• 3rd-Rated Minnesota State Has Won 7 of Last 8 Games
• Mavericks Stand 12-4-0 Overall After Home Split With Alaska
• Margonari Becomes Fourth Maverick With Hat Trick This Year
• C Nelson Rides Five-Game Point Scoring Streak Into Series With Tigers

On Tap:  Third-rated Minnesota State (12-4-0 overall, 10-2-0 WCHA)  takes a break from Wester Collegiate Hockey Association action this weekend with Princeton University (23-9-1, 1-7-0 ECAC) visiting Mankato. The Mavericks and the Tigers play at Verizon Wireless Center (4,832) in downtown Mankato Friday (7:07 p.m.) and Saturday (7:07 p.m.) CST.

Minnesota State Most Recently:  Minnesota State stands 12-4-0 overall record and is 10-2-0 WCHA after splitting a pair of league home games with the University of Alaska last weekend.  

Minnesota State enters the series with Princeton having won seven of its last eight games.

About Princeton:  The Tigers, who venture to Mankato after dropping 4-3 and 4-2 decisions to Harvard and Dartmouth last Friday and Saturday, respectively,  stand 2-9-1 overall and 1-7-0 ECAC. Princeton is led offensively by senior forward Aaron Kesselman (2-3--5), sophomore forward Ben Foster (2-3--5) and junior forward Kyle Rankin (1-4--5). Sophomore netminder Colton Phinney (2-8-1, 3.33, .918) has started 11 of 12 games for Princeton. Head coach Ron Fogarty (Colgate '95) is in his first season behind Princeton's bench and eighth year as a collegiate head coach, His career coaching record (which includes seven seasons at NCAA DIII Adrian) stands 169-32-11.

Minnesota State is 1-2-0 in the all-time series vs. Princeton. The two teams last met in the 2007-08 when the Mavericks prevailed 6-1 in Mankato.

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 797-604-138 (.563).

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