On Tap:   Minnesota State (7-5-2 overall, 5-5-0 WCHA) continues Western Collegiate Hockey Association action this weekend with a pair of league home games featuring Alaska Anchorage (3-5-4, 1-4-3 WCHA).  MSU and UAA play in Mankato at Verizon Wireless Center (4,832) Friday (7:37 p.m.) and Saturday (7:07 p.m.).

Amongst the Ranks:  Including this week, the Mavericks have appeared in the “receiving votes” category of the USCHO.poll in eight of the last nine weeks.

About the MSU-UAA Series: In a series that dates back to the 1982-83 season, MSU leads the all-time series with Alaska Anchorage, 35-24-7. MSU went 2-1-1 in four games played against the Seawolves last year.

MSU Most Recently:  The winners of their last four games, the Mavericks stand 7-5-2 overall and are 5-5-0 WCHA in their most-recent action -  3-0 and 6-1 wins over Bemidji State in a pair league games played in Mankato last weekend.

Alaska Anchorage Most Recently:  The Seawolves are 3-5-4 overall and 1-4-3 WCHA after a splitting a home WCHA series with St. Cloud State (4-3 overtime loss and 3-1 win).

MSU's complete 12-page release as a pdf is available HERE.

MSU Notes:

Sophomore forward Matt Leitner, who was named WCHA Player of the Week after racking up five points (2-3--5) in MSU's two wins at Wisconsin last weekend, has extended his point-scoring streak to eight games (3-9--12). The Los Alamitos, Calif., native is tied for 15th in country in points per game (1.29) and is tied for fourth in assists per game (1.00). Leitner, who led the Mavericks in scoring last year as a freshman, has not missed a game in his two-year MSU career and has played in 52 straight contests.

Senior forward Eriah Hayes, whose highlight reel assist on Zach Lehrke's goal in last Friday's 3-0 win over Bemidji State, owns 8-4--12 in 14 games this year. Hayes stands as MSU's active career scoring leader with 40-32--72 in 126 career games. He heads into this weekend's action owning a six-game point-scoring streak (6-2--8). He's tied for 26th in the country in goals per game with a 0.57 mark.

Freshman forward Dylan Margonari, the WCHA Rookie of the Week honoree two weeks ago, has 3-5--8 in the last seven games. Margonari has 4-5--9 in 12 games in 2012-13 and heads into this weekend's series with Alaska Anchorage riding a five-game point-scoring streak (2-5--10). His goal last Friday, which was MSU's first goal in the 3-0 win over Bemidji State is his second game-winning goal of the year.

Sophomore defenseman Brett Stern tallied his first career goal in last Saturday's 6-1 win over visiting Bemidji State. He also added an assist for a two-point night. For his career he owns 1-3--4 in 32 games played.

Sophomore forward J.P. Lafontaine, who has not missed a game in his two-year MSU career, had his scoring streak ended at six games when he was held off the scoresheet in last Friday's 3-0 home win over Bemidji State, but his two assists in Saturday's 6-1 win gives him 3-9--12 in the last eight games. A member of the 2011-12 WCHA All-Rookie Team, Lafontaine ranks second on MSU's scoring charts with 3-10--13, and owns 16-25--41 in 52 career games.

Freshman netminder Stephon Williams, last week's WCHA Rookie of the Week, got his third consecutive win when he stopped all 20 Bemidji State shots in last Friday's 3-0 win over Bemidji State. The shut-out is the first of his collegiate career and in his last four appearances is 4-0 with a 1.25 goals against average and .953 save percentage with 102 saves on 107 shots. For the year Williams stands 4-3-1 with a 1.92 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.

Junior forward Zach Lehrke has racked up 2-4--6 in the last eight games and has moved into a tie for seventh on the team's scoring charts with 2-5--7 in 14 games.

Senior forward Eli Zuck assisted on Bryce Gervais' goal last Friday in the 3-0 win over Bemidji State and has 1-2--3 in the last four games. Zuck, who has 12-25--37 in 97 career games, owns 2-3--5 in 12 games this year. Zuck ranks second on the team lead for plus-minus this year at +5.

Zach Palmquist, MSU's top-scoring defenseman as a freshman last season, has 7-19--26 in 52 career games and currently leads MSU defensemen in points (1-6--7) and shots on goal (24). Palmquist has not missed a game in his two-year MSU career.

Freshman defenseman Jon Jutzi, who has played in all 14 MSU games in 2012-13 has 0-3--3 on the year. He is +4 (tied for third on team) and has put 12 shots on goal in his debut season with the Mavericks.

Freshman forward Bryce Gervais tallied his third goal of the season in MSU's 3-0 whitewashing of Bemidji State last Friday in Mankato. Gervais, who has 3-0--3 in 14 games in his maiden season with the Mavericks, ranks fifth on the team with 30 shots on goal.

Sophomore forward Max Gaede, who assisted on Bryce Gervais' goal last Friday vs. Bemidji State, has 0-2--2 in the last three games and owns 0-4--4 in 14 games played this year.

Freshman forward Brett Knowles, who has 0-5--5 in 13 games played, leads the Mavericks with a +6 on the year.

Minnesota State has held opponents to two power play goals in the last six games and has killed off 22-of-24 opponent power play opportunities during that time.

The Mavericks have outscored their opponents by a 20-12 margin in third-period goals this year. MSU trails in first-period scoring (14-13) and second-period scoring (12-9). The Mavericks are outshooting opponents 471-379 in 2012-13.

Minnesota State, currently tied for fifth in the WCHA standings with ten points on its 5-5-0 record, is in the midst of a four-game winning streak. All four wins have been in conference play. MSU's last four-game winning streak (and four-game WCHA winning streak) was in 2007-08 when the Mavericks posted a seven-game streak which included three consecutive sweeps (St. Cloud State, Denver and Alaska-Anchorage) before splitting with Wisconsin.