On Tap:   15th-rated Minnesota State (24-13-1, 20-7-1 WCHA) squares-off against Bowling Green (18-14-6) in the semi-finals of the WCHA Final Five Friday at Van Andel Arena (10,834) in Grand Rapids, Mich., at 1:07 p.m. CST. The winner of the MSU/BGSU game faces the winner of the other semi-final game between Ferris State and Alaska Anchorage in the championship game Saturday at 6:07 p.m. CST.

MSU Most Recently:  Unbeaten in its last 11 games, Minnesota State (24-13-1) downed Northern Michigan twice (3-2 and 5-4 ot) in claiming the best-of-three WCHA first round play-off series played in Mankato last weekend.

About the Series:  MSU fashioned a 2-2-0 record vs. the Falcons this year by splitting games in Mankato (4-3 loss and 1-0 overtime win) and splitting in Bowling Green (4-3 overtime loss and 3-2 overtime win).

MSU in WCHA Postseason:  MSU owns an all-time WCHA play-off mark of 13-31. The Mavericks, who have participated in the WCHA postseason since the 1997-98 season (MSU participated as an affiliate member prior to joining the league on a full-time basis in 1999-2000), are playing their 16th WCHA postseason tournament and have won four first-round play-off series (1999-2000, 2002-03, 2012-13 and 2013-14). MSU's WCHA Final Five record is 0-4.

The Falcons Report:  Including a sweep over Michigan Tech last weekend, Bowling Green enters the Final Five having won its last five contests. Junior forward Dan DeSalvo has 7-25--32 in 38 games as BGSU's top scorer, while senior forward Bryce Williamson has contributed 12-16--28. Sophomore Tommy Burke (14-6-6, 2.41, .912) has started 27 of his team's 38 games. Head coach Chris Bergeron is in his fourth season behind the BGSU bench and enters the weekend with a 57-87-20 career coaching record.

What the What: The Mavericks, who had gone 4-for-46 (.086) on the power play through the first ten games of the year, have gone 46-for-132 (.348) with the man advantage in the last 27 contests. Minnesota State is third in the nation in power play percentage (49/187, 26.2%) and is sixth in the nation in penalty kill (134/156, 86.0%).

Minnesota State's record this year in Friday games is 11-9-0. In Saturday games, the Mavericks stand 14-4-1. The Mavericks are 16-1-1 in home games this year, 8-10 on the road and 0-2 in neutral site contests. MSU's 16 home wins this year are the all-time best ever at Verizon Wireless Center. The Mavericks had 15 home wins in 2002-03 when they put together a 15-2-4 mark in games played in Mankato.

Minnesota State's 11-game unbeaten streak, in which the Mavericks have fashioned a 10-0-1 mark, is tied with Union (10-0-1) for the longest current unbeaten streak in the country.

During the course of Minnesota State's 11-game unbeaten streak, the Mavericks have outscored their opponents 42-16.

Minnesota State has two 20-goal scorers this year in Jean-Paul Lafontaine (20) and Johnny McInnis (20). The last time the Mavericks had two 20-goal scorers in the same season was 2002-03 when Shane Joseph (29) and Grant Stevenson (27) both reached that plateau.

Winning: 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 now:

Minnesota State 20-Win Seasons (DI-Era)
Year    Record        
1999-2000    21-14-4
2002-03     20-11-10
2012-13    24-14-3
2013-14    24-13-1

Including other eras, Minnesota State has had 13 20-win seasons and the school record for wins in a season is 30 (the Mavericks went 30-9-1 in 1979-80 en route to a NCAA DII national championship).

Next: The NCAA announces the 16-team field for the men's hockey Division I tournament March 23rd on ESPNU.

The six conference tournament champions (WCHA, NCHA, Big 10, Hockey East, ECAC and Atlantic Hockey) receive automatic bids to the tournament and the NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Committee selected ten at-large teams. Teams are split into four regions of four teams each. In the first round, a region's No. 1 seed meets the region's No. 4 seed, and No. 2 plays No. 3. Winners play in the regional final for the right to advance to the Frozen Four. All rounds are single elimination.

To view the complete 13-page release as a pdf, clicke HERE.