#2 Minnesota State Faces St. Thomas in Home & Home Series This Week; Mavericks Host Hockey Day Minnesota Matchup with Tommies Saturday at Historic Blakeslee Stadium
Mavericks Have Won 15 of Last 17 Games and Lead Nation with 21 Wins; Napravnik Becomes 17th Maverick to Reach 100-Point  Plateau for College Career; Smith Named to U.S. Men's Hockey Olympic Team

Off the Hop
Rated #2 by USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine, Minnesota State (21-5-0 overall, 15-3-0 CCHA) faces St. Thomas (2-22-0, 2-16-0 CCHA) in a home-and-home league series this week.

The Mavericks and the Tommies play at St. Thomas Ice Arena (1,000) Thursday in Mendota Heights, Minn., before squaring-off in Hockey Day Minnesota action Saturday in Mankato.  Minnesota State's historic Blakeslee Stadium (7,000) will be the outdoor venue for the game, which is slated for a 4:30 p.m., face-off.

The Last Time Out
Minnesota State stands 21-5-0 overall after splitting a Central Collegiate Hockey Association road series at Northern Michigan last weekend.

The host Wildcats picked up a 4-2 win over the visiting Mavericks last Friday, before Minnesota State claimed a 4-1 victory last Saturday.  Senior winger Julian Napravnik, who picked up his 100th career point when he scored a goal in Friday's game, had three assists in Saturday's win.  Junior winger Cade Borchardt had a goal and an assist Saturday.

Mavericks vs. St. Thomas
In a series that dates back to the 1971-72 season, Minnesota State stands 18-9-2 in the all-time vs. St. Thomas. The Mavericks claimed 9-0 and 5-0 wins over the Tommies earlier this season (Nov. 18 and 20) in the most-recent meetings between the two schools.

The last time the Mavericks and Tommies met prior to this year was during the 1996-97 season, when Minnesota State was playing as a NCAA Division I independent program (St. Thomas won that game 5-4).  

St. Thomas is in its first year of DI, Minnesota State is in its 26th year of DI-men's hockey and both teams are first-year members of the CCHA.

Behind the Bench
Minnesota State has gone 257-95-24 under the tutelage of head coach Mike Hastings (St. Cloud State '93), who is in his 10th season in charge of the Mavericks. Including a trip to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2020-21, Hastings has led the Mavericks to six NCAA tournament appearances and no program in the nation has won more games (257) during the time Hastings has been behind the MSU bench. Hastings has been named to the coaching staff for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.

Polling
Minnesota State has been rated in the top five in all 15 polls issued by USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine this year.  The Mavericks, who have been rated #1 in the most-recent USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey polls seventh time this year, are ranked second this week.

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.  

Dr. Zero
Senior netminder Dryden McKay, a Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist and a finalist for the Mike Richter Award in 2020-21 and a two-time All-American, McKay stands 21-4-0 for the season with a .932 save percentage and a 1.25 goals against average.

Earlier this season, McKay put up three shutouts in consecutive games played, marking the third time in his career he has accomplished the feat.

02.08.20    Dryden McKay vs. Northern Michigan (1-0)
02.21.20    Dryden McKay vs. Alabama Huntsville (10-0)
02.22.20    Dryden McKay vs. Alabama Huntsville (8-0)

01.02.21     Dryden McKay @ Northern Michigan (5-0)
01.03.21    Dryden McKay @ Northern Michigan (4-0)
01.15.21    Dryden McKay @ Lake Superior State (3-0)

11.18.21    Dryden McKay vs. St. Thomas (9-0)
11.19.21    Dryden McKay @ St. Thomas (5-0)
11.27.21    Dryden McKay @ Lake Superior State (3-0)

In his last 13 games of 2021-22, McKay stands 12-1-0 with a 0.77 GAA, .954 Sv% and five shutouts.

For his four-year college career, the Downers Grove, Ill., native stands 96-19-4 with a 1.47 GAA, and .932 Sv% in 122 games played.

Already this year McKay has established a new NCAA standard for career shutouts (he has 32) and a Minnesota State record for career wins (96).  His 96 career wins ranks fourth on the NCAA's all-time list.

LockSmith
A three-time CCHA Forward of the Week honoree this year, junior forward Nathan Smith has been named to the U.S. Men's Hockey Olympic Team and once he hits the ice in Beijing, will join David Backes (Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014) as men's hockey players from Minnesota State to have played in the Olympics. Also, Smith joins Mike Hastings in Beijing as Hastings has been selected to serve as an assistant coach with Team USA.

Smith, who leads the country in scoring with 13-22--35 on the year and enters the St. Thomas series riding a five-game point-scoring streak (2-7--9), has moved into 29th place on Minnesota State's career scoring list with 31-56--87 in 87 games played.

Julian Fries
Senior winger Julian Napravnik, currently in the midst of a five-game point-scoring streak (4-6--10), ranks second on the Mavericks with 11-18--29 on the season. His career totals of 38-65-103 place him 16th on Minnesota State's all-time scoring list.

Ar-Cade
Junior forward Cade Borchardt has racked up 3-4--7 in the last six games. The Burnsville, Minn., native  has 10-14--24--19 in 26 games on the season and owns 19-29--48 in 64 career games played.

Elk Hound
With 45 goals and 60 assists for 105 points, senior forward Reggie Lutz is 15th on Minnesota State men's hockey career scoring list. Lutz's 159 career games played stands tied for fourth on MSU's all-time list.

The Elk River, Minn., native, who is in his fifth season of college hockey, has registered 8-9--17 in 21 games played in 2021-22.

Sandy Beach
Junior forward Ryan Sandelin has registered 9-5--14 in the last 14 games. The Duluth, Minn., native, who leads the Mavericks in goals with 14, has reached career season-highs for goals (14), assists (8) and points (22) this year.

Pavel Permutation
Sophomore center Ondrej Pavel, who had 0-4--4 in 11 games played last year, has posted 6-4--10 in 26 games in 2021-22. The Prague, Czech Rep., native has scored twice and assisted on three others for five points in the last six games.

Fur Trade
Junior center Brendan Furry, who had 1-1--2 in the two games at Northern Michigan last weekend, ranks third on the Mavericks with 7-19--26 in 26 games on the season. The Toledo, Ohio native has posted 12-27--39 in 54 career games.

Mavericks Statistically Nationally
Minnesota State ranks first in the nation with 21 wins, goal scored (103), scoring margin (2.69), and face-off percentage (58.0%).

The Mavericks are second in goals against average (1.27) and sixth in power play goals scored (24)

Nathan Smith leads the nation in scoring (13-22--35) and stands tied for third in assists (22). Brendan Furry is tied for 10th in assists (19). Cade Borchardt (+25) leads the country in +/- rating.

Dryden McKay's eight shutouts stands tied for first in the nation and his 21 wins rank first. His 1.25 GAA ranks second and his .932 sv% is seventh

Notably
Minnesota State has been outshot just once in a game this year - Dec. 4, a 3-1 home win vs. Michigan Tech.

On the Docket
Following the St. Thomas series, Minnesota State hosts Arizona State in a pair of nonconference homes games Jan. 28-29.