Men's Hockey | 2/14/2017 8:20:00 AM

Off the Hop:   Minnesota State (16-10-4 overall, 12-8-4 WCHA) closes out its home regular-season schedule this weekend with Northern Michigan (11-17-4 overall, 9-12-3 WCHA) visiting the Key City. The Mavericks and the Wildcats are slated to play at Verizon Center (4,832) in downtown Mankato Friday (7:07 p.m. CST) and Saturday (7:07 p.m. CST).

About the Minnesota State-Northern Michigan Series:  Minnesota State stands 7-3-3 all-time vs. Northern Michigan. The Mavericks went 1-1-2 in four games vs. NMU last year and the two games this weekend mark the only regular-season contests the Mavericks will have with the Wildcats this year.  The first game in the series between the two schools was played back in 2013-14.

Minnesota State Most Recently:  The Mavericks, who have gone 7-4-2 in the last 13 games, were idle this last weekend after splitting a two-game road league series (4-3 loss and 5-0 win) at Alaska Anchorage the previous weekend.

About Northern Michigan:  One of the hottest teams in the nation, the Wildcats come to Mankato riding a nine-game unbeaten streak during which they've gone 7-0-2. NMU stands 11-17-4 overall and are tied for sixth place in the WCHA standings with a 9-12-3 conference record mark. Northern Michigan hosted the University of Alaska last weekend and posted 3-0 and 2-0 wins vs. the visiting Nanooks.

NMU is paced offensively by junior forward Robbie Payne (12-13--25) and senior forward Dominik Shine (16-6--22). Sophomore goaltender Atte Tolvanen (10-17-4, 2.40, .923 sv%), who has tied a NCAA record with five consecutive shutouts (335.39 minutes in a row), has started 28 of NMU's 32 games this year.  

The Wildcats are led head coach Walt Kyle (NMU '81), who stands 263-258-68 as a college head coach (this is 15th year with Northern Michigan).  

Minnesota State On the Web:  Tickets, Releases, statistics, player and staff biographies, etc. on all of Minnesota State's 20 sports are available at the official website of MSU Athletics located at www.msumavericks.com

Minnesota State All-Time:  The Minnesota State men's hockey program, begun in 1969-70, completed its 47th year of competition last year.  The Mavericks are in their 21st year as members of NCAA Division I and in their 18th season as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.   The Mavericks are 852-632-152 (.567) all-time and stand 223-216-61 (.507) in regular-season games vs. WCHA opponents.

Sean Flanagan Notes: In first season serving as an alternate captain...Three-time letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16) is a two-time WCHA All-Academic honoree and WCHA Scholar-Athlete honoree (at least 3.50 grade point average)...Registered a goal and an assist in the two games at Alaska Anchorage and now has six points on two goals and four assists in the last nine games.  Flanagan, who has 12-38--50 in 131 career games played, has 165 shots on goal, 130 blocked shots and is +20 in his four seasons with the Mavericks.

Carter Foguth Notes: In second season serving as team captain...Three-time letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16) was a WCHA All-Academic honoree last year... Minnesota State's active career games played leader with 135, has 4-17--21, owns a +23 rating with 276 blocked shots in his four seasons as a Maverick.  Foguth's 60 blocked shots this year lead the Mavericks and stand tied for 13th in the nation.  Foguth has 0-3--3 in 25 games played this year. 

Cole Huggins Notes: Three-year letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16) is a two-time WCHA All-Academic pick...Owns school record for shut-outs with 11...Named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week (third time in career) after backstopping Mavericks to 3-1 an 4-0 wins over #17 Michigan Tech Oct. 7-8...Stands 8-5-1 with a 2.39 goals against average and a .899 save percentage for the year and ranks fifth at Minnesota State for career wins with 46 victories....Stopped 47 of 51 shots (.922 sv%, .1.92 GAA) as Minnesota State picked up five of six points in the two games vs. Lake Superior State.

Michael Huntebrinker Notes: Three-year letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16) is in first year as an alternate captain...Two-time WCHA All-Academic honoree and WCHA Scholar-Athlete honoree (at least 3.50 grade point average)...Had three assists in Minnesota State's 7-3 win over Alaska Dec. 2...Scored his third goal of the season in Minnesota State's 5-4 win at Princeton Dec. 17. Had his second career three-point game when had a goal and two assists in last 5-0 win at Alaska Anchorage.  With 4-15--19 this year he's registered a single-season high for assists and matched his career high for points in a season. 

