Opening Weekend

Finally, the Minnesota State men's hockey team begins its season this weekend and there is a new sense of optimism surrounding the Mavericks these days, as you can read about in my column today.

Every team in the conference played last weekend, unless you don't count Colorado College's exhibition against the Under-18 Team. All in all, not a bad showing by WCHA teams. North Dakota rolled defending national champion Michigan State 6-0 in the Hall of Fame game. Minnesota needed a comeback to beat RPI but held on against Michigan to win the Icebreaker in St. Paul. Wisconsin defeated Notre Dame but lost to Ohio State in the Lefty McFadden Invitational. Heck, even Alaska-Anchorage beat Wayne State and tied Boston University in the Nye Frontier Classic.

The Mavericks will open against Michigan Tech, which lost to Northern Michigan before rebounding vs. Lake Superior State in the Lake Superior Showcase last weekend.

First things first: Jutting said Wednesday he will start Mike Zacharias in net Friday against Tech. Whether he or Dan Tormey will start Saturday won't be decided until after the game Friday.

Jutting also said he will bring seven defensemen to Houghton, including all three freshmen; Ben Youds, Kurt Davis and Channing Boe. He also said it is likely all seven will play at one point or another. When and with whom has yet to be determined. The only defenseman who will not make the trip is sophomore Ryan Gunderson.

Up front, sophomore Jason Wiley is banged up and will not travel. It's too bad for Wiley, who according to Jutting, had a solid off-season. He had earned a spot on the Mavericks fourth line with Zach Harrison and Rylan Galiardi. Instead, senior Matt Tyree or freshman Mike Louwerse will take his spot. Both will travel this weekend, but Jutting has not decided who will play and who will sit. It is possible both will play one night.

Now onto Michigan Tech.

Known for a pair of good goalies in Michael-Lee Teslak and Rob Nolan, the Huskies rarely get into high scoring games. That doesn't mean they don't have offensive talent. Jutting mentioned Huskies' junior forward Tyler Shelast as someone the Mavericks will need to keep an eye on this weekend. Shelast scored a pair of goals last weekend and tallied two of Tech's three goals in the last series these teams played back in February.

Teslak and Nolan were both very good last season, finishing with goals against averages right around two and save percentages at 91 percent. The question is, can they do it again?

PREDICTION
I think Tech will come out rolling Friday night, but their lack of potency on offense will limit their scoring. The Mavericks will play better in the third period and salvage a 3-3 tie. Minnesota State will start better on Saturday, score a couple goals, and take the Huskies out of the game early. MSU wins 4-1 Saturday to earn three points.


WCHA PREDICTIONS
I say Wisconsin takes care of business and sweeps Robert Morris at the Kohl Center. Alaska-Anchorage got off to a solid start last weekend and will sweep the rebuilding Nanooks from Alaska. Boston College will look for a bit of redemption from a poor showing in St. Paul last weekend and beat North Dakota 3-2 Friday. The Sioux will win Saturday over Northeastern 5-2. Denver will split at Notre Dame. St. Cloud State will take care of business and take a pair from Minnesota-Duluth at the DECC. Minnesota has had success in recent years against Colorado College and I think the Tigers are a bit overrated. The Tigers will struggle until they find a replacement for Matt Zaba in net. The Gophers will overcome the loss of Ryan Stoa and take two in Colorado Springs.


Enjoy the games this weekend. I know I'm not the only one glad college hockey is back!