2014-15 Minnesota State Men's Hockey Preseason Noteables
Minnesota State All-Time...The MSU men's hockey program got its start in 1969 and in the past 45 years have forged a 786-601-138 (.561) record in 1,525 games.
Generally Speaking...The Mavericks are entering their 16th season as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Not including 41 games of league post-season action in which MSU owns an 15-31-0 mark, the Mavericks sport a 174-199-47 (.470) mark against league opposition since entering the league in 1999-00.
MSU is in its 18th year as a member of NCAA Division I (first DI season was 1997-98). The Mavericks are 305-313-77 (.494) all-time as members of DI.
Our House...MSU went 16-1-1 (.917) in 18 games played at Verizon Wireless Center in 2013-14. The 16 victories by the Mavericks established a school record for most home wins. MSU's record in 20 seasons in the facility stands at 185-120-44 (.593).
The What What...The Mavericks averaged 3,447 fans per home game in 2013-14 (71.3% capacity), which ranked 23rd in the nation in average attendance per game.
In the Lead...The Mavericks continued their upward swing under head coach
Mike Hastings, who was in his second year as skipper in 2013-14. Hastings guided Minnesota State to a 26-16-1 mark and a 20-7-1 mark in league play. The 26 wins represent an all-time NCAA DI-high for Minnesota State and the 20 wins in league play represent the most ever by a MSU team in WCHA games in a season. In 2013-14, the Crookston, Minn., native led MSU to its first-ever WCHA Broadmoor Trophy championship as league play-off champions. Under Hastings the Mavericks also made their second consecutive invitation to the NCAA postseason tournament.
Keep in Mind...The Mavericks have won 20 games in a season during their NCAA Division I-era four times, but never in back-to-back seasons until the past two years. The 26 wins in 2013-14 is the most ever since Minnesota State re affiliated to NCAA DI in 1996-97.
Minnesota State's 20-Win Seasons*Year Won-Loss Record
1999-2000 21-14-4
2002-03 20-11-10
2012-13 24-14-3
2013-14 26-14-1
*NCAA Division I-era
Academia...2013-14 WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award (at least 3.50 grade point average) recipients from Minnesota State hockey included senior senior goaltender Evan Karambelas (three-time honoree), junior defenseman Mat Knoll (two-time honoree), sophomore defenseman Nick Buchanan (one-time honoree), sophomore defenseman Jon Jutzi (one-time honoree) and sophomore forward Dylan Margonari (one-time honoree).
2013-14 WCHA All-Acadmic Award recipients from Minnesota State hockey included Teddy Blueger (So., Riga, Latvia); Nick Buchanan (So.,Victoria, B.C.); *Max Gaede (Jr., F, Woodbury, Minn.); Bryce Gervais (So., Battleford, Sask.); *Chase Grant (Jr., F, Oklahoma City, Okla.); Jon Jutzi (So., Tavistock, Ont.); ***Evan Karambelas (Sr., G, Fort St. John, B.C.); *Mat Knoll (Jr., D, Edmonton, Alta.); *Zach Lehrke (Sr., F, Park Rapids, Minn.); Dylan Margonari (So., Greensburg, Penn.); Josh Nelson (Sr., Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.); *Zach Palmquist (Jr., D, South St. Paul, Minn.); *Brett Stern (Jr., D, Lino Lakes, Minn.); Blake Thompson (So., Eden Prairie, Minn.); Stephon Williams (So., Fairbanks, Alaska).
And the Winners Were... Award winners at MSU's 2013-14 postseason awards banquet included:
Cole Huggins (MVP ),
Johnny McInnis (Don Brose Leadership Award & Three-Star Award),
Bryce Gervais (Hardest Worker),
Sean Flanagan (Most Improved) and
Zach Lehrke (Unsung Hero).
Ranging...The youngest player on this year's roster (and for the third consecutive season) is junior forward
Teddy Blueger (born Aug. 15, 1994). The oldest Maverick is senior forward
Chase Grant (born Aug. 17, 1989).
For Future Reference...A total of five players on this year's roster have been selected by National Hockey League teams in the annual draft. Junior goaltender
Stephon Williams was picked by the New York Islanders in the fourth round (106th overall) in the 2013 draft. Sophomore forward
Zach Stepan was selected by Nashville in the fourth round (112th) of the 2012 draft. Junior forward
Teddy Blueger was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round (52nd overall) in the 2012 draft. Junior forward
Max Gaede was chosen 88th overall when he was selected in the third round of the 2011 draft by San Jose. Freshman forward
C.J. Franklin was selected in the fifth round (129th overall) of the 2014 draft by Winnipeg.
