On Tap:    Minnesota State (2-6-0 overall, 1-3-0 WCHA) entertains St. Cloud State (4-4-2, 2-1-1WCHA) in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action this weekend in Mankato, Minn.  MSU and SCSU play at Verizon Wireless Center (4,832) Friday (7:37 p.m. CST) and Saturday (7:07 p.m. CST).

About the MSU-SCSU Series:   MSU’s oldest and most-often played opponent, MSU stands 60-44-11 all-time vs. the Huskies and own a 14-10-3 mark vs. SCSU in the last 27 meetings.

Most Recently:  Minnesota State (2-6-0, 1-3-0 WCHA) split a road conference series last weekend, dropping a 1-0 decision to 16th-rated Michigan Tech in the first game before responding with a 6-3 victory the next night.

The Mavericks snapped a six-game losing streak with Saturday’s win. The six goals put up by MSU represent a season-high, as does the 45 shots on goal in the game.

About St. Cloud State:  St. Cloud State stands 4-4-2 on the year (2-1-1 WCHA) after picking up three of four points in a home league series with the University of Wisconsin.  SCSU earned a 7-2 win in the first game with the Badgers before a 3-3 overtime time in the second game.

SCSU, which went 15-18-5  last year (11-13-4 WCHA), return 17 letterwinners, while losing eight.

Senior forward Drew LeBlanc stands atop SCSU’s scoring charts with 2-10--12 in ten games.  Junior forward Ben Hanowski (6-5--11) and sophomore Cam Reid (3-8--11) are next and senior forward Jared Festler (6-4--10) is fourth.

Junior goaltender Mike Lee owns a 2-2-1 record with a .896 saves percentage and a 3.34 goals against average in five games.  Freshman Ryan Faragher stands 2-2-1 and owns .930 and 2.19 numbers.

Bob Motzko (St. Cloud State ‘87), is in his seventh year at the SCSU men’s hockey helm and stands 124-94-30 as a collegiate head coach.  

Leading The Way:  Senior forward Michael Dorr and junior defenseman Tyler Elbrecht are serving as MSU team  captains in 2011-12.   The Mavericks plan on rotating an alternate captain during the course of the season.

MSU All-Time:  The Minnesota State men’s hockey program, begun in 1969-70, completed its 42nd year of competition last year.  The Mavericks are in their 16th year as members of NCAA Division I and in their 13th season as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. With a total of 1,407 games played, the Mavericks sport an all-time record of 726-553-132 (.562).

The complete 12-page release (as a pdf) is available here.