State junior defenseman and co-captain Tyler Elbrecht survived his first full-contact practice since early October on Monday, as well as the rest of the week, and it appears he'll be in the lineup Friday against fifth-ranked Minnesota.

The Gopher series was Elbrecht's target weekend since breaking his arm in the first game of the year against RPI, even if doctors, trainers and coaches were a little skeptical that it might happen.

Even Wednesday, coach Troy Jutting said he would have liked to have given Elbrecht another week of practice to get his legs ready for game action. But 1) the Mavericks need him in the lineup (see below) and 2) this is a pretty important WCHA weekend.

Elbrecht's return will be a huge boost for the Mavericks. For one thing, it will be the return of the team's emotional leader. But also all still is not rosy on the injury front as defenseman Brett Stern re-aggravated his upper-body injury and likely is out until after Christmas, and defenseman Danny Heath remains out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.

As for other injuries, forward Adam Mueller practiced this week and appears set to play again after missing Saturday's game against Alaska Anchorage.

A few other items ...

Minnesota's hockey sports information guy Paul Rovnak asked me to contribute to a little Q&A about this weekend's series. You can read that here.

Later today or tomorrow you should check out Star Tribune beat writer Roman Augustoviz's blog where, once again, he has challenged me in a WCHA pick-'em contest. Currently, Roman has some notes on this weekend's series from Wednesday's media session at the U.

More from Karambelas

2011-11-28T08:30:00.001-06:00

Follow this link to read my Monday notebook from this weekend's Minnesota State-Alaska Anchorage series. It features some of Saturday's postgame comments from goalie Evan Karambelas, who made his collegiate debut, entering the game in the middle of the second period with a 5-1 deficit.

Mavericks 5, Seawolves 5 - OT

2011-11-26T23:00:00.001-06:00

John Cross/The Free Press

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game ...

1. Call it a comeback: There were some shades of that crazy come-from-behind win over Denver back in 2003-04 on Saturday night. The four unanswered goals, the power-play goals, the goalie change (and going to the rookie third-stringer, to boot, with Evan Karambelas getting his first collegiate action) and the sheer craziness of the game. But I wouldn't rank it above that 8-7 win. Really, Saturday's game should have been a victory, with MSU outshooting Anchorage (not a future national champion, like that DU team) 46-13 and pretty much dominating all phases of the game.

2. Cook's confidence: Not sure what to make of goalie Phil Cook after this one. Not only did he give up five goals on seven shots before being pulled 7 1/2 minutes into the second period, but if you go back to the second period of last Saturday's game in Duluth, he has given up nine goals on the last 11 shots he's faced. "I think probably a lack of confidence," MSU coach Troy Jutting said. "We've got to get him back to where he's capable of being. He's a very good goaltender who's kind of fighting the puck right now." Among the goals he allowed were two power play goals and a breakaway out of the penalty box.

3. Young guns: Senior defenseman Joe Schiller scored the game-tying goal at 10:24 of the third period. Just a blast on a deflected puck that ended up in open ice above the slot. And Eriah Hayes also had a goal — the power play goal that sparked the comeback. But the young Mavericks really stole the show. Jean-Paul LaFontaine scored twice and had several chances to complete a hat trick. Matt Leitner had a goal and two assists. Max Gaede showed great improvement as part of that all-rookie line. Sophomores Johnny McInnis and Zach Lehrke each had two assists.

Deep thought: Will the Mavericks ever get healthy? While Tyler Elbrecht tweeted this week that he's been cleared for contact and should practice in full starting Monday, Brett Stern left Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury, and Adam Mueller sat out the game after taking hard hit along the boards on Friday.

Quote of the night: "I thought we played pretty dang good defensively all night. We gave up 13 shots on goal to a WCHA hockey team. I don't know if you can do it much better than that." — Troy Jutting

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 3, St. Lawrence 1 ... Minnesota 4, Michigan State 4 - OT ... North Dakota 4, Colorado College 3 ... Nebraska-Omaha 4, St. Cloud State 3 ... Miami 4, Denver 2 ... Wisconsin 5, Mercyhurst 2

Up next: The Mavericks (3-10-1, 2-7-1 in WCHA) will travel to Minneapolis next weekend to take on the Gophers.

Read Sunday morning's Free Press game story here.

MSU vs. UAA - Game 2 live blog

2011-11-26T15:54:00.001-06:00

A few changes for the Mavericks tonight (lines can be found below the live blog). Phil Cook will start in goal. F-Adam Mueller, F-Mike Louwerse and D-Josh Nelson are out; F-Corey Leivermann, F-Charlie Thauwald and D-Mat Knoll are in.

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=5c141932ab" &amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. Alaska Anchorage&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
22-McInnis 29-Zuck 23-Dorr
15-Burkemper 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
11-Leivermann 14-Jokinen 20-Thauwald

3-Cooper 26-Schiller
27-Stern 17-Mosey
7-Palmquist 10-Knoll

30-Cook
1-Lee
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Elbrecht, Grant, Heath, Louwerse, Mueller, Nelson

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
29-Allen 17-Kwas 7-Cameron
10-Spencer 30-Scheid 19-Mellor
23-Roy 21-Bailey 12-Bruijsten
16-Pettitt 26-Currier 18-Crowell

4-Docken 15-Gorham
8-Warner 5-Coldwell
13-Sproule 11-Leinweber

33-Gunderson
35-Kamal

Seawolves 5, Mavericks 4

2011-11-25T23:03:00.001-06:00

John Cross/The Free Press

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game ...

1. Health didn't help: Defensemen Cameron Cooper and Brett Stern returned to the lineup on Friday, but it didn't help MSU's defensive-zone play. Coach Troy Jutting said "unforced" turnovers and miscommunication were huge issues in the loss, and indeed, the Seawolves scored some momentum-killing goals, including a blue-line steal and breakaway by Brett Cameron midway through the second period. We knew going into the season that defense was going to be a potential weakness with so many shifts to replace — and that was before everyone was injured.

2. To kill or not to kill: The Mavericks went to the box just three times and there were goals on each. Alaska Anchorage scored two power-play goals, and MSU had a short-handed goal. The Mavs' kill was good, holding the Seawolves to just three shots. Jordan Kwas' goal in the first period was one Austin Lee (19 saves) certainly would like to have had back and it tied the game with 1:40 left in the first period. Curtis Leinweber made a nice move around a D and beat Lee in tight to give UAA its first lead midway through the second period. In between, Zach Lehrke and Justin Jokinen put on a short-handed clinic, giving each other a scoring chance before they finally scored. Jokinen's pull move and shot hit Rob Gunderson (23 saves), and Lehrke was there to cash in on the rebound.

3. Good lines: It will be interesting to see if there will be any lineup changes on Saturday. Lehrke finished the game with two goals, and his linemates — Eriah Hayes (goal, assist) and J.P. Burkemper (two assists) — were very good all night. Jokinen had a solid game adding a goal. The freshman line of Matt Leitner, Jean-Paul LaFontaine and Max Gaede didn't score but made a lot of noise. Adam Mueller showed speed to get around a defenseman and put a great shot over Gunderson's shoulder in the closing moments of the first period, only to hit the crossbar.

Deep thought: This was the Mavericks' fourth loss in a row this season and the third home loss in a row to Alaska Anchorage.

Read The Free Press game story here.

Around the WCHA: St. Lawrence 3, Michigan Tech 2 ... Michigan State 4, Minnesota 3 ... Wisconsin 7, Mercyhurst 2 ... North Dakota 7, Colorado College 6 ... Denver 3, Princeton 0

MSU vs. Anchorage - live blog

2011-11-25T18:01:00.001-06:00

Lines are posted below the live blog. In a bit of a surprise (to me, anyway), Cameron Cooper will play. Brett Stern is also in on D. Austin Lee will start in goal for the Mavs.

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=efa8ed186b" &amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. Alaska Anchorage&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
24-Mueller 29-Zuck 23-Dorr
15-Burkemper 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
22-McInnis 9-Louwerse 14-Jokinen

3-Cooper 26-Schiller
27-Stern 17-Mosey
7-Palmquist 2-Nelson

1-Lee
30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Elbrecht (inj.), Grant (inj.), Heath (inj.), Knoll, Leivermann, Thauwald

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
12-Bruijsten 21-Bailey 16-Pettitt
10-Spencer 17-Kwas 7-Cameron
29-Allen 29-Scheid 19-Mellor
9-Pustin 23-Roy 26-Currier

4-Docken 1-Gorham
8-Warner 25-Karl
13-Sproule 11-Leinweber

33-Gunderson
35-Kamal

Referees: Matt Ulwelling, Craig Welker. Linesmen: Chris Olson, Sterling Eagan

Friday Morning Skate

2011-11-25T08:41:00.001-06:00

Happy Black Friday. No late-night or early-morning shopping for me. I'm still full of stuffing and gravy. But tonight the Mavericks take on the Seawolves at the Verizon Wireless Center and will attempt to break a three-game losing streak along the way.

Amid some of MSU's struggles, we're seeing some growth and maturity from a few players, notably junior forward Eli Zuck.

I'll post official lines later (I had Thanksgiving off so did not get to practice), but earlier this week coach Troy Jutting said Brett Stern should be available this weekend. That should be a boost for the defensive corps. Read more in the gameday preview.

