Men's Hockey | 3/15/2016 8:27:00 AM

On Tap: 15th-rated Minnesota State (20-12-7 overall) travels to Grand Rapids, Mich., where it will make its fourth consecutive trip to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Five this weekend. The Mavericks, who have won the last two Broadmoor Trophies as WCHA Final Five Champions, square-off in semi-final action Friday vs. Bowling Green (22-13-6) at 3:07 p.m. CST at Van Andel Arena (10,834). 

The other semi-final pits Michigan Tech (23-8-5) vs. Ferris State (17-14-6).  The winners of Friday's games will play for the Broadmoor Trophy Saturday at 5:07 p.m. CST.

Minnesota State Most Recently:  Minnesota State's claimed a best-of-three first round Western Collegiate Hockey Association series with Lake Superior State, winning games #1 (5-2) and #3 (3-0) in advancing to next weekend's Final Five in Grand Rapids, Mich.  The Mavericks head to Grand Rapids having gone 9-4-2 in its last 15 games.

The Mavericks and the Final Five: This year will be Minnesota State's sixth appearance in the WCHA Final Five. The Mavericks, who have won the last two Broadmoor Trophies as the WCHA postseason tournament champions, stand 4-4 all-time in WCHA Final Five games. 

Minnesota State, which will play in its fourth consecutive Final Five, owns a 17-28 all-time mark in the first round of the WCHA play-offs.  The Mavericks, who have won six first-round series (in 19 appearances), stand 13-4 when hosting first-round series.

About Bowling Green:  Bowling Green advanced to the WCHA Final Five by virtue of its first-round WCHA series win over Bemidji State (the Falcons lost the first game to the Beavers before winning the next two games) and are paced offensively by senior forward Mark Cooper (16-15--31) and sophomore forward Brandon Hawkins (13-15--28). Sophomore Chris Nell (18-10-6, 1.91 GAA, .931  sv%) has started 35 of 41 games for the Falcons.

Head coach Chris Bergeron (Miami '93) is in his sixth year behind the BGSU bench and owns a 102-112-31 career won-loss record.  

Mavericks vs. Falcons:  The Mavericks went 1-1-2 vs. Bowling Green this year and stands 6-4-3 all-time vs. the Falcons. The Mavericks stand 1-1 all-time vs. BGSU in games played in Mankato. Minnesota State downed Bowling Green 4-0 in the 2013-14 WCHA Final Five semi-finals in the only postseason meeting between the two schools.

About Teddy Blueger: Senior forward Teddy Blueger, a 2016 All-WCHA First Team pick, has registered 8-20--28 in the last 26 games. The Riga, Latvia native leads the Mavericks in scoring with 11-24--35 in 39 games played this year and his 465 face-off wins rank seventh in the nation. Blueger has 31-77--108 in 153 career games as a Maverick and is tied with Jesse Rooney (1998-2001) for ninth on the school's career scoring list (NCAA DI-era).

About Bryce Gervais: Senior forward Bryce Gervais, who scored his team-best 15th goal of the year in last Friday's win over Lake Superior State and chipped in with two assists in Sunday's 3-0 series-clinching victory, has moved into 11th-place on the school's career scoring list with 100 points on 66 goals and 34 assists. The Battleford, Sask., native, who has 7-5--12 in the last 11 games, ranks in the top five at Minnesota State for career goals (66/3rd), shorthanded goals (9/1st) and game-winning goals (11/5th).  With 161 consecutive games played, Gervais has established school records for career games played and consecutive games played formerly held by over Zach Palmquist (MSU 2011-15).

Stats Stuff:   Minnesota State has outshot its opponents by a 1351-806 margin through the team's 39 games this year. The Mavericks, who have outshot their opponents in 33 of their 39 games on the season, rank first in the nation for fewest shots on goal allowed per game (20.67) and first in shots on goal margin with an +13.97 SOGM mark.

Minnesota State has scored the first goal in 19 of its 39 games this year and stands 13-1-5 in those games. Opponents have registered the game's first goal on 20 occasions and the Mavericks are 7-11-2 in those games.

Minnesota State owns a 10-0-1 mark when holding a lead after one period of play and is 14-0-3 when leading after two periods.