Mankato, Minn. --- Coming off a season in which it won more games than any other program in the country and established a school record for victories, the Minnesota State men's hockey team is slated to play 19 home games in 2019-20 as the University formally announced its schedule today.

The Mavericks, who posted a 32-8-2 record and finished first in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season with a 22-5-1 league mark, went 21-1-0 in home games in 2018-19.  Minnesota State drew more than 90,000 fans its 22 home contests and its 4,129 fans-per game average, which ranked 18th in the nation, stand as the third-highest ever average home attendance mark.

This year's schedule features 11 home contests prior to the end of December and eight home games in the second half.

Following an exhibition game vs. Mount Royal Oct. 5, the Mavericks begin regular-season action with a two-game nonconference home series vs. 2018-19 NCAA tournament qualifier Arizona State Oct. 11-12.

The Mavericks continue nonconference action Oct. 18-19 with a pair home contests vs. the University of North Dakota Oct. 18-19.

Minnesota State begins conference play Oct. 25-26 with a road series at Alabama Huntsville and follows that with a home league series with Bowling Green Nov. 1-2. The Mavericks play at Michigan Tech Nov. 8-9 before hosting Alaska Anchorage for a pair of league contests Nov. 22-23.  A nonconference road series at two-time defending NCAA champion Minnesota Duluth Nov. 29-30 is on the docket prior to a home series vs. Lake Superior State Dec. 6-7.  The final games prior to the holiday season are scheduled for Dec. 13-14 at Northern Michigan.

The Mavericks will compete at the Mariucci Classic with Minnesota, St. Cloud State and Bemidji State in Minneapolis Dec. 28-29. Times and pairings for games for the tournament have not been announced.

The Mavericks host the University of Alaska Jan. 3-4 before making the trek to Big Rapids, Mich., for two WCHA contests at Ferris State Jan. 10-11. A road series at Bowling Green Jan. 17-18 precedes a home series with Bemidji State Jan. 24-25.

A road trip to the Last Frontier for games vs. Alaska Anchorage Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 comes prior to home contests with Northern Michigan Feb. 7-8 and Alabama Huntsville Feb. 21-22.  

Minnesota State closes out the regular season Feb. 28 and March 1 with a road series at Bemidji State.

The WCHA first round of best-of-three quarterfinals is scheduled for on-campus sites March 6-8.  Semi-final round best-of-three action is set for March 13-15 and the single-game championship ear-marked for March 21.

Of special note regarding the schedule, while Minnesota State home games on Friday nights will have a 7:07 p.m. face-off, Saturday nights will move up to a 6:07 p.m. start for the upcoming season.

"We made the decision on the move to an earlier start time on Saturday after a great deal of thought, deliberation, and discussion," said Kevin Buisman, Director of Athletics. "This is a strategy that has been effective in other markets and after consulting players, coaches, fans, event staff and other program supporters we decided to move forward with immediate implementation.  I think this change will be particularly appealing to families with younger children and this is a demographic we need to grow as they represent the future fan base of Maverick hockey."

Including five NCAA tournament appearances, four MacNaughton Cups as WCHA regular-season champions and three league post-season championships, Minnesota State has gone 183-80-21 in the last seven seasons. The 183 victories are the most by any team in the nation during that span.

Single-game tickets for Minnesota State men's hockey home games will be available at the beginning of October. Season tickets are now on sale. For more information on the season ticket packages, please call Maverick Athletics at (507) 389-6111 during regular business hours (8:00-4:00, M-F).