Colorado College at North Dakota: North Dakota may be off to a slow start but the Tigers aren't looking past them. As for the Sioux, captain Mario Lamoureux believes they can turn things around even against a high-scoring team like CC.

St. Cloud State at Nebraska Omaha (Saturday-Sunday series): The Huskies' top Twitterer, Nic Dowd might be immortalized in bobblehead next season in a promotion by his junior team, the Wenatchee Wild (What? not Evan Mosey?!?!). For the red Mavericks, they are looking for a goalie to step up this season, and Dean Blais sounds a lot like Troy Jutting with his 90 percent rule.

Minnesota at Michigan State: The Gophers head east to take on a future Big 10 foe. Minnesota has had great success this season, especially when leading or tied in the second intermission. It helps when you have a player like Nick Bjugstad, who is tied atop the national scoring race.

Mercyhurst at Wisconsin: The Badgers host a nonconference series against the Lakers, and freshman Brendan Woods will see some time on the top line after getting shuffled around throughout the first quarter of the season.

Denver in Denver Cup with Princeton, Miami and Providence: Going into their annual tournament, the Pioneers are hurting, as it was repoted this week that defenseman John Ryder and goalie Adam Murray are out indefinitely with injury. Denver, like Wisconsin, has a freshman on the top line.

In another series involving a WCHA team, Michigan Tech is at St. Lawrence, a place MSU will be going in January.

Check out more coverage from USCHO.

Come back later for the live blog — hopefully one with a little more decorum than last week :)

A look at the 'Oil Can'

2011-11-21T21:22:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures from last weekend's series between Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth at Duluth's new Amsoil Arena. What a beautiful building. But I couldn't help but think about what could be done in Mankato to improve the Verizon Wireless Center, which is nearly 17 years old (and looking like it). I've tackled some of that subject in Wednesday's column in The Free Press. More later ...

The Mavericks warming up at Amsoil Arena on Friday.

Everything about the arena is UMD, UMD UMD, starting with the seats.

A modest but effective video scoreboard hangs above center ice.

The student section uses portable seating that goes up to the glass.

The Bulldog Shop is built into the arena concourse.

The outside of the club room gives outsiders a peek at the fireplace.

A view of the club area, which is open to the rink.
Above and to the left is the suite level.

Even the advertising signage is UMD-related. (Verizon wasn't alone.)

UMD 7, MSU 3

2011-11-19T22:40:00.001-06:00

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game ...

1. First-period scoring woes: The Mavericks didn't put 21 shots on goal in the first period like they did on Friday but certainly had chances to score. With wide-open nets to shoot at, a deflected shot went under Mike Louwerse's stick and Matt Leitner didn't get all of his shot and flipped one over the net during power plays. Later, Adam Mueller got a beautiful breakout pass from Michael Dorr for a short-handed chance, and Mueller clanked it off the post. After the first period the game was 0-0.

2. Second-period explosion: The Bulldogs scored four goals in a span of 1 minute, 36 seconds early in the period and had the Mavericks on their heels. Justin Crandall and J.T. Brown scored 17 seconds apart, and Caleb Herbert and Joe Basaraba had goals 24 seconds apart. Duluth also did it on just four shots, and, while there were odd-man rushes and a power-play goal in there, it was enough to get goalie Phil Cook pulled for Austin Lee. Cook was making his first start since Oct. 22 and had seven saves in the first period, none in the second.

3. Third-period penalties: Despite the quick 4-0 deficit, the Mavericks made it a two-goal game. Matt Leitner scored at the 5:19 mark of the second period, and Max Gaede netted a power-play goal just 43 seconds into the third, and it was 4-2. But MSU, which had already lost Joe Schiller to a checking-from-behind major/game misconduct in the second period, went to the box seven times in the third period. Duluth scored two power-play goals and an even-strength goal, and grabbed a 7-2 lead by the 8:11 mark. Along the way, Louwerse was also booted from the game for a contact-to-the head penalty. Coach Troy Jutting called all the penalties "stupid."

Deep thought: Not to keep harping on MSU's depth on defense, but once Schiller and Louwerse — forwards-turned-defensemen for the series — were out of the game, the Mavericks had just four D left. At one point, Evan Mosey was in the box, leaving just freshmen Zach Palmquist and Mat Knoll and sophomore Josh Nelson available to kill the penalty. "We did it to ourselves," Jutting said, "but we wore down."

Quote of the night: "We were in the same position we were last night. We weren't bent out of shape yet." — MSU freshman Max Gaede, about being down 4-1 after two periods.

Around the WCHA: North Dakota 5, Bemidji State 2 ... Minnesota 5, St. Cloud State 0 ... Denver 3, Nebraska Omaha 3 OT ... Colorado College 4, Wisconsin 1 ... Michigan Tech at Alaska Anchorage (late)

MSU at Minnesota Duluth - Game 2

2011-11-19T16:01:00.001-06:00

Tonight's lines can be found below the Cover It Live box. Phil Cook will start in goal for the Mavericks for the first time since Oct. 22.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=1582971b38" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey at Minnesota Duluth&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
24-Mueller 29-Zuck 23-Dorr
15-Burkemper 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
22-McInnis 14-Jokinen 11-Leivermann

9-Louwerse 26-Schiller
7-Palmquist 17-Mosey
2-Nelson 10-Knoll

30-Cook
1-Lee

Extras on trip: Cooper (inj.), Thauwald

MINNESOTA DULUTH
17-Seidel 12-Connolly 18-Basaraba
21-Herbert 11-Oleksuk 23-Brown
25-Crandall 15-Hendrickson 27-Grun
26-Krause 19-Tardy 14-Flaherty

28-Bergman 2-Lamb
6-Kishel 5-Casto
8-Olson 22-McManus

35-Reiter
31-Crandall
30-Gaffy

Duluth 5, Minnesota State 2

2011-11-18T23:07:00.001-06:00

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game:

1. Reiter not wrong: The game hinged on the first period in which the Mavericks did everything right except score. They outshot the defending national champions 21-9 but trailed 1-0 at intermission, thanks to Kenny Reiter, who is off to a great start to the season. Reiter appeared to have found some good puck at times, notably when it looked like he left his net open a couple of times, but he made some key saves, too.

2. Cupboard not bare: If you thought the defending champs would take a step back without the likes of Justin Fontaine, Mike Connolly and Justin Faulk around anymore, well, think again. Besides Reiter, Jack Connolly (one goal, one assist), Travis Oleksuk (one goal) and J.T. Brown (one goal, one assist) are still around and are racking up the points. Connolly has 19 points this season, and during his four-year career now has 17 points in nine games against MSU. Oleksuk scored his WCHA-leading 12th-goal of the season. Freshman forward Caleb Herbert is also emerging. He scored two of UMD's first three goals and assisted on a later goal.

3. Put in on the board: Eriah Hayes and Adam Mueller scored third-period goals for the Mavericks. Hayes' 4x3 power-play goal made it 3-1, but Connolly scored just 90 seconds later, sapping almost all momentum away from MSU. Mueller had a snipe over Reiter's glove with about 7 minutes left to make it 5-2. Defenseman Joe Schiller and forward Michael Dorr each assisted on both MSU goals.

Deep thought: A quick report on Duluth's new Amsoil Arena (I'll be writing more down the line) ... They did it right with this mini-X — open concourses, nice suites, huge club/VIP area. Even though it is a city arena (like the Verizon Wireless Center), everything is UMD, UMD, UMD — maroon and gold seats, Bulldog-themed ads by Verizon and others all over the building. The hockey team has its own private area with coaches offices, locker and training rooms and player areas. Not sure what the rent is, but it was done first class.

Quote of the night: "This league is ver good and we'res hort our two best guys back there. (Tyler Elbrecht and Cameron Cooper) are our two most-experienced (defensemen), they're two leaders and they're two veterans back there." — Troy Jutting on Cooper's game-day scratch due to injury.

Note: More on Cooper below in Friday's earlier post, but he will not play on Saturday.

Around the WCHA: St. Cloud State 4, Minnesota 3 ... Denver 7, Nebraska-Omaha 3 ... Colorado College 4, Wisconsin 2 ... Alaska Anchorage 3, Michigan Tech 1

MSU at Duluth - live blog

2011-11-18T18:15:00.001-06:00

Greetings from snowy Duluth and the gorgeous new Amsoil Arena. Tonight's lines can be found below the Cover It Live box.

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=7a0ef1b94f" &amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State hockey at Minnesota Duluth&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
24-Mueller 29-Zuck 23-Dorr
15-Burkemper 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 8-Gaede
22-McInnis 14-Jokinen 11-Leivermann

9-Louwerse 26-Schiller
7-Palmquist 17-Mosey
2-Nelson 10-Knoll

1-Lee
30-Cook

Extras on trip: Cooper (inj.), Thauwald

MINNESOTA DULUTH
17-Seidel 12-Connolly 18-Basaraba
21-Herbert 11-Oleksuk 23-Brown
25-Crandall 15-Hendrickson 27-Grun
10-DeLisle 19-Tardy 14-Flaherty

28-Bergman 2-Lamb
6-Kishel 5-Casto
8-Olson 4-Johnson

35-Reiter
31-Crandall
30-Gaffy

Injury bug strikes back?

2011-11-18T15:37:00.001-06:00

Just rolled into Duluth a bit ago (it's snowing!) and saw that Paul Allan posted the Mavericks' lineup on Twitter. Turns out, MSU is down another defenseman.

