Men's Hockey | 10/27/2015 2:38:00 PM
On Tap: Minnesota State (2-4-0 overall, 2-0-0 WCHA) hosts the University of Alaska (2-2-0 overall, 0-0-0 WCHA) in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action this weekend in Mankato. MSU and Alaska play in Verizon Wireless Center (4,832) Friday (7:07 p.m.), Saturday (7:07 p.m.) CST.
Minnesota State Most Recently: Minnesota State opened its conference schedule with a pair of come-from-behind 3-2 conference road victories at Bemidji State last weekend.
About Alaska: The Nanooks, who are playing their first league games of the 2015-16 season this weekend with the series vs. the Mavericks, stand 2-2-0 for the year. Alaska's last games were Oct. 16-17 when it picked up 7-2 and 4-2 wins over Rensselaer, respectively, at the Alaska Gold Rush Tournament, which it hosted.
The Nanooks are paced offensively by sophomore forward
Taylor Munson (4-2--6), along with sophomore forward
Peter Krieger (1-4--5) and senior center
Tyler Morley (3-1--4). Junior netminder
Davis Jones (1-2-0, 2.34, .917%) has three starts this year. Dallas Ferguson is in his eighth season as head coach of the Alaska men's hockey program and owns a 56-113-34 mark behind the Nanook bench.
Mavericks vs. Nanooks: The Mavericks trail in the all-time series with Alaska by a 2-13-1 margin, which includes a 1-2-1 mark vs. UA last year.
Senior forward Bryce Gervais, who enters the Alaska riding a consecutive games played streak of 128 straight appearances with the Mavericks, tallied his first goal of the season when he tallied shorthanded Friday vs. the Beavers. The goal ties Gervais with Zach Harrison (MSU 2006-10) atop the school's career shorthanded list with seven. Gervais has 52-24--76 in his four seasons with the Mavericks to rank 29th on the program's career scoring list (NCAA DI era).
Sophomore forward Brad McClure, who registered 15-14--29 in 39 games as a freshman in 2014-15, scored his first goal of the season in last Friday's 3-2 victory at Bemidji State. McClure leads the Mavericks with 19 shots on goal on the season, which stands tied for 37th in the nation.
Senior center Teddy Blueger registered his second career shorthanded goal when he scored Minnesota State's third goal of the game in Friday's 3-2 win at Bemidji State. The goal is the seventh career game-winning goal for Blueger.
Junior defenseman Carter Foguth, who assisted on Bryce Gervais' shorthanded goal in Friday's 3-2 win at Bemidji State, leads the Mavericks with 11 blocked shots this year.
Freshman goaltender Jason Pawloski made his collegiate debut when he registered 18 stops in last Friday's 3-2 victory at Bemidji State.
Freshman forward Max Coatta made his collegiate debut when he suited up for Minnesota State in Friday's 3-2 win at Bemidji State. Coatta registered a total of two shots on goal in the two wins by the Mavericks over the weekend.
Senior defenseman Jon Jutzi, who assisted on Brad McClure's goal in Friday's 3-2 win, followed up with his first career game-winning goal when his scored with the Mavericks on the power play in Saturday's 3-2 triumph. For the weekend, Jutzi finished with a +3 rating and had seven blocked shots for the weekend.
Junior forward Zach Stepan had a goal and an assist in last Saturday's 3-2 win at Bemidji State. His goal in the game is his first career shorthanded tally.
As a team Minnesota State is outshooting its opponents 161-149 through the team's first six games.