Jordan Nelson Notes: Three-year letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16) is a two-time WCHA All-Academic honoree and WCHA Scholar-Athlete honoree (at least 3.50 grade point average)...Ranks second on the Mavericks with 204 face-off wins. The Williston, N.D., native has 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 125 career games played.

Zach Stepan Notes:  Three-time letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16) is a 2012 Nashville Predators draft pick (4th round, 112 overall)...Including the game-winning goal, scored a pair of power play goals in Minnesota State's 3-2 win at Alabama Huntsville Jan. 7...Has scored four times and assisted on four others for eight points in the last nine games, has 22-34--56 in 128 career games played.

C.J. Franklin Notes: Two-year letterwinner is in first season as team captain...2014 Winnipeg Jets draftee (5th round, 129th overall)... Finished third on team in scoring and second in goals with 14-11--25 in sophomore season and saw action in all 41 games...Registered a goal and an assist in the UAA series and stands tied for second on Minnesota State's scoring charts with 11-15--26. Franklin, who has eight goals and ten assists for 18 points in the last 17 games, leads the Mavericks with 301 face-off wins (tied for 22nd in the country) and with 34-45--79 in 108 career games, the Forest Lake, Minn., product stands as Minnesota State's active career scoring leader and is tied for 28th on the school's career scoring list (for DI-era).

Zeb Knutson Notes: Two-year letterwinner (2014-15, 2015-16) finished sixth on school's point-scoring charts in 2015-16 with six goals and 11 assists for 17 points...Registered his fifth goal of the year 3-2 win at Ferris State Dec. 5....Scored twice in Minnesota State's 5-0 win at UAA last Saturday now has 10-9--19 for the season.  Knutson, who ranks fourth in the team in goals (10) and is fifth in shots on goal (67), has posted a career-high for goals and points in a season. He has 5-3--8 in the last nine games.

Clint Lewis Notes: Lettered as a freshman in 2015-16...Missed most of season due to injury (saw action in six games)...Tied for third on the Mavericks in plus/minus with a +8 on the year, has 34 blocked shots and 29 shots on goal in 2016-17.

Brad McClure Notes: Two-time letterwinner (2014-15, 2015-16) is in first  year as an alternate captain...Posted 5-8--13 numbers while playing in all 41 games as a sophomore... Racked up three assists in 7-3 win over Alaska (Dec. 2), then scored his eighth goal of the season the next night and added an assist on C.J. Franklin's game-tying goal...Scored twice in 3-0 win at Alabama Huntsville (Jan. 6)...Had a goal and an assist in 4-4 tie at Michigan Tech (Jan. 20)...Scored Minnesota State's second goal in 5-0 win at Alaska Anchorage, has racked up 8-9--17 in the last 18 games. The Stratford, Ont., native leads Minnesota State with 113 shots on goal (ranks sixth in the nation), leads the team in goals (13) and is third in points with 13-12--25.

Aaron Nelson Notes: Two-year letterwinner was a WCHA All-Academic selection last year...Named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week following two wins at Alabama Huntsville (Jan. 6-7), started six games for the Mavericks Jan. 6-Jan. 21... The Bismarck, N.D., stands 4-2-1 on the year with a 2.1- goals against average and a .918 saves percentage...Has two shut-outs in seven starts in 2016-17...Career-high 35 saves in 4-4 overtime tie at Michigan Tech last Friday.

Daniel Brickley Notes: Lettered in first season with Mavericks (2015-16)....Named to 2015-16 WCHA All-Rookie Team...Collected 2-9--11 in 36 games played as a freshman...Named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week following Minnesota State's two games with Lake Superior State (Jan. 27-28)...Has 7-17--24 on the season to stand fourth on Minnesota State's scoring charts. He leads all WCHA defensemen in scoring (and is eighth in the nation) despite missing a month of playing time due to an upper body injury. He ranks second on the Mavericks at +11 and leads Minnesota defensemen with 50 shots on goal.