Senior D Cameron Cooper is not in the lineup. He sat out of Wednesday's practice with an undisclosed injury but said he'd be good to go this weekend. Apparently that's not the case tonight.

So the Mavericks will put Mike Louwerse on the blue line with Joe Schiller, a pairing of two senior forwards. Schiller has been playing D the last four games, and coach Troy Jutting said he's done a very good job there. He is +2 with two assists in that stretch. Louwerse was listed as a D the second game against UMass-Lowell but lasted less than a period before getting the gate for checking from behind. At the time, Jutting said Louwerse was chosen for that spot because he had the ability to break out the puck from the D zone.

The Mavericks' three other defensemen — Tyler Elbrecht, Brett Stern and Danny Heath — are back in Mankato nursing various ailments. It sounds like Stern is close to returning. Elbrecht should return sometime in December. Heath might be out for awhile.

Meanwhile, with Louwerse on defense, Corey Leivermann will play wing on the fourth line, with Justin Jokinen moving to center.

The Mavericks

Here are Minnesota State's lines tonight:

Adam Mueller - Eli Zuck - Michael Dorr
J.P. Burkemper - Zach Lehrke - Eriah Hayes
Jean-Paul LaFontaine - Matt Leitner - Max Gaede
Johnny McInnis - Justin Jokinen - Corey Leivermann

Mike Louwerse - Joe Schiller
Zach Palmquist - Evan Mosey
Josh Nelson - Mat Knoll

Austin Lee
Phil Cook

Be sure to come back later for tonight's live chat. We'll see how those D hold up against the champs.

Friday Morning Skate

2011-11-17T19:46:00.001-06:00

I'll be trekking north to Duluth — where, egad, it's supposed to snow Saturday — for the big series between the Mavericks and the defending national champs.

For Minnesota State, the lineup is going to look similar to the way it did in the third period Saturday night when Max Gaede moved up to the rookie line with Jean-Paul LaFontaine and Matt Leitner. The lines of Mueller-Zuck-Dorr and Burkemper-Lehrke-Hayes will remain the same, with Justin Jokinen, who will be playing near his hometown of Carlton, going with Mike Louwerse and Johnny McInnis.

While MSU is healthier, every able body will go to Duluth, as Corey Leivermann and Charlie Thauwald are the extra skaters. Injury-wise, Tyler Elbrecht, Brett Stern and Danny Heath are still out.

Interestingly, the grouping of Michael Dorr and Adam Mueller together, has been a long time coming for some. Let's see if they and the other upper classmen keep producing as they have the last two weekends. You can also read the series preview here.

As for the Bulldogs, goaltender Kenny Reiter. Not only does he have three shutouts this season and a school-record shutout streak, but he tried to score a goal last week against Alaska Anchorage. Also, UMD has a couple of legacy players, including freshman Derik Johnson, son of former Bulldog Jim Johnson. Read the Duluth News-Tribune's preview here and follow Kevin Pates' blog here.

Going around the rest of the WCHA:

Minnesota at St. Cloud State: The top-ranked Gophers are enjoying a stellar start to the season, and goalie Kent Patterson is a big reason why. Adding some fuel to the rivalry, Minnesota also has a St. Cloud native on its roster in Nate Schmidt. For the Huskies, sophomore Cory Thorson is a happy guy after a solid weekend against MSU, and goalie Mike Lee had successful hip surgery this week, but chances are slim that he'll return this season. Meanwhile, ESPN1500's Jess Myers has a nice story about the friendship between the two coaches in the series.

Nebraska Omaha at Denver: The red Mavericks are back in the national rankings (No. 19) and playing well, and one reason is the great play of Terry Broadhurst, who is becoming one of the WCHA's top players. For the Pioneers, they have long believed that their rivalry with Omaha was a natural one and should be a good one in the NCHC in two years.

Wisconsin at Colorado College: The Badgers are coming off a series split against No. 1 Minnesota and just might have found a No. 1 goalie along the way in freshman Joel Rumpel. After losing several players early to the NHL, Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves is looking for more recruits who will stick around Madison longer. The Tigers, meanwhile, have some high-scoring forwards up front, but senior winger Tim Hall deserves kudos for his strong defensive play. The Gazette also has a cool story about CC coach Scott Owens and his help and support for goalie Joe Howe. Owens, a former CC goalie, has been there before.

Michigan Tech at Alaska Anchorage: Michigan Tech is coming off a bye week and will head north to Alaska where the Seawolves are hoping to do something about their lack of scoring — and winning. In their six-game losing streak, they have been outscored 23-4.

North Dakota at Bemidji State (Saturday-Sunday): The Sioux surprisingly sit behind the Mavericks in the WCHA standings, and that won't change tonight, as UND and Bemidji play Saturday and Sunday. For North Dakota, freshman defenseman-turned-forward Dan Senkbeil has made an impression, even if his teammates don't know his name. The Beavers, meanwhile, have Jake Areshenko, an alternate captain and the grandson of former BSU and UND basketball coach Dave Gunther.

Be sure to check back later for my live blog and any other news that may come up after my drive. You can also follow me on Twitter where I'm seeking that elusive 700th follower.

Thursday notebook

2011-11-17T08:45:00.001-06:00

You can read my Thursday hockey notebook in The Free Press right here.

Among the highlights:

• Troy Jutting talks about Teddy Blueger and the 2012 recruiting class. The Latvian will be MSU's first European player and the first player associated with the program to play in the World Junior Championships.

• Tyler Elbrecht and Brett Stern get back on the ice. Just skating now, but Elbrecht is pretty excited about it.

• Gustavus Adolphus women's standout Mollie Carroll was named MIAC player of the week.

Blueger locked up

2011-11-15T09:09:00.001-06:00

Fear not, Minnesota State fans, Shattuck-St. Mary's standout forward Teddy Blueger has signed his National Letter of Intent to play for the Mavericks next year.

While there was some thought that he might not sign until the April signing period, he indeed signed during the November signing period. The Mavericks announced the signing six days after announcing six other recruits for next fall.

Blueger, a native of Riga, Latvia, had five goals and 15 assists in 15 games playing in the Upper Midwest Elite High School League this fall. Last year, the 5-11, 165 forward helped Shattuck win the national U18 title and finished the season with 24 goals and assisting on 42 others in 54 games. He will be playing for Latvia next month in the World Junior Championships.

With Blueger in the fold, the '12 freshman class has the makings of a darn-good group. Combine it with this year's freshmen — with Jean-Paul LaFontaine, Zach Palmquist, Matt Leitner and Max Gaede, among others — and the future looks pretty bright for MSU.

Grant done for the year

2011-11-13T10:56:00.001-06:00

While Minnesota State is excited about its improved health, not everything is rosy on the injury front. Mavericks coach Troy Jutting confirmed that sophomore forward Chase Grant will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip next month.

Since Grant played in just five games to start the season, he will apply for and should receive a medical hardship waiver, which means he will still have three years of eligibility remaining starting next season.

"Obviously, it's not good for our hockey team," Jutting said. "But the good thing is it happened early enough in the season where he can get a medial redshirt and not lose a year of eligibility."

Grant will have the surgery in his hometown of Oklahoma City after first-semester classes end in early Deember.

Grant was expected to be one of the Mavericks' top returning players this season. He had no points after being shut down. Last year he had eight goals and 12 assists in 33 games.

Huskies 3, Mavericks 2 (updated)

2011-11-12T22:29:00.001-06:00

Pat Christman/The Free Press

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game

1. Show up on time: That's what St. Cloud State did, scoring two goals in the game's first 1:48. Cory Thorson and Ben Hanowski scored goals 29 second apart to give the Huskies a quick 2-0 lead. When the Mavericks responded with Eriah Hayes' power play goal at 6:55 (pictured), St. Cloud's David Eddy made it 3-1 at the 9:07 mark. Eddy's goal ended up standing as the game-winning goal.

2. Shots through the heart: MSU outshot St. Cloud 31-19, including a 12-3 advantage in the third period. But the Huskies scored three goals on their first four shots. The Huskies had three power plays but mustered just one shot during the man advantage. Goalie Rayn Faragher earned the third star of the game making 29 saves. The Mavericks' Austin Lee stopped 16 shots.

3. Shorty's fire burnin': The Mavericks scored their second short-handed goal of the weekend to make it 3-2 at 6:30 of the third period. Adam Mueller scored it, showing great speed and chemistry with his old high school linemate Michael Dorr. It was Mueller's second career shorty. Minnesota State's penalty kill shut out St. Cloud on eight power plays in the series.

Deep thought: J.P. Burkemper and Max Gaede made good showings in their return from injury. Burkemper's goal and assist on Friday earned him another spot in the lineup on Saturday. Gaede, who was injured just two shifts into the Mavericks' first game oft he season played Saturday and was moved up to the Leitner-LaFontaine line late in the game.

Quote of the night: "Whoever loses Friday is going to come out with some jump, and whoever wins on Friday is going to have to respond." – MSU senior forward Michael Dorr

Read The Free Press' game story here, the St. Cloud Times story here and the box score here.

