Due Up
Minnesota State (5-1-0, 1-1-0 WCHA) resumes Western Collegiate Hockey Association action this weekend with a home-and-home series vs. #5/6 Minnesota (1-3-0, 1-3-0 WCHA). Face-offs are scheduled for 6:00 p.m., CST Friday, at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, and 3:01 p.m., CST Saturday at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato.
Out of the Gates
The Mavericks swept the Lindenwood last weekend with a pair of victories over the Lions in nonconference action, 6-2 Friday and 7-6 in overtime Saturday.
Minnesota State's 5-1 record marks the program's best start to a season since the 2003-04 campaign where MSU opened the season with a 6-0 record which included a pair of victories over Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota and Bemidji State. The Mavericks concluded the 2003-04 season with a 16-14-4 overall record.
Taking on #5/6 Minnesota
In the all-time series vs. the Golden Gophers, the Mavericks are 3-95-3. The Mavericks have lost each of the last 50 meetings between the two in-state foes. MSU's last victory over UMN came in the completion of a sweep for the Mavericks over the Golden Gophers back in the 2006-07 season during a series held in Mankato. The Mavericks won both games by one goal to sweep the series with their first win on Jan. 19, 2007, 3-2, before another victory on Jan. 20, 2007, 4-3. Last season, UMN swept one series vs. MSU with a 5-1 and 2-1 victory.
Minnesota State All-Time
Minnesota State, which began play in 1998-99, is in its 24th season of competition. The Mavericks have compiled a 208-516-71 (.306) record in 795 games played. MSU is in its 23rd year as members of the WCHA and hold a 126-412-56 (.259) record in 594 conference games played.
In last season's shortened and pandemic-impacted slate of games, the Mavericks closed out the season with a 7-12-1 record for fifth in the WCHA.
Receiving More Votes
The Mavericks found themselves receiving one more vote in this week's edition of the USCHO.com DI women's hockey poll released Monday morning. Prior to last week, MSU's last time appearing in the poll was Oct. 22, 2012, when the Mavericks broke in at the 10th spot.
In the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll, MSU received three votes marking the program's first time ever appearing in the poll.
King of the Weekend
Junior forward Kelsey King scored four goals and had three assists for a seven-point series, last weekend. On Friday, King tied a pair of school records with four goals in a game, becoming the sixth player in program history to do so and the first since Kathleen Rogan (10-2 win over Lindenwood on Sept. 30, 2011), and by posting five points, which put her in a tie as the second athlete to do so alongside Kim Corona (11-0 win over Augsburg on Jan 23, 1999). King's third goal in game one was the eventual game-winner and marked the Mavericks' first natural hat trick since Corona accomplished the feat, which was also back on Jan 23, 1999, when MSU defeated Augsburg 11-0. King finished the big weekend with two more assists in Saturday's contest, where the Mavericks won 7-6 in overtime.
King was named WCHA Forward of the Week for the first time in her career on Monday by conference officials, marking the fifth time she received a WCHA weekly honor after she earned WCHA Rookie of the Week four times during the 2019-20 campaign (Sept. 27-29, Nov. 1-2, Nov. 22-23 and Jan. 31-Feb. 1).
Padding the Stats
Freshman forward Alexis Paddington supplied the Mavericks with a pair of assists in last weekend's sweep of Lindenwood which was good for WCHA Rookie of the Week honors. On Friday, Paddington helped the Mavericks with an assist on freshman Jessica Boland's empty-net goal that sealed MSU's 6-2 victory in game one. In the series finale on Saturday, the freshman forward added another assist on Claire Butorac's opening goal for the Mavericks. In the series over Lindenwood, Paddington totaled two assists, put three shots on goal and blocked four others along the way. With six games and three weeks now under her collegiate belt, Paddington has a pair of WCHA weekly honors.
Fleming Finesses
Senior forward Brittyn Fleming returned to Minnesota State's roster this season after cashing in on her extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to last year's student athletes who had seasons impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last weekend, the Oregon, Wis., native broke MSU's all-time assists record with four helpers to move to a career mark of 54 assists in the series against Lindenwood. She is the Mavericks' leading point-scorer this season with 12 points and a team-high nine assists in six games.
Fleming continues on as MSU's active career scoring leader with 27-54--81 in 132 games. On the list of all-time Maverick scoring, Fleming now stands first in assists (54), fifth in points (81) and tied for 10th in goal scoring (27).
Akervik's Apples
Junior defenseman Charlotte Akervik had another solid outing last series vs. Lindenwood where she added another goal and pair of assists for three more points this season. Akervik tied for sixth in MSU's single-game assists chart after providing three helpers in the Mavericks' 9-3 win over Merrimack back on Sept. 24 and has not looked back since. The Eau Claire, Wis., native continues to guide the Mavericks defensive-end this season as MSU's best blue line scorer. Akervik is second on the team in assists (seven), third in points (nine) and owns the highest +/- rating at +9.
To be Frank...
Sophomore goaltender Calla Frank opened the season between the pipes for the Mavericks where she earned her fifth career shutout with a 16-save showing at Merrimack (Sept. 24) during the Mavericks' 3-0 victory over the Warriors. In week two vs. UMD (Oct. 1-2), Frank backstopped both contests in the series split with the Bulldogs. Frank made 58 saves in the two-game series with nine goals against. The Hugo, Minn., earned another pair of wins last weekend to move to 4-1-0 after the sweep over Lindenwood, she made 35 saves over the weekend.
As a Maverick, Frank owns a career record of 16-19-4 with a .906 save percentage and 2.78 goals against average.
The Captains
This season, USA Hockey announced the addition of Mavericks' senior defenseman and team captain Anna Wilgren to the U.S. Women's National Team Olympic Residency Program in preparation for the Winter Olympics.
Jessica Kondas and Brittyn Fleming were renamed alternate captains prior to the season while Claire Butorac was named the Mavericks' newest alternate captain in the offseason. The senior trio is combining to assume Wilgren's role as head captain while she is away for the foreseeable future.
Looking Ahead
Following this weekend's action, the Mavericks have a week off before hosting the nation's top team, #1-rated Wisconsin, Oct. 29-30, in Mankato.
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