Yale at MSU

Minnesota State's line-up is the same as the other night... even the line combos.

Stay tuned for updates.

1st Period Scoring Summary
14:23 -- Wiley (Sackrison, Gaulrapp) 1-0 MSU
17:26 -- Kalinski (Irwin, Canzanello) 2-0 MSU
18:01 -- Wiley 2 (Sackrison, Kilburg) 3-0 MSU

2nd Period Scoring Summary
None

3rd Period Scoring Summary
5:39 -- Backman (Dagnard, Engasser) PPG, 3-1 MSU
19:25 -- Bruess (Hanson) ENG, 4-1 MSU

MSU vs. Princeton: In-Game

We are underway at the Alltel Center... I will provide scoring updates and some occasional thoughts along the way.

1st Period Scoring
6:05 -- Mouillierat (Hanson, Bruess) 1-0 MSU
10:47 -- Hanson (Bruess) 2-0 MSU

2nd Period Scoring
8:00 -- MacIntyre (Wilson, Jubinville) 2-1 MSU
16:30 -- Berge (Canzanello), 4x4, 3-1 MSU
17:06 -- Hanson (Harrison, Youds), 4x4, 4-1 MSU

3rd Period Scoring
17:13 -- Wiley (unassisted) 5-1 MSU
18:20 -- Wiley (Canzanello, Sackrison) 6-1 MSU

MSU vs. Princeton PRE-GAME

About an hour from face-off and I can count the number of fans inside the Alltel Center on two hands... literally. I guess Princeton doesn't have quite the draw of a Minnesota or a Wisconsin...

Here are the line-ups for both teams. Starters are in italics:

MINNESOTA STATE
Irwin-Kalinski-Berge
Hanson-Bruess-Mouillierat
Galiardi-Harrison-Stewart
Gaulrapp-Sackrison-Wiley

Davis-Kilburg
Youds-Friesen
Linder-Canzanello

Zacharias
Tormey
Lee

PRINCETON
Wilson-Jubinville-MacIntyre
Lohry-Magnowski-Arhontas
Kushniruk-Kaiser-Pridham
Beachell-Stankievech-Kramer

Moore-Fedun
Pederson-Ritchie
Godlewski-Schroeder

Kalemba
Sychterz
Reynolds

For those that don't know much about Princeton, its players to watch offensively would all be on the first line - Cam MacIntyre leads the team with seven goals, Lee Jubinville leads the team with nine assists and both are tied for the team lead with 14 total points. The Tigers are 5-7-0 overall this season and four of the wins have come with Zane Kalemba in net.

NEW JERSEYS ARE IN!

I know I said I was done for the week, but I do have one small bit of news...

People on various message boards have been asking about where to get the Mavericks new jerseys. I was told three weeks ago that they were unavailable because of troubles with the manufacturer, Gemini.

But sure enough, the new jerseys are in at Maverick Bookstore on Stadium Road about a block east of campus. They have the home whites as well as the away purples (my personal preference). The cost is a bit steep at $95.99 (or if you are a husky guy or gal, XXL's are $96.99) but if you are stuck in your Christmas shopping efforts for the Maverick fan on your list, well, here you go.


OK, now I'm really out.

Happy Holidays!

I will be out of town for the next few days and barring any unforeseen breaking news, will not be writing on the blog.

I will be in town for the Princeton and Yale games, however, and will be providing my typical game-night content for anybody that can not make it to Alltel Center.

Have a very Merry Christmas and I will talk to you next week!

MSU sweeps Bemidji

The Mavericks escaped with a pair of wins this past weekend in Bemidji, but did sweep the Beavers with 4-3 and 1-0 wins at John Glas Fieldhouse.

It was a big sweep for the Mavericks - last season, BSU swept the Mavs at the Alltel Center. It was losses like those that kept the Mavericks from being mentioned among the at-large teams come NCAA Tournament time. Not to say this weekend puts MSU into post-season play, but it won't hurt in March - especially if Mike Zacharias continues playing as well as he has.

Next up is a non-conference game tomorrow against Nebraska-Omaha at the Qwest Center in Omaha. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dan Tormey get the start. Following the game, MSU will be off for 10 days when Yale and Princeton come to Mankato for a Friday-Sunday series just before the new year.

A new staffer

Sorry for the lack of coverage last week... I graduated on Saturday, and am in the process of figuring out exactly where to go next with the blog. The new Maverick men's hockey writer for The Reporter will be former MSU baseball captain and new Reporter staffer Pat Ottum. Look for him to take over much of the coverage come second semester...