Around the WCHA: Minnesota Duluth 3, Alaska Anchorage 1; Nebraska Omaha 5, Bemidji State 1; Minnesota 4, Wisconsin 1; Denver 5, Colorado College 4

MSU vs. St. Cloud State live blog

2011-11-12T17:17:00.001-06:00

Lines are posted below the Cover It Live box. ... A couple of changes for MSU: Max Gaede is in (his first game since getting injured in the opener at RPI; Corey Leivermann is out. J.P. Burkemper will stay in the lineup after getting a goal and an assist in Friday's win.

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=175150c993" &amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. St. Cloud State&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
24-Mueller 29-Zuck 23-Dorr
15-Burkemper 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 14-Jokinen
22-McInnis 9-Louwerse 8-Gaede

3-Cooper 26-Schiller
7-Palmquist 17-Mosey
2-Nelson 10-Knoll

1-Lee
30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Elbrecht, Grant, Heath, Leivermann, Stern, Thauwald

ST. CLOUD STATE
10-Hanowski 26-Dowd 22-Eddy
11-Festler 23-Reid 21-Bertsch
15-MacMillan 8-Thorson 12-Novak
27-Oliver 13-Christian 18-Milan

28-Prochno 14-Jensen
7-Gravel 40-Daly
3-Zabkowicz 2-Rabey

29-Faragher
33-Phillippi

Referees: Ulwelling, Beaurline. Linesmen: Perrault, Dineen.

Mavericks 4, Huskies 2 (updated)

2011-11-11T22:51:00.001-06:00

SportPix

Freddy's 3 thoughts of the game ...

1. Hangin' with Mr. Cooper: Senior Cameron Cooper had a goal and an assist, not a bad night for a defensive defenseman who had just nine career points going into Friday's game. Cooper assisted on Eli Zuck's short-handed goal — also the game-winner — at 10:08 of the second period and scored a momentum-swinging goal at 3:55 of the third period to make it 4-2. Before that goal, St. Cloud State had killed a five-minute major to close out the second period and scored to make it 3-2 less than a minute into the third.

2. Veterans' day: Much has been made (mostly by me, I suppose) of MSU's freshmen and their scoring to start the season, and, indeed, Zach Palmquist tallied his third goal of the season in the second period, but the Mavericks' older guys carried the day. Besides Cooper and Zuck (pictured), a junior, sophomore Zach Lehrke assisted on two goals, and sophomore J.P. Burkemper, back from missing the last six games with injury, had a goal. Senior Joe Schiller and junior Eriah Hayes also had assists. Lehrke was voted No. 1 star of the game.

3. Austin power: Senior goalie Austin Lee continues to impress in goal. He stopped 34 shots, including 10 during St. Cloud State power plays (the Huskies were 0 for 5 on the power play). In his last three starts, Lee is 2-1-0 while allowing 2 goals per game and stopping 95.1 percent of opponents' shots. Lee seems to be playing with confidence and relaxed out there. Maybe it's just me, but he also seems to be moving better than years past. A lot of confidence with the glove, too, which was sometimes an adventure for him in the early years.

Deep thought: The Mavericks have to figure out their power play. They were 0 for 5 (really 0 for 4, one of the PPs was the game's final .9 seconds) with nine shots on goal. For the season they are 4 for 47. They've failed to score on three majors, including one Friday. They also had a healthy 5x3 to work with. Coach Troy Jutting would like to see the Mavs shoot the puck more — as would the dude sitting a few rows behind me tonight.

Read The Free Press' game story here. Read the St. Cloud times' story here.

Quote of the night: "No question, getting healthier has helped us. Sometimes people don't believe you, but with all those injuries it was tough. Not only in games but in practice." — Troy Jutting.

Around the WCHA: Wisconsin 3, Minnesota 1; Minnesota-Duluth 5, Alaska-Anchorage 0; Nebraska-Omaha 3, Bemidji State 3 OT

MSU vs. St. Cloud State live blog

2011-11-11T17:10:00.001-06:00

Lines are posted below the Cover It Live blog.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=d548c321f1" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. St. Cloud State&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
24-Mueller 29-Zuck 23-Dorr
15-Burkemper 19-Lehrke 25-Hayes
12-LaFontaine 18-Leitner 14-Jokinen
22-McInnis 9-Louwerse 11-Leivermann

3-Cooper 26-Schiller
7-Palmquist 17-Mosey
2-Nelson 10-Knoll

1-Lee
30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Thauwald, Gaede, Elbrecht (inj.), Grant (inj.), Heath (inj.), Stern (inj.)

ST. CLOUD STATE
11-Festler 23-Reid 21-Bertsch
10-Hanowski 26-Dowd 22-Eddy
15-MacMillan 8-Thorson 12-Novak
27-Oliver 13-Christian 17-Holka

28-Prochno 14-Jensen
7-Gravel 4-Johnson
3-Zabkowicz 40-Daly

29-Faragher
33-Phillippi

Referees: Matt Ulwelling, C.J. Beaurline. Linesmen: Chris Perrault, Dan Dineeen

Friday morning skate

2011-11-11T08:10:00.001-06:00

In honor of Veterans Day, the Mavericks
will be wearing this sticker on their helmets.

There will be real, live hockey in Mankato tonight! It's been awhile, more than a month. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing the Mavericks play a game for the first time since that rather dreadful Lowell series. Talking to a few players, they would love nothing more than to give a better performance to the home fans, especially against rival St. Cloud State.

A couple of notes from today's Free Press gameday preview: The Mavs are getting healthier, and J.P. Burkemper and Max Gaede each likely will play a game this weekend. ... Austin Lee, who ranks second in the WCHA in save percentage, is the likely starter in goal. ... Michael Dorr scored his first goal last weekend and, by all accounts, had good chemistry on a line with his old high school teammate, Adam Mueller.

Meanwhile, this week's story is about the emergence of the Minnesota State freshmen — specifically Jean-Paul LaFontaine, Zach Palmquist and Matt Leitner — who rank 1-2-3 in scoring for the Mavericks.

As for St. Cloud State, the Huskies are led in goal scoring by junior forward Ben Hanowski, an outdoorsman who can shoot the puck, too. The team's top point man, Drew LeBlanc, is out after suffering a broken leg last weekend. St. Cloud Times beat writer Mick Hatten also has a column about friend-of-college-hockey Cathy St. Martin, who has hopes of singing the National Anthem in every WCHA rink before the conference breaks up in two years.

Going around the rest of the WCHA ...

Minnesota at Wisconsin: The WCHA's Big 10 schools meet with the Gophers ranked No. 1. Part of the reason for Minnie's success is freshman Kyle Rau, who already has eight goals and 15 points. As for the Badgers, they're mixing things up with their freshman goaltenders. Also, having Minnesota in Madison should be a boost to Wisco's dwindling attendance.

Alaska Anchorage at Minnesota Duluth: The Seawolves have stumbled at the start of the WCHA schedule, but it gets no easier with a trip to face the defending national champs. As for the Bulldogs, they're not afraid to make some mid-game adjustments if things go south early. It worked last weekend at Denver.

Nebraska-Omaha at Bemidji State: The red Mavericks head to northern Minnesota to face the team that gave them fits all year long in both teams' first season in the WCHA. The Beavers went 5-0-1 against UNO last year. Like clockwork, of course, the folks in Bemidji say last year was last year and aren't concerned about what happened in '10-11.

Check out more on the WCHA on College Hockey News, USCHO and Inside College Hockey.

A couple of other items: Don't forget to check back on the blog tonight for a live chat during tonight's Mavericks-Huskies game and follow me on Twitter @puckato for any updates or ramblings during the day. Finally, the Anthony Ford Pond Hockey silent auction will begin at 5 p.m. tonight at the Verizon Wireless Center.

Injury report: Mavs getting healthy

2011-11-10T10:38:00.001-06:00

During the Mavericks' week off between the Denver and Michigan Tech series, they had a practice in which 11 players were unavailable due to injury. Take away the three healthy goaltenders, and the team had just 13 skaters practicing.

What a difference a couple of weeks have made.

Going into this weekend's series against St. Cloud State, the Mavericks still aren't 100 percent, but they continue to get healthier. Coach Troy Jutting said on Wednesday that forwards J.P. Burkemper and Max Gaede have been cleared to play games. Both were injured during MSU's opening weekend at RPI. The two began skating last week, but will they have their hockey legs for this week? Jutting said he would like to give each of them one game against the Huskies.

At the very least, the Mavericks have some options at forward now.

Defensively, however, Minnesota State remains a bit short-handed still, so Joe Schiller will play there again this weekend. Two players and Jutting commented this week on Schiller's play on the blue line against Tech, giving him rave reviews. Jutting said Schiller might have been one of the team's best players all weekend.

Defensemen Tyler Elbrecht, Danny Heath and Brett Stern remain out. Forward Chase Grant is, too, and it sounds like he might be out for awhile. Jutting didn't have definitive return dates for any of those players.

Early signing period begins (updated)

2011-11-09T10:26:00.000-06:00

The early signing period for 2012 recruits begins today (Wednesday), and Minnesota State announced Wednesday that it has inked six players. Here's a look at the incoming class, along with each player's current statistics (and updated heights/weights):

Forwards
Dan Carlson, Sioux Falls (USHL) — The former U.S. National Team Development Program player is a 6-1, 201-pounder from Corcoran, Minn. He has a goal and two assists in seven games this year. In two years with the U.S. team, he had six goals and 12 assists in 55 games.

