Due Up

Minnesota State (9-10-1, 5-10-1 WCHA) resumes Western Collegiate Hockey Association action when it opens the 2022 portion of its schedule with a home-and-home series against No. 4-rated Minnesota (16-5-1, 11-4-1 WCHA). Game one of the series is slated for 6:01 p.m., CST Friday at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center prior to a 4:01 p.m. face-off in Minneapolis at Ridder Arena Saturday for the series finale.


Last Action

Prior to the cancellation of their series last weekend (Jan 7-8 vs. Syracuse), the Mavericks lost and tied Bemidji State on the road, Dec. 17-18. After falling 3-2 in Friday's contest, the Mavericks and Beavers skated to a 1-1 tie in Saturday's contest. MSU earned the extra point in the WCHA conference standings by winning the shootout, 1-0, after sophomore forward Sydney Langseth scored the lone goal and junior goaltender Calla Frank stopped all three of the Beavers' shot attempts in the extra session.


Taking on #4 Minnesota

In the all-time series vs. the Golden Gophers, the Mavericks are 3-97-3. The Mavericks have lost the last 52 meetings between the two in-state foes. MSU's last victory over Minnesota completed a sweep for the Mavericks over the Golden Gophers back in the 2006-07 season. The Mavericks won both games in Mankato by one goal to sweep the series with 3-2 and 4-3 victories, respectively. Earlier this season (Oct. 15-16), the Golden Gophers took down the Mavericks twice. Game one went the way of the Golden Gophers, 3-0, in Minneapolis before they swept the series with a 6-2 victory in Mankato the following night.

The Golden Gophers own a 16-5-1 overall record this season and are currently fourth in the WCHA standings with an 11-4-1 record in league play.


Minnesota State All-Time

Minnesota State, which began play in 1998-99, is in its 24th season of competition. The Mavericks have compiled a 212-525-72 (.307) record in 809 games played. MSU is in its 23rd year as members of the WCHA and hold a 130-421-57 (.261) record in 608 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 standings.


The Captains

Senior defenseman Anna Wilgren is serving as captain of the Mavericks this year.

Jessica Kondas and Brittyn Fleming were renamed alternate captains for this season while Claire Butorac was named the Mavericks' newest alternate captain in the offseason.


The Goaltender of the Month

Junior goaltender Calla Frank has appeared and started in all but three games for the MSU this season. In December, Frank backstopped the Mavericks to a 4-1-1 record, which included a pair of sweeps over St. Thomas (Dec. 3-4) and St. Cloud State (Dec. 10-11). In both series, Frank blanked the opposition one time for her second and third shutouts of the season, marking the sixth and seventh of her career. Over the course of the six games throughout December, Frank made 140 saves on 146 shots to boast a .959 save percentage with a 0.99 goals-against average over 363:54 minutes of action. As a result, the Hugo, Minn., native was named WCHA Goaltender of the Month for December. So far this season, Frank owns an 8-8-1 record with a 2.69 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.

As a Maverick, Frank has appeared in 53 games and made 51 starts with a career record of 20-26-5, a .910 Sv% and 2.69 goals-against average.


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. Fleming owns MSU's all-time assists record with 62 helpers in her Maverick career. Fleming is also MSU's leading point-scorer this season with 24 points and a team-high 17 assists over 20 games. She is tied for second on the Mavericks in terms of plus-minus with a +3 rating.

Fleming, who broke the all-time games played record at MSU (146) when she skated in the last game (Dec. 18 at BSU), is MSU's active career scoring leader with 31-62--93 in 146 career games played. On the all-time MSU scoring list, she is first in assists (62), fourth in points (93) and tied for eighth in goal scoring (31).


The Kinger

Junior forward Kelsey King had one goal in the last series vs. BSU during the Mavericks' 3-2 loss to the Beavers, Dec. 17. She leads MSU in goal-scoring while remaining second on the team points with 10-7--17 in 20 contests.  King leads the Mavericks' offensive charge with 97 shots and a +4 rating. She scored a career-high four goals and had three assists for a seven-point series against Lindenwood, Oct. 8-9. In the first game of the series, 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 the game was the eventual game-winner and marked the Mavericks' first natural hat trick since Corona accomplished the feat, which also last occurred on Jan 23, 1999, when MSU defeated Augsburg 11-0. King finished the big weekend with two more assists in the series finale, where the Mavericks won 7-6 in overtime.

As a result, King was named WCHA Forward of the Week on Oct. 11, marking her fifth time receiving a WCHA weekly honor and first since being named the 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).


More Than Apples for Akervik

Junior defenseman Charlotte Akervik leads Maverick defensemen with a career-high 15 points this season thanks to 11 assists along the way. The Eau Claire, Wis., native has seen action in all 20 games for MSU this season and leads Maverick blueliners with 54 shots on goal and a plus-minus rating of +2.


King Kondas

Senior defenseman Jessica Kondas recorded an assist during the Mavericks' 3-2 loss to the Beavers, Dec. 17. The Calgary, Alta., native owns a career-high for points this season with a 1-10--11 scoring line in 19 games. A fearless presence in the defensive zone, Kondas leads the Mavericks' with 37 blocks this season and currently stands fourth all-time among Maverick shot blockers with 215 in her career.


Padding the Stats

Freshman forward Alexis Paddington leads Maverick rookies with 3-5--8 in 20 games this season. She collected her first goal when she opened the scoring in the Mavericks' 6-2 loss to #1 Wisconsin, Oct. 30.

The Maverick rookie has five assists after providing three in her first series dawning the purple and goal at Merrimack (Sept. 24-25) before collecting two more in MSU's series hosting Lindenwood (Oct. 8-9). As a result of her efforts in both series sweeps for MSU, Paddington was twice named WCHA Rookie of the Week (Sept. 27 and Oct. 11).


Minnesota State's Special Teams

The Mavericks' power-play unit is among the best in the nation with 13 goals in 20 games. In terms of percentage, MSU is second in the conference and fourth in the nation with a 13-for-50 (.260) success rate on the man advantage.

The Mavericks have also been among the most productive offensive units while shorthanded. As a team, Minnesota State is third in the conference and seventh in the nation with a pair of shorthanded goals, both have come off Kelsey King's stick (two vs. Merrimack Sept. 24-25). Among individual standings, King is third in the NCAA and second in the WCHA with a pair of short-handed goals.


Looking Ahead

Following this weekend's slate of games, the Mavericks take on St. Thomas in Mendota Heights, Minn., with a face-off slated for 7:01 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 21. The series concludes with a Hockey Day Minnesota matchup at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 23 at Blakeslee Stadium on the campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato.

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