UW at MSU: Game Two

Like kissing your sister... Mavericks and Badgers tie in game two of the series. I will have more on this series on Monday or Tuesday. Check out USCHO.com for my write-up.

Thanks for reading!

Final scoring summary

1st Period Scoring
3:41 -- Hanson (Bruess, Youds) (1-0 MSU)

2nd Period Scoring
None

3rd Period Scoring
3:37 -- McBain (Turris, Street) PPG (1-1)

Overtime
None

Wisconsin at MSU: Game One

Mavericks win game one 3-1... more to come...

1st Period Scoring
1:07 -- Turris (Street) (1-0 UW)
1:20 -- Berge (Irwin, Linder) (1-1)

2nd Period Scoring
5:58 -- Irwin (Galiardi, Canzanello) (2-1 MSU)
9:38 -- Galiardi (Linder, Harrison) PPG (3-1 MSU)

3rd Period Scoring
None

Wisconsin at MSU: Pregame

About 15 minutes or so here from face-off... no surprises from Troy Jutting. Here are the line-ups for both teams, with the starters in intalics.

Minnesota State
Irwin-Kalinski-Berge
Hanson-Bruess-Mouillierat
Galiardi-Harrison-Stewart
Gaulrapp-Gunderson-Wiley

Davis-Kilburg
Friesen-Canzanello
Linder-Youds

Zacharias
Tormey
Lee

Wisconsin
Street-Turris-Davies
Engel-Geoffrion-Johnson
Mitchell-Dolan-Grotting
Bohmbach-Bendrickson-Turnbull

Smith-Klubertanz
Drewiske-Goloubef
McDonagh-McBain

Connelly
Gudmandson

Wisconsin Week

In my column this week, I wrote about Mavericks goaltender Mike Zacharias and his rock-solid start so far this season.

MSU is in for a nice test this weekend as the No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers come to town. I know for a fact that Friday's student section is already sold out, and I expect the same for Saturday's game as well. I meant to go to the box office and find out the status of general public tickets, but it completely slipped my mind. I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple 4,500+ attendance numbers this weekend. Should be fun.

MSU head coach Troy Jutting said today that he will play the same line combinations as he did in last Saturday night's win over UMD. That includes sophomore Ryan Gunderson, who Jutting put into the line-up first time this season.

"I thought he did a very nice job," Jutting said. "He played within himself and did everything we asked him to do."

The same line-up also means freshman defenseman Channing Boe will find himself in the press box - at least for Friday. Jutting made no promises for Saturday's group.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, comes to Mankato riding the momentum of a pair of comeback wins over St. Cloud State last weekend in Madison. The Wisconsin State Journal's Andy Baggot wrote a good article today on sophomore forward Blake Geoffrion. Capital Times beatwriter Todd D. Milewski has a story on goaltender Shane Connelly.

PREDICTION
I'll go with a Wisconsin victory on Friday 3-2 and a Minnesota State win Saturday 4-1.

In other WCHA action...
- Minnesota at North Dakota UND SWEEP
- Alaska-Anchorage at Minnesota-Duluth UMD SWEEP
- Denver at St. Cloud State SPLIT

I will be at Alltel Center for both games with scoring updates and intermission commentaries. Thanks for coming by!

Mavericks beat UMD

It wasn't pretty, but Minnesota State came away with a 2-1 Saturday over No. 12 Minnesota-Duluth.

Mick Berge scored the game-winner with just under 15 minutes to play off a face-off win by fellow junior Jon Kalinski.

Blake Friesen scored the other Maverick goal - the game's first with under a minute to play in the second. UMD responded with a short-handed goal just 1:27 into the third period.

The win keeps alive a seven-game unbeaten streak against UMD, but ends a five-game winless streak overall this season.

Check USCHO.com and the Minnesota State page for my full game write-up...

UMD at MSU: Part Deux

For the second night in a row, a long stretch of whistle-less hockey ends with a Maverick goal. Both teams skated around for the better part of what seemed like five or six minutes with no stoppages. For the most part, the hockey really wasn't that great. Stalock and Zacharias didn't help their teams out much either. Numerous times when it looked like the teams could use a stoppage, the goalies kept the puck moving. Finally, defenseman Blake Friesen gained control of the puck near the blueline, skated towards the slot and waited out Stalock, who committed early. Friesen fired the wrister over Stalock's glove to score the only goal of the game thus far...

After two, UMD is outshooting MSU 18-14... Should be an interesting third period...

1st Period Scoring Summary
None

2nd Period Scoring Summary
19:17 -- Friesen (Harrison, Galiardi) (1-0 MSU)

3rd Period Scoring Summary
1:27 -- McKnight (Kemp, Meyers) SHG (1-1)
5:31 -- Berge (Kalinski) (2-1 MSU)

UMD at MSU - Pregame

Only one major line-up change from a night ago... Jason Wiley is in - Andy Sackrison is out.