Brett Knowles, Salmon Arm (BCHL) —The 5-11, 181-pounder from Vanderhoff, British Columbia, is tied for second in scoring for the Silverbacks with five goals and 14 assists in 17 games. Last season he ahd 30 goals and 28 assists inf 57 games. Seems like the Mavericks have a nice 1-2 punch with ...

Bryce Gervais, Salmon Arm (BCHL) —The top goal-scorer for the Silverbacks, the 5-9, 175-pounder from Battlefords, Saskatchewan has 10 goals and nine assists in 17 games, equalling the point total of his teammate Knowles. A year ago he had 29 goals and 22 assists in 58 games.

Dylan Margonari, Youngstown (USHL) — The 6-0, 190-pound forward was last week's USHL offensive player of the week. Through nine games this season he has five goals.The Greensburg, Pa., native is in this third season with the Phantoms.

Defensemen
Jon Juntzi, Powell River (BCHL) —The 6-2, 190-pounder from Tavistock, Ontario, ranks third in scoring on his team with four goals and nine assists for 13 points. Last year he had six goals and 18 assists in 56 games

Goaltenders
Stephon Williams, Sioux Falls (USHL) —The 6-2, 190-pound Fairbanks, Alaska, native has played in eight games this season and is 3-3-1 with a .921 save percentage (seventh in the league) and a 2.53 goals-against average (10th). Last season he played in 35 games with 20 wins, a .909 SV% and a 2.59 GAA.

The Mavericks will lose seven players to graduation after this season, including goalie Austin Lee, defenseman Cameron Cooper and forwards Mike Louwerse, Justin Jokinen, Michael Dorr, Adam Mueller and Joe Schiller.

Minnesota State has one more player committed, but it's possible he won't sign until the April signing period. That is:

Teddy Bluegar, Shattuck-St. Mary's — One recruiting website lists him as a possible 2013 recruit, but he's off to a fantastic start to this season and seems like a big-timer. A native of Riga, Latvia, who has been living in the U.S. since he was 15 (he's currently 17), he had eight goals and 18 assists for Shattuck's team playing in the Midwest High School Elite League this fall. Here is a story on him from last weekend's Bauer NIT in New Hope.

For more on the Mavericks' signed recruiting class, see the MSU press release here.

LaFontaine named player of the week

2011-11-08T19:00:00.001-06:00

Minnesota State freshman forward Jean-Paul LaFontaine was named WCHA rookie player of the week on Tuesday for his performance in last weekend's series split at No. 16 Michigan Tech. LaFontaine scored two goals and assisted on the game-winner during Saturday's 6-3 MSU win.

LaFontaine leads the Mavericks in scoring with five goals and two assists.

Other WCHA players of the week were Colorado College senior forward Nick Dineen, who had six points in the Tigers' split at Nebraska-Omaha, and Minnesota Duluth goalie Kenny Reiter, who 59 saves in a win and tie at Denver.

Highlights from MSU's win

2011-11-07T10:31:00.000-06:00

Mavericks 6, Huskies 3

2011-11-05T22:13:00.000-05:00

The Mavericks finally found some goal scoring — and got a win.

Jean-Paul Lafontaine (pictured) scored two goals and had an assist, and Matt Leitner also had two goals, including the game-winner, in a 6-3 WCHA victory at No. 16 Michigan Tech.

This was a must-win for MSU, as it broke a six-game losing streak. The Mavericks also handed Tech its first loss at home this season (the Huskies started 6-0-1 in Houghton).

Mavericks rookie defenseman Mat Knoll also had a goal, as did senior forward Michael Dorr. Zach Palmquist finished the game with three assists. You can see the box score here.

Lafontaine looks like a real keeper. He leads MSU in scoring with five goals and two assists.

"He's playing really well," coach Troy Jutting said in a phone interview tonight. "He had two goals tonight and hit a post and hit a post last night. He's around the puck a lot."

Lafontaine has seven points this year. Leitner and Zach Palmquist each has five. Good freshman group.

Meanwhile, Austin Lee finished with 42 saves and had 82 for a weekend that included a 1-0 loss on Friday. He has a .931 save percentage and a 2.81 goals-against average currently.

Perhaps most importantly, the beat-up Mavericks got through the weekend without an injury.

"Part of it, too, is we played with the same team two nights in a row," Jutting said. "There's something to be said for that. We could get in a little rhythm."

Huskies 1, Mavericks 0

2011-11-04T21:39:00.000-05:00

Minnesota State goaltender Austin Leestopped 40 of 41 shots Friday night, but the one crazy goal he allowed ended upbeing the difference in a 1-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association loss to No.16 Michigan Tech.

The Huskies’ Ryan Furne scored on a seemingly innocentdump-in from center ice during a first-period power play. But the puck took afunny bounce in front of Lee and slipped in under the goalie’s glove.

The loss was the sixth in a row for Minnesota State (1-6-0,0-3-0 in WCHA).

Michigan Tech (6-2-1, 4-2-1), which is undefeated at itshome MacInnis Student Ice Arena, outshot MSU 41-29. Senior goaltender JoshRobinson made 29 saves for the shutout victory.

It was the first time the Mavericks have been shut out thisseason. However, they are averaging just 1.29 goals per game.

The Mavericks were 0 for 6 on the power play and are nowjust 2 for 38 on the year. Michigan Tech was 1 for 3 with the man advantage.

The two teams will wrap up the series at 6:07 p.m. Saturday.

Your questions, my answers

2011-11-04T12:20:00.000-05:00

Quite a few questions, mostly about the same subject. But let'sget to them ...

From Sam: How much doyou think playing in an inferior WCHA (in terms of big name schools andprograms) is going to kill MSU recruiting? That's my biggest worry, outside ofeven more lackluster fan support. I follow Chris Heisenberg's recruitingpage and have noticed the Mavs haven't received any verbal commitments in whatseems like quite awhile. Could just be a coincidence.

Sam, there's no question that recruiting will get tougher —maybe even a little more cutthroat, too — in a couple of years. However, Ithink the jury's out on this. One reason is that the players MSU is getting nowaren't necessarily being recruited by the North Dakotas, the Denvers and theColorado Colleges or the top Big Ten schools. While I think MSU's sales pitchhas to be a little different in the "new" WCHA, I think they're stillgoing to go after the same type of player they're going after now. The coachesdo a pretty good job identifying smart, good-skating, hard-nosed players whoplay with a lot of energy. The hope is that they also find a way to sneak in anunder-the-radar blue-chipper. That may get harder, but it's not that easy inthe team's current situation, either.

As far as verbals go, the Mavericks have a pretty full class(six/seven) committed for next year already, especially considering the size ofthis year's freshman class (seven). I see no reason to be concerned that theydon't have a bunch of kids committed for '13 yet. Sometimes when teamsstockpile for years down the road mistakes get made.

From Sam: Staying onthe subject of recruiting, what are the chances a guy like Teddy Bluegar (2012or '13 recruit) reconsiders his options with the new leagues forming rightaround the time he'll be starting his college career?

Sam (again), I don't know if players are going to change theirminds. I suppose it would depend on their reason for choosing a school like MSUto continue their hockey careers. Do they like the coaches? The style of play?The school? The campus? The proximity to the Twin Cities and NHL scouts? Theopportunity to play significant minutes right away (in the case of a potentialstar)? None of that changes. If they picked MSU just to be in the WCHA (in itscurrent form) then maybe they'd have some reservations.

From Todd: Who does thescheduling for the WCHA? Don't they have to check with schools about potentialconflicts at the school, such as basketball or wrestling? It seems strange thatall but one conference game for both basketball and men's hockey takes place onthe same night, making it impossible to go to both. So much for loyalty fromthe league that MSU has given to them.

Todd, I don't know exactly how this works, but I would guess theschedules aren't made in concert very often. It's too bad and not just for thefans. Even from a manpower standpoint, MSU's athletics can't like thissituation (it's going to be tough for The Free Press, too!). But consideringthat MSU, St. Cloud, Bemidji and Duluth are all in the same leagues right nowfor both sports that they might have tried to find some flexibility toswitch around dates or even times for games. Even the University of Wisconsinand the University of Minnesota move around games to accomodate the othersports (the Badgers share a building, while the Gophers have all of theirfacilities in the same general location). The Gophers already have played aSunday game, I believe.

From Jeff Williams: I'mwith Sam. I wonder about the quality of recruits. Also if we ever decide not torenew Jutts contract what kind of coaching prospects can we hope for?

Jutting has another year lefton his contract after this one; let's not get ahead of ourselves. I could bevery wrong, but I still think, once healthy, that this year's team has a chanceto surprise some teams. I said that at the beginning of the year. But to answeryour question, there are just 58 Division I men's hockey teams in the country.Almost all of them would be an attractive jobs to any coach.

From Hockey Girl: Why doesit seem like the current administration doesn't care about hockey? With itbeing the only sport operating in the black, you would think they could putmore resources to making sure it can compete with the 'big' schools and maybetried harder to get into the future NCHC instead of settling for the 'new'WCHA. St. Cloud and Duluth, both DII schools, have had success in DIhockey. What are they doing differently than MSU and what can MSU learn fromthem?

