Men's Hockey | 10/7/2015 12:16:00 PM

On Tap: Minnesota State (0-0-0 overall, 0-0-0 WCHA) hosts Nebraska Omaha (0-0-0, NCHC) in nonconference action this weekend in the first games of 2015-16 for the Mavericks. MSU and UNO play in Verizon Wireless Center (4,832) Friday (7:07 p.m.), Saturday (7:07 p.m.) CST.

Minnesota State Most Recently: The Mavericks hosted the University of Alberta in exhibition action Sunday and came away with a 3-2 loss. Junior forward Michael Huntebrinker and sophomore forward C.J. Franklin scored goals for Minnesota State in the game.

About Nebraska Omaha: UNO returns 16 letterwinners from last year's team that went 20-13-6 and made an appearance in the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Frozen Four. Top returning scorers include junior forward Jake Guentzel (14-25--39) and junior forward Austin Ortega (20-17--37). Dean Blais is in his seventh season as head coach of the UNO men's hockey program and owns a 111-99-24 (.527) mark at the Maverick helm. Blais is in his 17th year as a college head coach and during that time has crafted a 373-214-57 (.623) mark.

Mavericks vs. Mavericks: Minnesota State stands 20-13-5 in the all-time series vs Nebraska Omaha. MSU split last year's two-game series with UNO in Omaha, dropping a 5-3 decision before responding with a 4-2 win the next night.

On Tap: Following the two games vs. UNO, the Mavericks continue nonconference action with a pair of road games at St. Cloud State Oct, 16-17. Minnesota State begins WCHA action Oct. 23-24 with two road games at Bemidji State.

For Future Reference: A total of four players on this year's roster have been selected by National Hockey League teams in the annual draft. Junior forward Zach Stepan was selected by Nashville in the fourth round (112th) of the 2012 draft. Senior forward Teddy Blueger was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round (52nd overall) in the 2012 draft. Sophomore forward C.J. Franklin was selected in the fifth round (129th overall) of the 2014 draft by Winnipeg. Senior forward Jimmy Mullin was selected in the fourth round of 2010 NHL Entry Draft by Tampa Bay (118th overall pick).

Left Foot, Right Foot: A total of three returning Mavericks saw action in all 40 games last year in senior forward Bryce Gervais and junior defensemen Carter Foguth and Casey Nelson.

Gervais enters 2015-16 having not missed a game in his three-year college career and owns a streak of 122 straight games. Here's the current consecutive games played list for the Mavericks:
2015-16 Consecutive Games Played List
Bryce Gervais 122
Casey Nelson 43
Carter Foguth 40

Keep in Mind: Including 2014-15 and the two previous seasons, Mavericks have won 20 games in a season during their NCAA Division I-era five times. The 29 wins in 2014-15 is the most ever since Minnesota State re-affiliated to NCAA DI in 1996-97.

Minnesota State's 20-Win Seasons (DI-era)
Year Won-Loss Record
1999-2000 21-14-4
2002-03 20-11-10
2012-13 24-14-3
2013-14 26-14-1
2014-15 29-8-3

Polling: The Mavericks were rated #1 in the nation five times during the course of the 2014-15 season and were ranked in the top five for 15 weeks in a row. The 2014-15 season marked the first time that Minnesota State has ever been rated #1 in the nation in men's hockey. Minnesota State enters the 2015-16 campaign rated #6 in the USCHO poll and #9 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.

Timing Matters: Minnesota State owned a 21-3-3 record when scoring first in 2014-15, was 20-1-3 when leading after the first period and owned a 22-1-0 mark when leading after two periods of action. The Mavericks were 1-1-3 in overtime games last season.