Here are the lines, with starters in italics:

MSU Mavericks
Irwin-Kalinski-Berge
Hanson-Bruess-Mouillierat
Galiardi-Harrison-Stewart
Gaulrapp-Gunderson-Wiley

Davis-Kilburg
Friesen-Canzanello
Linder-Youds

Zacharias
Tormey
Lee

UMD Bulldogs
Gergen-Sharp-Kemp
Carroll-Fulton-Fontaine
Greer-McKNight-Curry
Danberg-Akins-Montgomery

Meyers-Gawryletz
Garrison-Palm
Ryan-Huttel

Stalock
Reiter

The day after and a look at tonight...

Anyone see scores from around the WCHA last night? A pair of 3-2 scores, a pair of 1-0 scores and a 2-2 tie. Not much is separating teams in this conference right now, that's for sure. But if you look at those standings, you see one thing: Colorado College pulling away.

The Tigers have a four-point edge on Denver, which if things go the way they have, will lose to North Dakota tonight. UMD and Tech are both right behind with 12 and 11 points.

The bad news for the Mavericks was their tie last night. A win would have been huge for this team, because they would have leap-frogged UAA in the standings and would have been in position to jump Minnesota and Wisconsin tonight. At the very least, they would have pulled even with SCSU, which its in sixth place. If MSU wins tonight and Wisconsin loses, next weekend's series is critical. After starting the season so well, the Badgers have really come back to the pack. Shane Connelly is not Brian Elliott, so if you can shut down their first line and take your chances, you have to like your odds.

But first, there is tonight. Troy Jutting and Scott Sandelin are both expecting more of the same. Although he wouldn't commit to it for sure, it sounds like Mike Zacharias will get he start in net for MSU. Alex Stalock has started every game so far this season for UMD, so there is no reason to think he won't play again tonight. I wasn't overly impressed with either goaltender last night; both played well, but didn't have to make any fantastic, game-saving saves. They made the saves they had to. Zacharias didn't have a chance on UMD's second goal as it was deflected to the net.

That is something I feel MSU needs to do more of. Far too many times last night, a Maverick player was shooting the puck from the outside and there was no traffic around Stalock. The MSU power-play was a bit conservative, too. Although it moved the puck well and maintained possession, it didn't fire many quality shots on Stalock. UMD did a good job of shutting down shooting lanes.

Should be a fun game tonight! Hopefully the snow doesn't keep any of you from the arena, but if it does, check out the blog, as I'll keep scoring updates coming and try to offer intermission thoughts. The game is on Charter Channel 14 as well...

Talk to you all in a few hours!

...and we're off!

2nd Period Summary
I guess I'm not really sure what to think. I'd still say MSU looked better than UMD that period, but for about a 10 minute stretch in the middle of that period, the Mavericks were absolutely lost. They were outworked, outplayed, outscored and outshot. They rebounded, if only a little bit, and by the end of the period, MSU and UMD were on the same mediocre level...

MSU out shot the Bulldogs for the period 11-8, and are ahead for the game 21-13.

They just added an assist on the Hanson goal to Kilburg, meaning he has now equaled his entire point total from last season in just 10 games and two periods. We'll see if Hanson's goal can kickstart this team's offense as many thought it would. After his goal, the Mavs didn't have many quality chances, but had a stellar power-play towards the end of the period. The puck hardly got out of their end, but Duluth did a great job of shutting down shooting lanes.

Here is the scoring summary so far:
1st Period Scoring
MSU - 5:43 -- Davis (Galiardi, Kilburg) (1-0 MSU)

2nd Period Scoring
MSU - :28 -- Hanson (Bruess, Kilburg) (2-0 MSU)
UMD - 8:23 -- Carroll (Fontaine, Fulton) (2-1 MSU)
UMD - 9:29 -- Garrison (Schmidt) (2-2)

3rd Period Scoring
None

Overtime
None

MORE TO COME...

UMD at MSU Preview

An interesting note before I begin... 22 people voted for Joel Hanson and his zero points so far as this season's biggest surprise (68%). Not saying I disagree with you, just found it interesting...

Piggy-backing off of that, an interesting roster tweak this weekend by Mavericks head coach Troy Jutting. Finding his way onto the fourth-line is the long-lost "eighth defenseman" Ryan Gunderson. He will play along side James Gaulrapp and Geoff Irwin during Friday's game.