I wouldn't say that theadministration doesn't care about hockey, although I certainly understand thecriticism. There does seem to be a different philosophy at MSU when it comes tohockey than there is at St. Cloud State and Duluth. Now, I don't know if hockeyis the only sport at MSU that operates in the black. In fact, I can't imaginethat basketball is in the red — fewer players, scholarships, their ownfacility, etc. I'm not even sure if hockey is making big money. The last time Ichecked it was close to being self-sustaining as well as pay for women's hockeyscholarships. As for trying to get into the NCHC, MSU wasn't invited; they wereon the outside looking in. In my opinion, the breakaway teams wanted a higherprofile in order to be on par with the Big 10, and they weren't going to dothat by inviting Mankato, Bemidji, Michigan Tech and Anchorage to their party.I am still firmlyof the belief that St. Cloud would still be right with MSU had Notre Dame beenin the new league from the beginning. I'm not so sure Duluth is invited withouttheir brand-new building and their national title.

From BIGhkyfan: so, isHuntsville coming back? New donors came forward

BIG, I saw that story, too,but I'm wondering if it's too little, too late. Apparently donors say they canfund the program for three more years. But what happens after three years?Also, Huntsville is still without a conference, which is just a killer incollege hockey. I hope they can find a way to make something work down there,but they have to get support from the school as well as in the rest of thecollege-hockey community. And, given all of the dealings in this pastoffseason, who’s going to come to rush to UAH’s aid? It’s every program for itself right now, it seems.

From TMAVS18: On thetopic of recruiting can we get updates or interviews with our current commits?Do you know any possible kids the Mavericks are looking at for 2013? Thanks.

TMAVS, I don’t have time todo that update in this post, but I’ll plan on doing an update on the recruitsvery soon. The early signing period begins next Wednesday (Nov. 9), so thatwould be a good time for an updatee, maybe interviews, too. Once the players’letters of intent are in, coaches can talk about them, too, so there will besome fodder for some stories. One teaser: Forward recruit Dylan Margonari ofYoungstown was named USHL offensive player of the week last week

Thanks for your questionseveryone. We’ll do it again real soon.

Friday-morning skate

2011-11-04T08:32:00.001-05:00

The Mavericks are back in action today after a much-needed weekend off to nurse their bumps, bruises and other ailments. They'll be healthier when they play No. 16 Michigan Tech tonight and Saturday but not completely.

Forwards Michael Dorr and Eriah Hayes will be back in the lineup, giving MSU a full lineup of forwards (but still no extras). But with only five healthy defensemen, senior center Joe Schiller is going back on the blue line, a position he's been in before.

While forwards Max Gaede and J.P. Burkemper practiced this week, neither has been cleared to play yet. Defenseman Danny Heath put on his skates on Wednesday and hopes to be ready soon. Meanwhile, Chase Grant, Tyler Elbrecht and Brett Stern have not returned to the rink.

With veterans Dorr and Hayes back, the Mavericks have some depth up front. Interestingly, their top-scoring line is made up of two freshmen and a sophomore — Jean-Paul Lafontaine (3-1—4), Matt Leitner (0-3—3) and Johnny McInnes (1-1—2). Rookie defenseman Zach Palmquist (2-0—0) is the only other player besides Lafontaine with multiple goals.

As for Michigan Tech, the Huskies are off to a surprising start and unbeaten at home. Two of their players earned WCHA player-of-the-week honors this week. They are also getting a great start from freshman and Iowa native defenseman Nick Cecere. Led by some veteran players, new coach Mel Pearson noted when he took the job over the summer that the cupboard wasn't bare in Houghton.

Time to go around the WCHA ...

North Dakota at Minnesota: With the Gophers back in the Top 5, much is being made out of this series, including the claim that it's the best rivalry in college hockey. It's been fueled by the fact the UND has several players from Gopher territory. Of course, with the changes coming to college hockey, it might not be the same in a couple of years. Meanwhile, Minnesota has the nation's top scorer in sophomore Erik Haula, and North Dakota is going to have to wait a year for the highly touted Colten St. Clair, who is not eligible to play this season.

Colorado College at Nebraska-Omaha: CC might be the nation's second-ranked team, but the Tigers aren't looking past the unranked red Mavericks, who are 3-1 in WCHA play. Meanwhile, Omaha is fired up to play one of the nation's — and the conference's — top teams.

Wisconsin at St. Cloud State: The Badgers are off to a rocky star with a young team, and in no place is that more apparent than in their penalty kill, which has allowed 11 goals already, including six last weekend. For the Huskies, freshman defenseman Andrew Prochno is off to a fast start. Could his secret be whiffle ball?

Minnesota Duluth at Denver: The Duluth News-Tribune has a good feature on Bulldogs goalie Kenny Reiter, who holds some UMD records at the position and is continuing a family tradition between the pipes. Meanwhile, it's been a long time since the Pioneers have been unstable in goal, but there's no sure thing there right now.

Bemidji State at Lake Superior State: The Beavers will take on a future WCHA team in the Lakers. But this year's Lake Superior team is one of the nation's real surprise teams at 7-1-0 (check out my column on the success of future WCHA teams here).

Check back later for blog updates, including tonight's MSU lines and the answers to the season's first You Want Answers?!?! post.

I'm not in Houghton but will try to post some game updates on Twitter tonight as I get them. If you're in need of a football fix or some live blogging of any kind, I'll be covering the Mankato West section championship football game. You can follow that live blog here.

You want answers?!?!?

2011-11-02T10:02:00.002-05:00

This is long overdue: It's time for your favorite PucKato segment: You. Want. Answers?!?!?

You know the drill: Ask a question in the comments section below, and I'll answer them. Questions can be but are not limited to Minnesota State hockey.

You have two days to ask questions, and I'll answer them on Friday afternoon sometime.

Unfortunately, I will not be traveling to Houghton, Mich., this weekend since, like the Mavs, the Freep is a little short-handed back in Mankato. I'll be covering a few other things but will try to keep a close eye on MSU's series against Michigan Tech.

So ... ask away!

Getting healthy

2011-10-31T16:09:00.001-05:00

Minnesota State looked like a healthier team during practice on Monday afternoon.

Michael Dorr, Eriah Hayes, Max Gaede and J.P. Burkemper all participated in the workout, although afterward, coach Troy Jutting didn't say who, if any, would be ready to play this weekend at Michigan Tech (now ranked No. 16 in the country). My impression is that Dorr and Hayes are head of the others, which would be huge for the Mavs, but I expect to learn more later in the week.

Meanwhile, Chase Grant, Brett Stern, Danny Heath and Tyler Elbrecht were not on the ice. Elbrecht has had his cast removed from his surgically repaired left arm and tweeted that his doctor "is excited about the progress."

Rest up

2011-10-28T07:39:00.000-05:00

Like the Mavericks, I'm off today and Saturday, so the blog will be a little quiet over the weekend. If you're looking for a little Friday-morning reading, may I suggest you head on over to Brad Schlossman's North Dakota coverage. He has links to all sorts of happenings around the WCHA. Enjoy the weekend.

Mavs in the pros

2011-10-27T13:39:00.001-05:00

Former Minnesota State standout Ryan Carter was put on waivers by the Florida Panthers this week but quickly claimed by the New Jersey Devils, who are in need of center help. Carter played in six games for Florida this season with no points and a -1 rating.

Said Devils coach Pete DeBoer of the 28-year-old Carter: "He's versatile. He plays the game the right way. He plays with energy. I think he can kill penalties. He's one of those guys that can play a role and help us."

As for a few of the other Mavericks in the pros ...

• David Backes, the captain of the St. Louis Blues, has two goals and two assists in nine games.

• Tim Jackman has played in eight games for the Calgary Flames and has no points.

• Travis Morin is the all-time leading scorer in Texas Stars history. That's the top AHL affiliate of Dallas. He has two goals and eight assists in six games this year.

• Jon Kalinski is with the Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL but has yet to play due to an injury suffered during the preseason.

• Ben Youds has played four games with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs and has one assist.

Sad day for hockey

2011-10-24T13:16:00.001-05:00

The University of Alabama-Huntsville today announced that it will be dropping Division I hockey at the end of this season and relegating the sport to club status. It's a sad day for a once-great Division II program that struggled to find permanency in the Division I ranks.

Coach Chris Luongo broke the news to his team on Sunday night, and on Monday the university's interim president, Malcolm Portera, said the main reason for the move is financial. You can read Portera's memo here.

Huntsville has been operating an independent program since the breakup of College Hockey America. While other surviving schools in that conference found places to land (Bemidji State in the WCHA, for example), UAH did not. It was even rejected by the CCHA for membership.

This summer, as college hockey realigned itself for 2013-14 with two new conferences and a merger of sorts between the remaining WCHA and CCHA teams, some college hockey followers implored the WCHA to bring Huntsville into its restructured conference.

I'm not sure how far those talks went, if they went anyplace at all. Portera's memo says the school had discussions with other athletic directors, presidents and commissioners. But if the commitment wasn't there from the UAH powers that be, it's hard to think the WCHA or anyone else in college hockey could have saved the program.

It's too bad. Not only will this leave college hockey with one less program — 57 — but it means the end of program that did some interesting things in its history. The Chargers won two Division II titles in the 1990s and was runner-up twice, playing Bemidji State in all of those games. Huntsville also made the Division I tournament twice as the CHA tournament champion.

Huntsville will play Minnesota State for the last time on Dec. 9-10 in Mankato.

Denver 10, Minnesota State 2 (update)

2011-10-22T22:55:00.002-05:00

Minnesota State lost another player to injury on Saturday — freshman defenseman Brett Stern — and sure didn't have the jump it had on Friday, and No. 3 Denver went to town on the Mavericks, hanging 10 goals on the board.

