On Tap:  14th-rated Minnesota State (14-8-2 overall, 8-8-0 WCHA) continues WCHA action with a pair of road games at Alaska Anchorage this weekend. The Mavericks and the Seawolves (3-13-4 overall, 1-12-3 WCHA) play at Sullivan Arena (6,251) in downtown Anchorage with a 7:07 p.m. AST face-off scheduled for Friday and 7:07 p.m. AST Saturday.

Series With UAA:   Including a pair of wins in Mankato at the beginning of December (3-1 and 3-0), Minnesota State owns a 37-24-7 mark in the all-time series vs. Alaska Anchorage. The series dates back to the 1982-83 season.

About the Seawolves:  Alaska Anchorage stands 3-13-4 overall and 1-12-3 WCHA after falling twice to #1-rated Minnesota with 4-3 and 7-1 losses in Minneapolis last weekend.

Check o’ the Ratings:   Minnesota State is rated 14th in this week’s national USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.  The Mavericks are in the USCHO.com poll for the fifth consecutive week, and are appearing in the USA Today/US College Hockey Magazine national poll for the third straight week.

MSU Most Recently:  Winners of 11 of their last 14 games, the Mavericks stand 14-8-2 overall after dropping a pair of home overtime losses (4-3 and 2-1) to the University of Wisconsin.

Minnesota State Head Coach Mike Hastings: Mike Hastings was named head coach of the men’s hockey program on April 14, 2012. Hastings, who is the third coach in the history of the Maverick men’s hockey program, arrived at MSU following a three-year stint as the associate head coach at Nebraska-Omaha. He also served as an assistant coach with the men’s hockey program at Minnesota for one season and before that had a 14-year run as head coach of Omaha of the United States Hockey League. The USHL’s all-time winningest coach, Hastings compiled a 529-210-56 record with the Lancers, never had a losing season and led Omaha to three Clark Cup titles as the USHL’s play-off champions.Named USHL Coach of the Year three times and as the team’s general manager, earned league GM of the Year honors five times. Hastings, a native of Crookston, Minn., was an assistant coach for the U.S. national junior team at the 2003 and 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships and served twice as head coach for the U.S. junior select team that competed in the Viking Cup in Camrose, Alta., earning gold medal honors in 2000.

MSU All-Time:  The Minnesota State men’s hockey program, begun in 1969-70, completed its 43rd year of competition last year.  The Mavericks are in their 17th year as members of NCAA Division I and in their 14th season as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. With a total of 1,455 games played, the Mavericks sport an all-time record of 750-581-136 (.558).

A complete 11-page pdt version of this release is available HERE.