Max Coatta Notes: Lettered in first season with Mavericks (2015-16)...Named to 2015-16 WCHA All-Rookie Team.....Tied for third in the WCHA in rookie scoring with 5-6--11 in 28 league games...Collected 5-8--13 in 36 games played as a freshman...Has 8-14--22 in 66 career games,  assisted on Parker Tuomie's goal in Minnesota State's 3-0 win at Alabama Huntsville (Jan. 7).

Steen Cooper Notes: Lettered in first season with Mavericks (2015-16)...Collected 1-0--1 in 10 games played as a freshman... Scored first career goal in 2-2 overtime tie in WCHA road game at Northern Michigan (Nov. 21)...Enters weekend with 1-0--1 in 16 career games.

Chandler Madry Notes: Lettered in first season at Minnesota State (2015-16)...Had 2-1--3 in nine games played in debut season with Mavericks...Registered first career goal in 2-0 home win over Alaska Anchorage (Nov. 27, 2015)...Also scored in a game at Michigan Tech (Jan. 16, 2016)... Scored his first career game-winning goal in 6-4 victory over St. Cloud State (Oct. 15, 2016), has 3-1--4 in 12 career games.

Jason Pawloski Notes:  Lettered in first season with Mavericks (2015-16)....8-2-5 won-loss record with .901 save percentage and 1.85 goals against average in first year of college hockey...Named WCHA Rookie of the Week after backstopping Mavericks to a two-game home league sweep over Alaska Anchorage with a 2-0-0 record, a 1.00 goals against average and a .947 save percentage (Nov. 27-28)...Got his first win of 2016-17 when he stopped 18 shots in Minnesota State's 2-1 win at Lake Superior State, Nov. 5...Owns a 12-5-7 career record with a 2.08 GAA and .905 sv%, stands 4-3-2 for the year with a 2.49 GAA and a .909 sv%.

Ryan Schwalbe Notes:  Lettered in first year with Minnesota State (2015-16)...Had 0-3--3 in 28 games in debut season with Mavericks while playing both forward and defense...Had 24 shots on goal and blocked eight shots...First career point came in 3-2 win at Ferris State (Nov. 7) when he assisted on a goal by Casey Nelson...Picked up his first point of 2016-17 when he drew an assist on Ian Scheid's goal in 2-2 overtime tie with Lake Superior State. Schwalbe has 0-4--4 in 55 games played, 41 shots on goal and 24 blocked shots for his two-year Minnesota State career.

Alec Vanko Notes: Lettered in freshman season (2015-16)...Registered 0-4--4 and was +3 in 12 games played in debut season with Minnesota State...Scored first career goal in 7-1 win at Alaska (Oct. 21, 2016)...Oregon, Wis., native has 2-1--3 in 12 games played this year.

Michael Bigelbach Notes: Played two seasons with Omaha (USHL) where he served as an alternate captain for the Lancers in 2015-16...Had 2-10--12, along with 105 PIMS with Omaha in 2015-16...Toiled in the North American Hockey League in 2013-14, playing 44 games with Minot (4-10--14) and 18 games with Janesville (0-2--2)...Assisted on Jordan Nelson's game-winning goal in Minnesota State's 2-1 victory at Lake Superior State, Nov. 5...Has 0-2--2 and is +1 in seven games played on  the year.

Josh French Notes:  Spent two campaigns with Omaha (USHL) where he had 16-32--48 and served as an alternate captain for the Lancers in 2015-16...Led Omaha in points and assists and was named team MVP and Forward of the Year in 2015-16...Made debut for Minnesota State he played in season-opening games with Michigan Tech, Oct. 7 and has played in every game this year...Registered first career point with an assist on Charlie Gerard's goal vs. Bemidji State Nov. 11...Had two assists in 4-2 victory over Lake Superior State (Jan. 27) and owns 0-4--4 numbers in his debut season with the Mavericks.

Charlie Gerard Notes:  Played with three different teams in the USHL in 2015-16 - Collected 10 goals and five assists for 15 points in 26 games with Madison, 3-5--8 in 18 GP with Fargo and 6-4--10 with Muskegon...Totalled 17-16--33 with Madison in 2014-15....Notched first career goal with Minnesota State when his scored in a 1-1 home tie with Bemidji State (Nov. 11) and has 1-1--2 in 20 games played to date.