Three Pioneers players had four-point games, as they became the first team to put up double digits against MSU since Feb. 21, 2004 when North Dakota won 10-1.

The Mavericks were being thumped 8-0 before they got a 5x3 power-play goal — their first PPG of the season — in the third period by Jean-Paul LaFontaine. Moments later, LaFontaine assisted on another power-play goal, one by Zach Palmquist. Matt Leitner assisted on both goals. LaFontaine scored two goals in the series and now leads the Mavericks with three.

Both goalies played. Austin Lee was pulled after allowing four goals on 20 shots. Phil Cook came in and allowed six goals on 19 shots.

An idle weekend couldn't come at a better time for MSU, which will return to action Nov. 4-5 at Michigan Tech.

On the bright side, MSU fans, it's only one loss, one sweep. Minnesota State is tied with North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth in the WCHA standings.

UPDATE: Read the USCHO recap and see video of postgame comments by Troy Jutting here.

How 'bout a chat?

2011-10-22T08:26:00.001-05:00

If you're watching tonight's Minnesota State-Denver game on Facebook or listening to it on KTOE, why not stick around the PucKato blog for a live chat via Cover It Live? What else are you going to do on a Saturday night?

To paraphrase Elton John: Saturday night's all right for blogging!

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=a63f91f9f2" &amp;amp;gt;MSU hockey live chat&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

Pioneers 4, Mavericks 2 (updated)

2011-10-21T21:21:00.000-05:00

Denver Post photo

Minnesota State opened its Western Collegiate Hockey Association with a tough, 4-2 loss at third-ranked Denver. Playing without six injured players who were back in Mankato, the Mavericks hung tough, taking a 1-0 lead and tying the game 2-2 early in the third period.

"The kids played hard, they played real hard," coach Troy Jutting said in a phone interview after the game. "I'm really proud of the kids' effort. They battled hard."

But in the when-it-rains-it-pours category, the Mavericks suffered another injury. Chase Grant went out with a lower-body injury, and Jutting said he might be out for awhile. He certainly won't play Saturday.

"It's unreal," Jutting said. "Five games into the season, and we can't dress a full roster."

Here are stories by the Denver Post and USCHO.

Here's a period-by-period recap of the game:

FIRST PERIOD
Jean-Paul LaFontaine put back his own rebound after a big Evan Mosey shot from the point to give Minnesota State a 1-0 lead over Denver. Justin Jokinen also assisted on the play. Each team went scoreless on one power play during the period, and MSU goalie Austin Lee stopped 12 shots, including three big-time saves.

SECOND PERIOD
Luke Salazar scored two goals in the second period to give Denver a 2-1 lead. On the tying goal, Jason Zucker took a shot that was blocked right to Salazar, catching Austin Lee out of position for an easy goal. The second came with 48.2 seconds left in the period. Salazar got behind the defense after the Mavericks went scoreless for the third time on the power play (but nearly scored with a shot off the post). They are 0 for 20 now this season. Shots were 10-7 for Denver in the frame.

THIRD PERIOD
The Mavericks quickly tied the game when Zach Lehrke scored from Adam Mueller at the 1:17 mark. Like the Mavericks, the Pioneers came into the game scoreless on the power play. But Denver finally scored with the man advantage at 6:18 when Drew Shore fired a shot through traffic from the right circle. Minnesota State did have a 4x3 power play but couldn't do much with it. Nick Shore sealed the game with an empty-net goal in the final minute. Denver outshot MSU 16-10 in the period, so 38-25 for the game.

Read the boxscore here.

Friday morning skate

2011-10-21T09:36:00.000-05:00

Good morning, hockey fans. I'm back in Mankato this weekend covering the marathon, so I'll be keeping tabs on MSU's games remotely. I'll be listening in to Mike Sullivan's radio broadcast on KTOE and, in all likelihood, watching the free webcast of the game on Facebook Saturday night. I'll be posting updates on Twitter throughout the weekend and might try to put together a live chat on the blog on Saturday during the game. Be sure to check in.

Let's move on to today's hockey coverage ...

The Mavericks, of course, will open WCHA play very short-handed with six injured players stuck back in Mankato. But, based on his comments earlier this week, Denver coach George Gwozdecky isn't looking past the Mavs. He, too, remembers that his team had a lead for just 2:25 in last year's playoff series.

"Minnesota State has the rap of being ... one of bottom-half dwellers (in the WCHA)," Gwozdecky said. "But if you look at how they've played the last few years, there's no team that works harder, there's no team that's better coached. They're physical, they play with a great amount of intensity. They're a tough team to play, whether it's at their house or on the road."

More on the series from The Free Press here.

While much gets made about players leaving early, here's a story on Denver being led by a couple of fifth-year seniors, Dustin Jackson and John Ryder. And if you haven't seen it yet, check out Mike Chambers' excellent three-part series on the Pioneers' Jesse Martin, whose neck was broken in a game last year, and his road to recovery.

Going around the rest of the WCHA ...

North Dakota at Wisconsin: The Sioux head to Madison wondering why it's getting little offensive production from its bottom two lines. The Badgers have questions, too, like why they can't seem to win in overtime (Wisco is 0-9-14 in OT, dating back to the '07-08 season).

Alaska-Anchorage at Nebraska-Omaha: A week after the Seawolves beat the red Mavericks in a nonconference tournament, they'll meet again for conference points. Anchorage is red-hot, and one reason is junior Daniel Naslund, who has seven points in four games. Omaha, meanwhile, is 1-3-0 but says it's too early to panic.

Michigan Tech at Bemidji State: The 4-0-0 Huskies will try to stay in first place in the WCHA this weekend. Part of the reason for their good start is one of new coach Mel Pearson's first recruits, Riley Sweeney. At 1-3-0 and 0-2-0 in conference play, Beavers, needless to say, are taking Tech pretty seriously.

New Hampshire at St. Cloud State: The Huskies have another tough nonconference series (they were swept at Northern Michigan a week ago). Not sure why they're not playing a conference series yet; they'll be the last to play a WCHA opponent next week. Anyway, here's a story on St. Cloud's backup goalie.

Minnesota Duluth at Providence: The Bulldogs are heading east after getting swept by the Gophers a week ago. A couple of freshmen are off to good starts for the defending national champs.

Vermont at Minnesota: The Gophers also step out of WCHA play. They will try to remain unbeaten as they host Vermont. Finnish sophomore Erik Haula is off to a great start with five goals and four assists already.

More WCHA stuff at USCHO, INCH and College Hockey News.

Skeleton crew

2011-10-19T16:40:00.002-05:00

The hits just keep on coming for MSU.

Add Mike Dorr's name to the growing list of injured players who won't be going to Denver this weekend. The Mavericks will get Zach Lehrke and Josh Nelson back. But the list of those staying behind looks like this: Dorr, Tyler Elbrecht, J.P. Burkemper, Max Gaede, Danny Heath and Eriah Hayes. Yikes!

The Mavericks will have enough players to field an full team — 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies —but will take no extra skaters (third-string goalie Evan Karambelas will make the trip ... hey, if needed, can he skate out?).

"We've got 20 guys we can put on the ice," coach Troy Jutting said. "All those guys are hockey players. They've all been players. We're going to go play hockey."

The short-handed Mavericks will be playing the nation's third-ranked team and conference-favorite. Also, they have not won in Denver since 2003, going 0-12-2 since then, including two close losses in the WCHA playoffs last March. Remember: The Pioneers led those games a total of 2:25, but it was enough time to sweep.

"There's nobody who's going to go into that game who thinks we can win more than me," Jutting said. "We're not just going out there for a plane ride, that's for sure."

If the Mavericks can survive the weekend health-wise and perhaps come out of it with some points, they will get the next weekend off before resuming play Nov. 4-5 at Michigan Tech. Jutting said he hopes some of the injured players may be ready for that series but made no assurances.

Free hockey

2011-10-18T18:42:00.001-05:00

Saturday's game between Minnesota State and Denver will be available for free online on the Denver Pioneers' official Facebook page. Fans must have an individual Facebook account and must be logged in to view the game. The game begins at 8:07 pm. More information here.

River Hawks 4, Mavericks 1

2011-10-15T22:37:00.000-05:00

Freddy's three thoughts of the game:

1. Trouble in River City: This was hardly a way to not only open a home schedule but to get ready to go to league-favorite and third-ranked Denver next weekend. Minnesota State was swept by a team that won just five games a season ago. The Mavericks have scored just five goals in four games and they're 0 for 17 on the power play for the season. Coach Troy Jutting said his team worked harder Saturday than it did on Friday, but it still had trouble creating scoring chances or even getting its offense going at all at times. Like Friday's game Saturday's hinged on a five-minute major penalty. On Friday, MSU failed to score when it had the unlimited power play. Saturday, Lowell scored twice when it had the advantage.

2. M*A*S*H unit: Eriah Hayes was called for cross-checking in the final seconds of the second period and when the third started he was replaced in the penalty box by Charlie Thauwald. Hayes was taken out of the game with an upper body injury, so add his name to the quickly growing list of banged-up players. J.P. Burkemper, Tyler Elbrecht, Max Gaede, Danny Heath, Zach Lehrke and Josh Nelson all were scratched Saturday with various ailments. "That's well over a quarter of a roster not playing now," Jutting said. The Mavericks were also missing Mike Louwerse, who was called for checking from behind — a major and a game misconduct with about five minutes left in the first period. "It's so frustrating because of all the injuries," Jutting said. "You still gotta go out and compete, but when it rains it pours right now.