For awhile, I thought maybe Jutting was trying to prove a point to another forward by putting Gunderson up-front all week in practice. But when I asked Jutting this afternoon if he had changed his mind, he said no.

"He's worked hard," Jutting said. "He's a big kid who skates well and has good hands. This is a chance for him to prove he belongs."

Gunderson didn't play in many games last season - suiting up in just seven contests. I'm not knocking is skills, and time will tell how he plays this weekend. I guess I was just surprised Jutting decided to move Gunderson to forward, considering they spent much of last season transitioning him to defense.

"He's played forward his whole life, so this move shouldn't be too drastic," Jutting said.

Gunderson tallied one assist last year in a November contest against Colorado College. No word on whether the move is permanent. Stay tuned this weekend for updates on his play.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks are concluding a very intense week of practice. The pace has quickened recently at All Seasons Arena and this week, the hitting picked up as well.

"We need it," said junior forward Jon Kalinski. "Maybe it will help us play a 60-minute game instead of a 40-minute game."

Indeed, playing complete games has one major problem. But the Mavericks tackled another one during their two week layoff: scoring goals.

The team worked on drills in practice designed on putting the puck in the net. A few of the lighter moments were spent just trying to increase the players' confidence. One individual that could help the Mavericks offense get on track is the senior captain Hanson.

It's not difficult to see that Hanson - perhaps the team's classiest player - is frustrated with answering the same question over and over. But he has handled it well.

"You just have to work through it I guess," he said Wednesday.

Jutting and Kalinski both feel that once Hanson gets going, so will the Maverick offense. Hanson's goals usually come in bunches, which may help kickstart the MSU attack, especially if Hanson could net one in the early stages of Friday's game.

"There's no question, he's the key right now," Jutting said. "There's no if, ands or buts about it."

Kalinski says he'd like to see Hanson rewarded.

"He's working hard, but right now, he's just not getting the lucky bounces."

Something tells me Hanson gets on track this weekend.

MSU FORWARD LINES
Berge-Sackrison-Kalinski
Hanson-Mouillierat-Bruess
Galiardi-Harrison-Stewart
Gaulrapp-Gunderson-Irwin

ON THE BLUELINE
Davis-Kilburg
Canzanello-Friesen
Youds-Linder
*Boe is the odd-man out for Friday's contest

IN NET
Zacharias
Tormey
Lee
*Zacharias will start Friday

PREDICTION
I have a feeling MSU finds a way to get back on track this weekend. The No. 12 Bulldogs have a few nice wins on their schedule this season, including a 4-2 win at North Dakota last weekend, a victory the weekend before against Michigan Tech and a 3-0 win at Denver in October. They have struggled against the Mavericks in the past couple of years, and to me, this Mavericks simply need this series more than UMD does. Look for the Mavericks to come away with three points this weekend.

IN OTHER WCHA ACTION THIS WEEKEND

Michigan Tech at Minnesota: SPLIT
St. Cloud State at Wisocnsin: SPLIT
Colorado College at Alaska-Anchorage: CC SWEEP
North Dakota at Denver: SPLIT

If you can't make it to Alltel Center this weekend for the games, be sure to check the blog as I will try to post in-game comments. Thanks for reading!

Back from break

In my column today, I wrote about the chaotic WCHA so far this season...

The team has skated hard Sunday and Monday following three days off, and will play just their second and third home games of the season this weekend against No. 12 Minnesota-Duluth.

I'll be back with more from practice on Wednesday and bring in the traditional Thursday weekend preview!


NOTE: I have joined another blog that covers Maverick hockey in changing the anonymous comment posting ability... if you have an opinion or a question, simply sign in and ask it. Thanks for continuing to read...

First semester progress reports

It's hard to believe this season is a quarter of the way finished already. For some, it's getting to the 1/3 point. But after finishing a nine-out-of-10 game stretch on the road, the Mavericks will finally get a chance to have a little "home cookin" over the next 17 days or so. It's been a crazy season already, filled with more valleys than peaks, but there have been signs of life.

Remember, this team has played more games on the road thus far than any other team in college hockey. At 3-6-1 overall and 1-6-1 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, MSU is not where it wants to be. But there is plenty to look forward to in the next couple of months - as the post-season will be here before you know it.

FORWARDS

A surprise: Sophomore Trevor Bruess started the season rotating between the third and fourth lines. That's the role he excelled in last season. But before long, Bruess led the Mavericks in scoring and was promoted to the team's top-line. Jon Kalinski struggled to get his season kick-started, until he lined up with Bruess and Mick Berge. Now, Berge and Kalinski have rocketed back to the top of the team scoring charts while Bruess has moved back down to his role as a grinder. You could argue 'Bruiser' has been the team's most consistent player thus far, and he will be counted on to provide the occasional scoring punch from those bottom lines the rest of the season.

