On Tap:    Minnesota State (14-12-0 overall, 12-6-0 WCHA) resumes Western Collegiate Hockey Association action this weekend with a pair of league games at Northern Michigan (10-12-2, 8-7-1). The Mavericks and the Wildcats face-off at 7:07 p.m. at Berry Events Center (4,260) both Friday and Saturday.

MSU Most Recently:  The Mavericks entered last weekend on the heels of a two-game league home sweep over second-rated Ferris State, but could not keep the momentum going in dropping a 5-4 decision to Minnesota Duluth Friday before falling by a 6-4 margin to fifth-rated St. Cloud State Saturday.

Both games took place at the inaugural North Star College Cup at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Mavericks are now 0-7 all-time in games played at Xcel.

About the Wildcats:  Northern Michigan enters this weekend after splitting a pair of road league games at Alaska Anchorage..  The Wildcats, who claimed a 3-1 win over the Seawolves Friday before losing 4-2 Saturday, have gone 4-2-0 in their last six contests.

NMU is led offensively by senior forward Stephan Vigier (11-8--19) and junior defenseman Mitch Jones (2-13--15). Freshman Mathias Dahlstrom (9-10-2, .921, 2.32) has started 21 of NMU's 24 games this year. Head coach Walt Kyle (Northern Michigan '81) is in his 12th year as a college head coach and at Northern Michigan.  His career record with the Wildcats stands 218-198-51.

MSU All-Time:  The Minnesota State men's hockey program, begun in 1969-70, completed its 44th year of competition last year.   MSU is in its 17th year as a member of NCAA Division I (first DI season was 1997-98) and the Mavericks are in their 15th season as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Mavericks sport an all-time record of 774-599-137 (.558).

Next: Junior forward Jean-Paul Lafontaine and junior defenseman Zach Palmquist have not missed a game in their three-year Minnesota State careers and enter the games vs. Northern Michigan having played in 105 straight games.

What About It: The Mavericks, who had gone 4-for-46 (.086) on the power play through the first ten games of the year, have gone 29-for-86 (.337) with the man advantage in the last 16 contests.

Minnesota State stands third in the nation in power play percentage (32/132, 24.2%) and is ninth in penalty kill (97/113, 85.6%)

The Mavericks, who tallied five shorthanded goals in 2012-13, got their first shorty of 2013-14 in last Friday's game vs. Minnesota Duluth when Zach Lehrke converted with the Mavericks a man down. The goal is the fourth shorthanded goal of Lehrke's career.

Minnesota State's record this year in Friday games is 5-8. In Saturday games, the Mavericks stand 9-4.

The Mavericks are 9-1-0 in home games on the year, stand 5-9-0 in road games and are 0-2-0 in neutral site games.  

On Tap:  Following the games at Northern Michigan, the Mavericks return home to face Bemidji State Feb. 7-8.

In its entirety, which consists of 13-page pdf, this release is available HERE.