Men's Hockey | 1/12/2016 1:44:00 PM

Unbeaten Skein Comes to an End as Minnesota State Splits Home League Series with Northern Michigan; Coatta Breaks Out With Trio of Assists in Win over NMU Saturday; Margonari Nets First Goal of Season; Knowles Tallies First Career Shorthanded Marker; Pawloski Has Started Last 11 Games in Maverick Net

On Tap:  19th-rated Minnesota State (11-7-4 overall, 10-2-4 WCHA) continues WCHA action with a pair of league games at Michigan Tech (12-7-3 overall, 9-6-1 WCHA) in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action this weekend in Houghton, Mich. MSU and MTU play  at MacInnes Student Ice Arena (4,466) Friday (6:07 p.m. CST) and Saturday (6:07 p.m. CST).

Minnesota State Most Recently:  19th-rated Minnesota State stands 11-7-4 overall, 10-2-4 WCHA after splitting a home league series with Northern Michigan last weekend. The Mavericks saw its nine-game unbeaten streak end with Friday's 3-1 home loss to the Wildcats, but responded with a 3-1 victory Saturday.   MSU outshot NMU by an 85-35 margin in the two games.

About Michigan Tech:  The Huskies, who enter this weekend after claiming the tournament championship at the Desert Hockey Classic in Glendale, Ariz., last weekend (4-2 win over Connecticut and 2-1 shoot-out win over Yale), stand 12-7-3 overall and are 9-6-1 WCHA for the year. MTU is paced offensively by senior forwards Alex Petan (10-9--19) and Tyler Heinonen (11-7--18). Senior Jamie Phillips (12-6-3, 2.15 GAA, .915 save percentage), an All-WCHA First Team pick in 2014-15, has 21 starts (out of 22 games) this year for the Huskies. Mel Pearson (Michigan Tech '11) is in his fifth season as head coach of the Michigan Tech men's hockey program and owns an 89-75-20 mark as the Huskies' bench boss.

Mavericks vs. Huskies:  Minnesota State stands 32-16-6 in the series with Michigan Tech.  Including a 5-2 Minnesota State win in last year's WCHA Final Five championship game, the Mavericks went 4-0-1 in five games vs. MTU in 2014-15. Minnesota State carries a nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2) vs. the Huskies into this weekend and the last time the Mavericks lost to Michigan Tech was 2011-12.

Polling:  Minnesota State is rated in the USCHO.com poll fo the fourth straight week with the Maverick coming in at #19 this week. The poll is available HERE.

Stats Stuff:  As a team Minnesota State is outshooting its opponents 740-476 through the team's 22 games this year.

The Mavericks, who have outshot their opponents in 17 of their 22 games on the season, rank first in the nation for fewest shots on goal allowed per game (21.64) and rank second in shots on goal margin with a +12.0 SOGM mark.

The last time Minnesota State allowed a power play goal was Nov. 21 vs. Northern Michigan. Opponents are 0-for-25 in the last eight games with the man advantage.

Minnesota State has scored the first goal in seven of its 22 games this year and stands 4-0-3 in those games. Opponents have registered the game's first goal on 15 occasions and the Mavericks are 7-7-1 in those games.

Minnesota's State recently-ended unbeaten streak of nine games tied for the third-longest in the program's NCAA Division I-era.