Off the Hop
Fourth-rated Minnesota State (5-1-0 overall, 2-0-0 WCHA) resumes Western Collegiate Hockey Association action Friday and Saturday with a pair of road contests at Lake Superior State (6-1-3, 0-0-0 WCHA) this weekend. Face-off between the Mavericks and the Lakers at Taffy Abel Arena (4,000) is slated for 6:07 p.m., CST Friday and 4:07 p.m., CST Saturday.

Mavericks vs. Lakers
Having won the last 11 meetings with Lake Superior State, Minnesota State owns a 23-3-1 record in the all-time series vs. the Lakers. Minnesota State's last loss to LSSU was Nov. 4, 2016 (LSSU 2, MSU 0 in a game played in Mankato). The Mavericks are 9-1-0 in games played vs. Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie.

Behind the Bench
Minnesota State has gone 219-85-24 under the tutelage of head coach Mike Hastings (St. Cloud State '93), who is in his ninth season in charge of the Mavericks. No program in the nation has won more games (219) during the time Hastings has been behind the MSU bench. Under his leadership, the Crookston, Minn., native has guided the Mavericks to five NCAA tournament appearances, five WCHA regular-season titles and three WCHA postseason tournament championships.

The Group
In his first year serving as captain of the Mavericks is senior defenseman Riese Zmolek. Senior defenseman Jack McNeely, and senior forwards Dallas Gerads and Jared Spooner are serving as alternate captains. All three are in their first seasons wearing an "A" for the Mavericks.

The Mavericks and the MacNaughton Cup
Minnesota State won the MacNaughton Cup as 2019-20 WCHA regular season champions - marking the third season in a row the Mavericks have accomplished the feat and fifth time in the last eight years.

Roster Check
Minnesota State returns 17 skaters off of last year's roster who played in at least one game.  Those returnees, who entered the season having accumulated a total of 1,107 career games played, registered 69 goals and 204 points last year.

Maverick Mitigation
Freshman defenseman Akito Hirose is a two-time WCHA Rookie of the Week honoree after a four-point weekend in two wins at Northern Michigan Jan. 2-3. Hirose registered a goal and three assists along with a +5 rating and four shots on goal in the WCHA road sweep.  For the season the Calgary, Alta., native has 1-6--7 in seven games played.

Inter-Stellar
Junior netminder Dryden McKay, who backstopped the Mavericks to back-to-back shutout wins at Northern Michigan in Minnesota State's last action (5-0 and 4-0, Jan. 2-3), has earned shutouts in four of six games played this year. McKay has moved into a tie for seventh on the NCAA's all-time list with 18 career shutouts.  Over the course of his three years with the Mavericks, McKay has now recorded back-to-back shutouts three times. He had a three-game shutout streak last year when he accomplished the feat in consecutive wins vs. Northern Michigan (1-0, Feb. 8) and Alabama Huntsville (10-0, Feb. 21 and 8-0, Feb. 22).

In eight games played vs. Lake Superior State, McKay stands 7-1-0 with a 1.01 goals against average and a .953 save percentage.

OKAY'd
Sophomore forward Cade Borchardt, who scored his first career game-winning goal in Jan. 2's 4-0 victory at Northern Michigan, had three points on two goals and an assist in the road sweep over the Wildcats.  The Burnsville, Minn., native stands atop Minnesota State's scoring chart with 5-4--9 in nine games played.

NEIGHT
Sophomore center Nathan Smith had a goal and three assists in Minnesota State's league road sweep at Northern Michigan Jan. 2-3.  Smith, who tallied a power play marker in a 5-0 win over the Wildcats, has 1-6--7 in seven games played this year.

Taking a Nap
Junior forward Julian Napravnik had three points on a goal and two assists in Minnesota State's road sweep at Northern Michigan. With 4-4--8 in six games played, the Bad Nauheim, Germany native stands second on the team's scoring charts.

Regulation
Senior forward Reggie Lutz enters this weekend's series vs. Lake Superior State riding a three-game point-scoring streak during which he's registered 1-2--3.  The Elk River, Minn., native has 31 goals and 43 assists for 74 points in 120 games over the course of his four-year college career.

Contributing Factor
Senior forward Todd Burgess had two points on a goal and an assist in the series at Northern Michigan Jan. 2-3 and now has 2-3--5 in seven games played with the Mavericks.

Utility
Jared Spooner's goal in Minnesota State's 5-0 win at Northern Michigan is his third career game-winning tally. The Bismarck, N.D., native has 21-47--68 in 118 career games with Minnesota State.

On the Docket
The Mavericks continue WCHA play next weekend with a home series scheduled with Ferris State Jan. 22-23.