3. Hello? Veterans? Justin Jokinen scored the Mavericks' lone goal but the other seniors on the team have been invisible through four games this season. Forwards Mike Dorr, Joe Schiller, Mike Louwerse and Adam Mueller have no points. Defenseman Cameron Cooper has one goal. Juniors? Hayes, Eli Zuck and Evan Mosey each have one assist.

Deep thought: Thauwald, a freshman from Rochester, had a good game. The 6-foot-3, 225 pound right wing threw his body around and looks like a player who can wow the crowd with some big hits for the next four years.

Quote of the night: "We know never to underestimate another team. We know we have to come out and play Maverick hockey." – MSU senior forward Justin Jokinen

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 3, Wisconsin 2 (ot) ... Colorado College 6, Bemidji State 4 ... Minnesota 5, Minnesota Duluth 4 ... Boston University 4, Denver 3 ... Northern Michigan 3, St. Cloud State 2 ... Alaska-Anchorage 6, Mercyhurst 2 ... North Dakota 3, Maine 3 (ot) ... Nebraska-Omaha at Alaska

MSU vs UMass-Lowell, Game 2

2011-10-15T17:13:00.001-05:00

Tonight's lines are below the live blog. There are some changes for the Mavericks. Besides line shuffling, Adam Mueller and Charlie Thauwald are in and Zach Lehrke and Josh Nelson are out. Mike Louwerse is listed as a defenseman, although I doubt he's actually playing D. Phil Cook will start in goal.

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=bb7fe201eb" &amp;amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. UMass-Loweel&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE

12-LaFontaine ... 25-Hayes ... 23-Dorr

24-Mueller ... 26-Schiller ... 14-Jokinen

21-Grant ... 18-Leitner ... 22-McInnis

11-Leivermann ... 29-Zuck ... 20-Thauwald

27-Stern ... 17-Mosey

3-Cooper ... 7-Knoll

7-Palmquist ... 9-Louwerse

1-Cook

30-Lee

31-Karambelas

UMASS-LOWELL
10-Vallorani ... 16-Wetmore ... 29-Arnold
17-Ferreira ... 12-Holmstrom ... 14-Pendenza
23-Wilson ... 11-Buco ... 9-Wallin
18-Budd ... 5-McCoy ... 8-Wright

6-Furlong ... 3-Ruhwedel
28-Suter ... 4-Corcoran
2-Lyles ... 27-Kamrass

31-Carr
30-Robbins
1-Boulanger

Scratches: Burkemper, Elbrecht, Gaede, Heath, Lehrke, Nelson

River Hawks 4, Mavericks 2

2011-10-14T23:11:00.000-05:00

Freddy's three thoughts of the game:

1. Out-everythinged: UMass-Lowell beat Minnesota State all over the ice on Friday night. If you had to guess which team was the five-win team last year, you wouldn't have picked the River Hawks. Sure the Mavericks had depth issues on D and again gave up a lot of shots, but it was the lack of hustle and urgency up front that killed them. Lots of sloppiness. Lots of impatience. Lots of turnovers. Not the way you want to play in your home opener.

2. First goals: Mavericks freshman defenseman Zach Palmquist and rookie forward Jean-Paul LaFontaine scored the first goals of their college careers. Palmquist gave the Mavericks a 1-0 lead at the 6:21 mark. LaFontaine made it 4-2 with 3:17 to play after Austin Lee (33 saves) was pulled for an extra attacker. If the scoreboard was correct at the time, LaFontaine's goal was MSU's second shot of the third period. They were outshot 37-27 — 17-11 in the first period and 10-5 in the third.

3. Power outage: The game hinged on Lowell's lone penalty — Josh Holmstrom's five-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind with 3:06 left in the second period. The Mavericks trailed 2-1 at the time but just couldn't muster much on the power play. It was a primo chance to take over the game again and it just didn't happen. MSU was credited with four shots on goal during the power play, and I saw none during the last two minutes, which were also the first two minutes of the third period.

Deep thought: Norm Bazin won in his coaching debut with the River Hawks, a team that had five wins a season ago and was swept by the Mavericks at Thanksgiving. Bazin, a Lowell grad, was a longtime assistant at Colorado College.

Quote of the night: "We gotta figure it out pretty quick if we're going to compete." — MSU junior forward Eriah Hayes.

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 2, Wisconsin 1 (OT) ... Denver 4, Boston College 2 ... Northern Michigan 5, St. Cloud State 2 ... Minnesota 5, Minnesota Duluth 4 (OT) ... North Dakota 3, Maine 1 ... Alaska-Anchorage 3, Nebraska-Omaha 0 (NC) ... Colorado College 3, Bemidji State 1

MSU-UMass-Lowell live blog

2011-10-14T13:50:00.002-05:00

Tonight's lines posted below the live blog&amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=2560a0da08" &amp;gt;Minnesota State men's hockey vs. UMass-Lowell&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

MINNESOTA STATE
23-Dorr ... 26-Schiller ... 14-Jokinen
21-Grant ... 19-Lehrke ... 9-Louwerse
12-LaFontaine ... 18-Leitner ... 25-Hayes
22-McInnis ... Zuck ... 11-Leivermann

3-Cooper ... 7-Palmquist
27-Stern ... 17-Mosey
2-Nelson ... 10-Knoll

1-Lee
30-Cook
31-Karambelas

Scratches: Elbrecht (inj.), Burkemper (inj.), Gaede (inj.), Heath (inj.), Mueller, Thauwald

UMASS-LOWELL
10-Vallorani ... 16-Wetmore ... 29-Arnold
17-Ferreira ... 12-Holmstrom ... 14-Pendenza
23-Wilson ... 11-Buco ... 9-Wallin
18-Budd ... 26-Brickler ... 8-Wright

6-Furlong ... 3-Ruhwedel
28-Suter ... 15-Eiserman
2-Lyles ... 27-Kamrass

30-Robbins
31-Carr
1-Boulanger

Referees: Brad Shepherd, Todd Anderson

Friday morning skate

2011-10-14T08:50:00.000-05:00

Photo by Pat Christman/The Free Press

Good morning. It's hockey day in Mankato as the Mavericks get set to open their home season against UMass-Lowell. Here's a look around the WCHA this weekend, starting with MSU:

Last week, The Free Press featured co-captain Tyler Elbrecht; today co-captain Mike Dorr is the focus. Dorr, a senior forward, says Mankato and MSU feel like home to him, even though he still gets labeled as the player who can't commit. He committed to Minnesota Duluth as a 16-year-old, decommitted, went to Minnesota and transferred to Minnesota State after one semester with the Gophers. Over the last year and a half, Dorr has 17 goals and 25 assists in 62 games. Even more is expected of him this year.

"I'm happy where I'm at," he said, "and I'm glad with the road I took. No regrets."

As for this weekend's series, Minnesota State has shuffled the lineup a bit due to the numerous injuries suffered last weekend. Expect an all-senior line of Dorr, Joe Schiller and Justin Jokinen, and senior Austin Lee likely will get the start in goal. Not sure if we'll see a forward playing defense, although a couple practiced there his week. Check back later for full lines.

For the River Hawks, they are starting a new era after last season's five-win campaign (a year that included two home losses to MSU). New coach Norm Bazin, a Lowell alum and former Colorado College assistant is the man in charge now.

Going around the WCHA, six teams begin conference play:

Minnesota at Minnesota Duluth: The Gophers call themselves a work in progress as they head north to play the national champs. Meanwhile, the Star Tribune picks Minnesota to finish fourth in the league, one spot ahead of UMD (with MSU last). ... For the Bulldogs, Duluth native Keegan Flaherty is trying to get his team started on a good note.

Wisconsin at Michigan Tech: The Badgers have high hopes for talented sophomore Mark Zengerle and not just in the assist department. Madison.com also features a WCHA preview (the Mavericks are — surprise! — 11th) and a good column by Andy Baggot about the breakup of the league. ... As for the Huskies, these will be the first league games for new coach Mel Pearson.

Bemidji State at Colorado College: The Beavers hit the road after an impressive opening weekend when they split at Miami. Lots of good coverage from Bemidji Pioneer writer Eric Stromgren here. ... As for the Tigers, these will be the first games of the year, kicking off a season that comes with high expectations.

Others playing nonconference games:

North Dakota vs. Maine: Sioux goalie Aaron Dell set a record for wins last year but he's being pushed by senior Brad Eidsness, who lost the starting job to Dell last year.

Denver at Boston College, Boston University: Speaking of goalies, Adam Murray is the man in Denver, at least until injured Sam Brittain comes back — if he comes back — from a knee injury.

St. Cloud State at Northern Michigan: For the Huskies, Jared Festler is showing he has the kind of shot that scores goals — and breaks glass.

Nebraska-Omaha and Alaska-Anchorage in Fairbanks tournament: Omaha will play the two Alaska schools, while Anchorage will play Omaha and Mercyhurst. For the red Mavericks, freshman Josh Archibald, just 17, looks like the real deal. ... Meanwhile, a Seawolves sophomore said he needed to add fitness to his game after a solid rookie year.

WCHA weekly previews at USCHO and College Hockey News.