#7 Mavericks Take on Colorado College in Colorado Springs Friday, Saturday
Minnesota State Achieves Highest-Ever National Ranking; Hayes Stands Tied for First in Nation in Power Play Goals; Williams Ranks Amongst Nation’s Top Netminders; Gervais Enters Weekend Owning Five-Game Point-Scoring Streak; Margonari a Two-Time WCHA Rookie of the Week
Off The Hop: Minnesota State (20-9-3 overall, 14-9-1 WCHA) resumes action this weekend with a pair of Western Collegiate Hockey Association road games at Colorado College (12-15-5, 9-11-4 WCHA). The Mavericks and Tigers square-off at Colorado Springs World Arena (7,380) at 7:37 p.m. Friday March 1 and 7:07 p.m. Saturday March 2.
Versus the Tigers: MSU went 0-2-0 vs. Colorado College last year and have lost the last three games to the Tigers. The Mavericks stand 14-26-1 all-time in the series between the two schools.
Where Amongst?: Minnesota State is rated ninth in this week’s national USCHO.com poll, where the Mavericks are appearing for the 11th consecutive week. MSU is seventh in this week’s USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
Prior to this year, the last time Minnesota State appeared in the USCHO poll was during the 2008-09 season when the Mavericks were rated in the top twenty 11 times, reaching a high of tenth at one point.
By being ranked seventh in this week’s USA Today/USA Hockey poll, MSU has achieved it’s high-ever ranking in a NCAA Division I poll. The previous highest ranking was eighth, which the Mavericks achieved during the 2002-03 season (MSU was eighth in the USA Today Poll March 3, 2003. The Mavericks were as high as ninth twice in the USCHO poll that year).
MSU Most Recently: Including a home league sweep over Michigan Tech Feb. 16-17 (4-2 and 6-1), the Mavericks have now won 17 of their last 22 games.
Winning: The Mavericks’ 20 wins this year mark the third time during MSU’s DI-era that the program has achieved at least 20 wins. MSU’s best record in terms of wins in a season was in 1999-2000 when the Mavericks posted a 21-14-4 mark. MSU also was 20-11-10 in 2002-03.
Noteables: Sophomore forwards
Jean-Paul Lafontaine and
Matt Leitner, along with defenseman
Zach Palmquist, are MSU’s active leaders in terms of consecutive games played at 70. The second-year trio have not missed a game during their times as Mavericks.
Excuse My Lateness: Minnesota State leads the country in third-period scoring with 42 goals in the final stanza. Next on the list is Michigan with 41.
The Mavericks also are tied for third in the nation with total power play goals with 34 tallies with the man advantage on the season.
Regarding WCHA Weekly Awards: MSU individuals have collected ten WCHA Offensive/Defensive/Rookie of the Week Awards in 2012-13. The most awards MSU had chalked up prior to this season was seven in 2008-09.
On the Docket: Following the Colorado College series in Colorado Springs, the Mavericks are scheduled to close out the 2012-13 regular season March 8-9 with a home series vs. the University of North Dakota.
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