Edwin Hookenson Notes:  Spent three seasons with Nanaimo (BCHL) where he served as an alternate captain for the Clippers and earned team's Coaches Award in 2015-16...Had six goals and 17 assists for 23 points in 58 games in 2015-16...Registered 5-23--28 in 58 games and was named team's Most Improved Player in 2014-15 in helping lead Nanaimo to an Interior Division regular-season title and play-off series victories over Alberni Valley and Powell River and a place in the BCHL championship series....Made his college debut when he played in both games vs. the University of Alaska Dec. 0-2...Has 17 shots on goal and 14 blocked shots in eight games in debut season with Mavericks.

Marc Michaelis Notes:  Two-year USHL vet spent a pair of seasons with Green Bay where he had 10-41--51 in 59 games in 2015-16... A two-time WCHA Rookie of the Week award recipient this year, freshman forward Marc Michaelis who continues to lead Minnesota State in scoring with 33 points on 12 goals and 21 assists, is riding a three-game point-scoring streak (1-2--3). Michaelis, whose 33 points are the third-most ever by a Maverick freshman for the DI-era, stands tied for 15th in the country in scoring and is first amongst all freshmen skaters in the nation in scoring. Michaelis has accrued at least one point in 21 of 30 games played in his debut season with the Mavericks.

Nick Rivera Notes:  Team captain for Omaha (USHL) in 2015-16...Had 23-18--41 with 132 PIMs and +5 in 48 games with Lancers in 2015-16...Had 14-14--28 and was +12 in 58 games with Omaha in 2014-15 and collected 18-9--27 with Wenatchee (NAHL) in 2013-14...Scored twice and had two assists in earning WCHA Rookie of the Week honors for his play in Minnesota State's two games at Alaska Oct. 21-22)...Enters Northern Michigan series with 4-3--7 in 29 games played.

Ian Scheid Notes:  Played the first five games of the 2015-16 season with Fargo (USHL) before being traded to Sioux City where he had 5 goals and 11 assists for 16 points in 47 games...Spent the 2014-15 campaign with Austin (NAHL) where he registered 12-23--35 in 55 games with the Bruins and was named NAHL All-Rookie First Team...Scored his first career game-winning goal in 4-2 victory over Ferris State (Oct. 28)...Has played every game for Minnesota State in debut season...Currently in the midst of a three-game point-scoring streak during which he's totalled 1-3--4, has 7-13--20 on the year to rank first amongst all WCHA first-year blueliners in points (he's third amongst all freshmen defensemen in the nation).

Parker Tuomie Notes:  Former Sioux Falls (USHL) captain...Had a goal and three assists, along with 10 shots on goal, in earning WCHA Rookie of the Week honors for his role in Minnesota State's two wins over St. Cloud State (Oct. 14-15)...Named WCHA Rookie of the Week following Minnesota State's two games vs. Lake Superior State Jan. 27-28...Tallied first career game-winning goal when he scored Minnesota State's third goal at 3:07 of the third period in 4-2 victory over the Lakers.  Also scored at 3:52 of second overtime session in three-on-three action as the Mavericks claimed the WCHA point in 2-2 overtime tilt. Tuomie, who ranks third on the team with 71 shots on goal, has 5-5--10 on the season and stands tied for eighth on Minnesota State's scoring charts.

Noteables: Minnesota State's freshmen have racked up 29-49--78 in 30 contests so far this season and are tied for eighth in scoring in the nation as a group.

As a group, Minnesota State's defensemen are tied for 11th in the country amongst all defensive corps with 23-51-74.

Minnesota State has outshot its opponents in 21 out of 30 games this year and rank ninth in the nation in shots on goal margin at +195.

Six Seniors Play in Final Regular-Season Home Series:  Playing in their final regular-season home games this weekend are senior defensemen Carter Foguth and Sean Flanagan, goaltender Cole Huggins and forwards Zach Stepan, Jordan Nelson and Michael Huntebrinker.  All told, entering this weekend, the six players have totalled 721 games played, 68 goals and 143 assists for 261 points, 92 wins, two MacNaughton Cups, two Broadmoor Trophies and two trips to the NCAA postseason.

On Tap: Following this weekend's conference road series with Northern Michigan, the Mavericks close out the 2016-17 regular season with a two-game league road series at Bemidji State Feb. 24-25.