A disappointment: Joel Hanson scored 15 goals during a breakout season last year, and added 13 assists to finish with 28 points - third on the team. With the graduation of Travis Morin, Hanson was being counted on to be the Mavs new No. 2 guy in the offensive end. But through 10 games, Hanson doesn't have a single point. He is the only forward regular to not find the score sheet yet.

A prediction: Sooner or later, things will open up for Hanson. He hasn't scored yet, but it's not as though he has been invisible. Being a senior, Hanson does all the little things right; he is disciplined and has been a very good leader. The younger players have talked about how much they respect Hanson because of the business like approach he takes despite the early point production struggles. "You don't see him out there breaking his stick," said freshman Rylan Galiardi. Hanson will be fine. This prediction may be a bold one, but I wouldn't be at all surprised: Hanson will be among MSU's top-3 point scorers by the time we ring in the new year.

Grade through 10 games: C-
The Mavericks have not scored enough goals for this grade to be higher. The have been adept, however, at creating chances and that's why this grade isn't lower. MSU has worked in practice this week on goal scoring and finishing chances when they get them. Perhaps its the lack of a proven sniper or the inexperience up front, but if the Mavs are to get back into this thing, they will need to improve on the 1.5 goals they are averaging so far in WCHA games.

DEFENSEMEN

A surprise: Junior Brian Kilburg has already scored more goals this season (1) than he did all of last season and is within two points of his entire total from 2006-07 (6). Following his benching Saturday at Minnesota, Kilburg played one of his best games Friday in Denver. He has been paired with freshman Kurt Davis all season and the two provide the team with its most versatile duo. Davis' specialty is on the offensive end (he has four assists so far) while Kilburg's size allows him to play a physical defensive style - as they did in the first game at DU. If these two can play that well together on a more consistent level the rest of the season, they will be a very good pairing.

A disappointment: If you really want to call it that... This may be stretching it a bit, but Ben Youds has only one point in eight games this season after being sold by head coach Troy Jutting as the most talented defenseman this program has ever recruited. I'm not calling the guy a bust just 10 games into his first season, because Youds has not been bad this season. But he hasn't been spectacular. Fellow freshmen Davis and Channing Boe have stood out more than Youds has - and he came in with the much higher billing. The fact Youds has been the most disappointing defender is really a credit to how well this unit has played so far.

A prediction: I am really high on the play of Boe thus far. Unlike Youds and Davis - the more offensive defensemen on the team - Boe provides a big, physical presence on the blueline. He has a cannon for a shot, too. My prediction, although it may be a bit long term, Boe turns into a Steve Wagner type player who by his third season, will be the most dependable Maverick defenseman.

Grade through 10 games: B
If not for the outstanding play of Mike Zacharias, this group would be the biggest surprise pf the season. Despite lacking an experienced defenseman that has a lot of skill, this group has played hard, disciplined hockey for most of the 10 games. Senior R.J. Linder has been everything the team has needed him to be: steady. Blake Friesen will be this year's Linder, next season. The junior is not the most skilled player on the team, but he rarely makes costly mistakes. Boe, Davis and Youds all provide a lot of potential. All three have seen substantial playing time as freshmen and will continue to because they have responded. Kilburg can be in the upper tier of WCHA defensemen when he plays a defensive, physical brand of hockey.

GOALTENDING

Grade through 10 games: B
Zacharias is the reason this grade is so high. If it were his grade alone, it would probably be an A. Dan Tormey has struggled so far this season, and the reason for that is unclear. He finished the season strongly last year, so I don't think it is hand-injury related.

Zacharias, meanwhile, has been one of the best in the conference. He has allowed a pair of questionable goals in 10 games, so there is some things for him to work on. But if he can maintain this level of play, or more realistically, stay around it, he will find himself playing a lot come January and February.

Let me know what you guys think of the grades. I'll stay away from grading coaches at this point. Besides, it seems as though you guys have decided final marks for them already.

I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving! Might take a break for a couple days, but feel free to leave comments, ask questions and peruse as usual. I'll be updating some of the sidebar information as this weekend's action progresses.

Progress Reports to come next week

I see that a majority of the 26 people who voted on a grade for the Mavericks through eight games gave the Mavericks a C (14). A significant number less gave a B (9) with the rest divided evenly with one vote.

For my mid-week post next week (Wednesday), I will provide a "1st Semester Progress Report."

Thanks for being a part of the blog, and keep the questions and votes coming...

How would you guys (and gals) grade the Mavericks season so far?