Men's Hockey | 3/17/2015 10:59:00 AM
• Minesota State Looks to Defend Broadmoor Trophy • Mavericks Sweep Over Lake Superior State in First-Round Play-Off Series • Leitner Enters Weekend Riding Six-Game Point-Scoring Streak • Gervais Maintains Torrid Pace With Six Goals in Last Five Games • Margonari Tallies Three Goals in Series Victory over Lake Superior State
On Tap: Rated #2 in the nation for the fifth consecutive week, Minnesota State has advanced to the WCHA Final Five and square-off against Ferris State (18-19-2) in semi-final action Friday at Xcel Energy Center (17,954) in St. Paul.
Minnesota State, which won this year's MacNaughton Cup as league regular season champions, are the defending Broadmoor Trophy champions (Minnesota State defeated Ferris State last year in the WCHA Final Five championship game in Grand Rapids, Mich.).
The Mavericks square-off against the Bulldogs in the late game Friday, while #9 Bowling Green and #4 Michigan Tech are scheduled to play in the 4:07 p.m. CST game. The two winners advance to the WCHA Final Five championship game, which is scheduled for Saturday at 6:07 p.m. The winner of the Broadmoor Trophy, as WCHA Final Five champions, receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament.
Minnesota State Most Recently: The Mavericks, who have won their last three games and are 4-1-1 in their last six contests, beat Lake Superior State by the scores of 9-2 and 4-2 in claiming a series victory in first round action of the WCHA play-offs last weekend.
About Ferris State: The Bulldogs, who enter the weekend with an 18-9-2 overall mark, went on the road to pick up two wins at Bemidji State (4-1, 3-2 3 OT, ) in claiming a first-round league play-off series triumph. FSU is led offensively by sophomore forward
Gerald Mayhew (11-12--23) and junior forward
Matt Robertson (6-17--23). Senior netminder
C.J. Motte (18-19-2, .923, 2.05) has started every game between the pipes for the Bulldogs this year. Head coach
Bob Daniels (Michigan State '82) is in his 23rd year behind the Ferris State bench and enters the weekend owning a 397-408-89 career record.
Patronage: A record-setting sell-out crowd of 5,446 fans attended Minnesota State's home game vs. Michigan Tech on Feb. 28. The previous high-water mark of 5,375 occurred in a game vs. Minnesota Duluth Oct. 18, 2014 at Verizon Wireless Center. The Mavericks totalled 10,618 fans for the weekend vs. Michigan Tech (Feb. 27-28, 2015), setting a record mark for a two-game home series. The previous mark was 10,294 (vs. North Dakota, Feb. 21-22, 2003). The Mavericks averaged 3,980 fans per home contest in 2014-15, which ranks as the third-highest average in the history of the program.
First Things First: Minnesota State is tied for the nation's lead in winning percentage (.770) and leads the country in power play goals (45), shot margin (+448), fewest shots on goal allowed per game (21.5) and shots on goal margin per game (+12.1). The Mavericks finished with a 15-2-1 record in home games this year, are 11-4-2 on the road and 1-1-0 in neutral site contests.
Polling: Minnesota State is rated #2 in the country in this week's USCHO poll and is #2 in the poll released by USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine. The Mavericks have been rated #1 in the nation four times during the course of the 2014-15 season and have been ranked in the top five for the last 13 weeks in a row. This year marks the first time that Minnesota State has ever been rated #1 in the nation in men's hockey.
WCHA Play-Off History: Minnesota State went 4-0-0 in four WCHA play-off action games last year in winning the school's first Broadmoor Trophy as the league's 2013-14 postseason champions. The Mavericks are 15-27 all-time in first round WCHA play-off action and own a 17-31 mark overall in WCHA play-off action.
