Mavericks Return 17 Players from Last Year's Frozen Four Team | McKay Heads Into Senior Season Owning 75-15-4 Career Mark With 1.53 GAA, .932 Save Percentage and 24 ShutOuts | Napravnik Leads Maverick Active Career Scorers With 74 Points in 103 GP | 236 Wins in Last Nine Seasons Places Minnesota State First Amongst Nation's NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Programs

Off the Hop
Fifth-rated Minnesota State (0-0-0 overall, 0-0-0 CCHA) starts the 2021-22 season this weekend when it takes on #1 UMass (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Hockey East) Saturday and Sunday. Face-off between the Mavericks and the Minutemen in Amherst, Mass., at Mullins Center (8,373) is slated for 6:30 p.m., CST Saturday and 3:00 p.m., CST Sunday.

Mavericks vs. Minutemen
The weekend marks the first meetings between the two schools.

Season Openers
Minnesota State stands 26-22-4 all-time in season openers. The Mavericks have won their last three season openers (5-0 win at Bemidji State in 2020-21, 4-1 home win over Arizona State in 2019-20 and 5-3 win at Boston University in 2018-19).  

Behind the Bench
Minnesota State has gone 214-85-23 under the tutelage of head coach Mike Hastings (St. Cloud State '93), who is in his tenth season in charge of the Mavericks. No program in the nation has won more games (236) during the time Hastings has been behind the MSU bench.

For the Ages
Minnesota State went 22-5-1 in 28 games in last year's CoVID-shortened season to mark the ninth season in a row of having at least 20 wins.  Minnesota State has won at least 20 games in a season 20 times in 52 seasons.

Big Mac
Minnesota State won the MacNaughton Cup as 2020-21 WCHA regular season champions - marking the fourth season in a row to accomplish the feat and sixth time in the last nine years.

WCHA ? CCHA
The conclusion of the 2020-21 season signalled the end of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.  Minnesota State had been a member of the league since the 1999-2000 season and during that time constructed a 306-249-64 mark for a .561 winning percentage in 619 league games.  The Mavericks won six MacNaughton Cups as regular-season champions in their 22-year association with the WCHA.

Minnesota State begins play in the newly-formed Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) in 2021-22, joining Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State, Ferris State, Bowling Green and St. Thomas as members of the eight-team conference.

Analyze This
Statistically-speaking, the Mavericks finished last year ranking first in the nation in winning percentage (.804), first in shots on goal margin/game (+14.36) and shots on goal margin (+402), fewest goals allowed per game (1.64), fewest shots on goal allowed/game (19.68). Minnesota State ranked second in the nation with 22 wins on the season and was third in power play percentage (.274).

Roster Check
Minnesota State returns 17 skaters off of last year's roster who played in at least one game.  Those returnees, who have accumulated a total of 67 goals and 187 points last year.

Net Result
Senior netminder Dryden McKay, a Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist and a finalist for the Mike Richter Award in 2020-21, enters the season ranking second on the NCAA career shutouts list with 24. McKay finished last year leading the country with a .840 winning percentage and ten shutouts.  He also ranked second with a 1.54 goals against average and was 15th with a .924 save percentage. Last season's WCHA Player of the Year and a two-time WCHA Goaltender of the year, McKay stands 75-15-4 with a .1.53 GAA, and .932 Sv% in 97 games played for his three-year college career.  The only goaltender in NCAA history to record double-digit shutout seasons (10 in 2020-21, 10 in 2019-20), McKay is one of two goaltenders in the history of the WCHA to lead the league in goals against average for three straight seasons, with the other being the late Tony Esposito who accomplished the feat while tending the net for Michigan Tech (1964-65, 1965-66, 1966-67).

Lining it Up
The top four scorers off of last year's team (the Mavericks tied for seventh in the country in 2020-21 in goals with 100 and were third in goal margin with a +54 mark) in senior forward Julian Napravnik (10-18—28 in 27 GP), junior forward Nathan Smith (9-16—25 in 28 GP), junior forward Cade Borchardt (9-15—24 in 28 GP) and senior Reggie Lutz (10-11—21 in 25 GP).

The Mavericks have six returning members from last year's defensive corps and boast a nice mix of veterans and underclassmen. Sophomores Akito Hirose (1-14—15 in 28 GP, WCHA Rookie of the Year) and Jake Livingstone (4-10—14 in 28 GP) both earned WCHA All-Rookie Team honors in their first season of college hockey. Seniors Wyatt Aamodt, Andy Carroll and Jack McNeely, along with sophomore Tony Malinowski have accrued over 300 career games between them.

Head coach Mike Hastings welcomes a passel of transfers to the roster in senior defenseman Benton Maass (New Hampshire), sophomore forward David Silye (Clarkson) and Josh Groll (Michigan). The trio joins eight freshman in defenseman Steven Bellini, forward Tanner Edwards, forward Will Hillman, forward Zach Krajnik, goaltender Andrew Miller, forward Brenden Olson, goaltender Keenan Rancier and defenseman Bennett Zmolek as newcomers to the roster.

Captaincy
Senior defenseman Wyatt Aamodt is serving as this season's team captain (his first year as a captain).  Senior forward Reggie Lutz is in his first year as an alternate captain and senior defenseman Jack McNeely is in his second season as an alternate captain.

CCHA Preseason Awards
The Mavericks, who were rated first in the CCHA coaches preseason poll, were well-represented on this year's CCHA Preseason Awards.

Nathan Smith (Jr., F)
CCHA Preseason Player of the Year & Preseason All-CCHA

Dryden McKay (Sr., G)
Preseason All-CCHA

Akito Hirose (So., D)
Preseason All-CCHA

Julian Napravnik (Sr., F)
Preseason All-CCHA Preseason All-CCHA

On the Docket
The Mavericks are scheduled to host St. Cloud State in their home opener Oct. 8-9.  The Huskies, who bested Minnesota State in the semi-finals of last year's Frozen Four before falling to UMass in the championship game, enter the season rated second in the USCHO preseason poll.