Prior to this year, Minnesota State's previous high for number of draft picks on a roster was 2004-05 (D
avid Backes, Travis Morin, Jake Brenk and
Chad Brownlee) and 2013-14 (Williams, Stepan, Blueger, Gaede). Since the inception of the program in 1969-70, 17 current or former MSU players have been selected by NHL teams.
Left Foot, Right Foot... A total of six returning Mavericks saw action in all 41 games last year in senior forward
Jean-Paul Lafontaine, junior forward
Bryce Gervais, senior defenseman
Zach Palmquist, senior forward
Chase Grant, senior forward
Max Gaede and senior defenseman
Brett Stern.
Lafontaine and Palmquist have not missed a game in their three-year Minnesota State careers and enter the 2014-15 season having played in 120 straight games.
Here's the current consecutive games played list for the Mavericks:
Jean-Paul Lafontaine 120
Zach Palmquist 120
Max Gaede 112
Chase Grant 82
Bryce Gervais 82
Brett Stern 41
A Passel...Last season's team success helped heap a boatload of individual honors on several Minnesota State individuals. Goaltender
Cole Huggins was named All-WCHA Second Team and WCHA Goaltending Champion. Defenseman
Zach Palmquist and forward
Matt Leitner were both named All-WCHA First Team. Forward
Jean-Paul Lafointaine was named All-WCHA Second Team. Forwards
Johnny McInnis and
Zach Lehrke were both named All-WCHA Third Team.
Timing Matters...Minnesota State owned a 19-5-0 record when scoring first in 2013-14, was 14-3-0 when leading after the first period and owned an 18-0-0 mark when leading after two periods of action. The Mavericks were 3-1-1 in overtime games.
Minnesota State in Overtime 2013-14 (Overtime record: 3-2-1):Nov. 9 vs. Bowling Green (1-0 Win, Johnny McInnis GWG)
Nov. 22 at Bowling Green (4-3 Loss)
Nov. 23 at Bowling Green (4-3 Win, Bryce Gervais GWG)
Jan. 24 vs. Minnesota Duluth (5-4 Loss)
Mar. 8 vs. Michigan Tech (1-1 Tie)
Mar. 15 vs. Northern Michigan (5-4 Win, Zach Stepan GWG)
Listing...Senior forwards
Matt Leitner and
Jean-Paul Lafontaine enter the 2014-15 season ranking fourth and tenth all-time on Minnesota State's career scoring list for the Division I era.
Leitner, who has racked up 40-81--121 in 118 career games, has led Minnesota State in scoring three consecutive years. No player has ever led the Mavericks in scoring four years in a row. A two-time All-WCHA pick (first team as a junior, third team as a sophomore), Leitner ranked 14th in the nation in 2013-14 in scoring with 12-33--45.
Lafontaine, who owns 42-61--103 in his three seasons with the Mavericks, ranked second in the nation last year with 14 power play goals. An All-WCHA Third Team selection last year, Lafontaine totalled 20-20--40 in 2013-14.
For the Defense: Senior blueliner
Zach Palmquist, a 2013-14 All-WCHA First Team selection, has totalled 17-50--67 in this three seasons with the Mavericks to rank 11th on the school's all-time scoring by defensemen list. Palmquist had 4-19--23 last year in tying for 26th in the country in defensemen scoring.
Pipe FitterFreshman netminder
Cole Huggins, who backstopped the Mavericks to a Broadmoor Trophy championship at the 2014 Final Five where he was named tournament's Most Outstanding Player, finished the year with a 21-8-1 won-loss record, 1.88 goals against average and a .926 save percentage in his inaugural campaign with Minnesota State.
In addition to picking up his previously-mentioned league honors, Huggins was also named to the 2013-14 CHN All-Rookie Team and set school records for season goals against average (1.88), save percentage (.926) and shut-outs (6).
Where the Mavericks Ranked in 2013-14 National Team Statistics: Winning Percentage (.646) 8th
Goals Scored Per Game (130) 9th
Goals Per Game (3.17) 15th
Goals Allowed (95) 18th
Goals Allowed Per Game (2.32) 9th
Goals Scored/Allowed Differential (+35) 7th
Power Play Goals Scored (50) 1st
Power Play Percentage (25.3%) 4th
Penalty Kill Goals Allowed (22) T-10th
Penalty Kill Percentage (13.0%) 4th
In Case You Were Wondering:Minnesota State's 2014-15 25-man roster is comprised of players from 15 different states/provinces (and one country). The state of Minnesota leads the way with six native sons.
The complete preseason prospectus, which includes a numerical roster, quick facts, last year's results and stats, is available
HERE.
