12th-Rated Minnesota State Begins Conference Action with Alabama-Huntsville Visiting Verizon Wireless Center Friday and Saturday
    Mavericks Stand 2-2-0 Overall After Splitting Nonconference Series With Minnesota Duluth Last Weekend
    Minnesota State Establishes All-Time High With More Than 5,300 Fans In Attendance Saturday
    Knutson and Franklin Tally First Career Goals

On Tap:    Minnesota State (2-2-0 overall, 0-0-0 WCHA) plays host to Alabama-Huntsville (0-4-0, 0-2-0 ) this weekend in the first league games of the year for the Mavericks. MSU and UAH play in Mankato at Verizon Wireless Center (4,832) Friday (7:07 p.m.) and Saturday (7:07 p.m.) CST.

Minnesota State Most Recently:  For the second consecutive weekend, the Mavericks played a nonconference series involved an opponent from the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.  MSU claimed a 5-4 overtime win at #20 Minnesota Duluth Friday with freshman forward Zeb Knutson credited with the game-winning tally.  UMD responded by claiming a 6-2 win in the rematch the next night in Mankato.

About Alabama-Huntsville:  The Chargers, coming off a weekend in which they dropped a pair of league home games to Bowling Green (4-1 and 5-0), are led offensively by junior defenseman Frank Misuraca (2-1--3) and sophomore defenseman Brandon Carlson (2-1--3). UAH, which went 2-35-1 last year and sported a 2-25-1 ledger in its first year of WCHA play, has used both Matt Larose (0-2-0, .914, 4.00) and Carmine Guerriero (0-2-0, .901, 4.02) between the pipes this year.  

Head coach Mike Corbett (Denver '96) is in his second year in charge of the Chargers.

MSU All-Time:  The Minnesota State men's hockey program, begun in 1969-70, completed its 45th year of competition last year.   MSU is in its 19th year as a member of NCAA Division I (first DI season was 1997-98) and the Mavericks are entering their 16th season as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Mavericks sport an all-time record of 788-603-138 (.560).

Keep in Mind: The Mavericks have won 20 games in a season during their NCAA Division I-era four times, but never in back-to-back seasons until the last two years. The 26 wins in 2013-14 is the most ever since Minnesota State re-affiliated to NCAA DI in 1996-97.

Minnesota State's 20-Win Seasons*
Year    Won-Loss Record
1999-2000     21-14-4
2002-03     20-11-10
2012-13     24-14-3
2013-14     26-14-1
    *NCAA Division I-era  

Left Foot, Right Foot: Senior forward Jean-Paul Lafontaine and senior defenseman Zach Palmquist have not missed a game in their four-year Minnesota State careers and enter the UAH series having played in 124 straight games. 
Here's the current consecutive games played list for the Mavericks:
    Jean-Paul Lafontaine    124
    Zach Palmquist    124
    Max Gaede    116
    Chase Grant    86
    Bryce Gervais    86
    Brett Stern    45

Patronage:   A record-setting sell-out crowd of 5,375 fans attended Minnesota State's home game vs. UMD Saturday at Verizon Wireless Center.  The previous mark of 5,201 was established Jan. 30, 2009 in a game vs. Minnesota.

This week's entire release is available as a pdf HERE.