NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Regional | Albany, N.Y.
Regional Championship Game
Saturday, March 26| Minnesota State (36-5-0) vs. Notre Dame (28-11-0) | 5:30 p.m. CST | MVP Arena (15,600) | Albany, N.Y.
      Radio: Radio: AM 1420 KTOE • Live Video: ncaa.com • Live Stats: msumavericks.com • Television:  ESPNU

    Minnesota State Men's Hockey Quick Hits
• Minnesota State has been ranked #1 in the country the last eight weeks.
• Mavericks lead the country in goals scored and scoring margin, rank second in GAA.
• 4 players on roster with 40+ points. (Denver is only other team with this)
• Two Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalists in G Dryden McKay and C Nathan Smith.
• Smith and head coach Mike Hastings were with Team USA at Beijing Olympics in Feb.
• Mavericks won both CCHA regular season title and postseason tournament title.
• Mavericks won Western Regional last year and advanced to Frozen Four first first time.
• Mavericks have won 272  games in 10 seasons under Mike Hastings. More wins than
   any other program in the country during that time.

Off the Hop
Minnesota State (36-5-0 overall) faces Notre Dame (28-11-0) Saturday at MVP Arena (15,600), in 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Regional action in Albany, N.Y.

Face-off between the Mavericks and the Fighting Irish, in a game that will decide the regional championship, is slated for 5:30 p.m. CST. The regional champion advances to the NCAA DI Men's Hockey Frozen Four in Boston, Mass., April 8 and 10.

Last Time Out
Minnesota State jumped to a 2-0 lead and held on for a 4-3 win over Harvard Thursday in semifinal action of the 2022 NCAA DI Regional being held in Albany, N.Y.  

The Mavericks received first-period goals from Connor Gregga and Reggie Lutz, got a second-period tally from Brendan Furry and a third-period game-winning tally from Ondrej Pavel in skating past the Crimson. Dryden McKay finished with 19 saves in upping his record to 36-4-0 on the season.

Mavericks vs. Irish
Minnesota State stands 3-7-0 all-time vs. Notre Dame.  Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between the two schools in the NCAA postseason. The last time the two teams met was 2010-11 at the Shillelagh Tournament hosted by Notre Dame in Hoffman Estates, Ill.  The Mavericks prevailed over the Irish in the opening game of the tournament, 4-3, on Jan. 1, 2011.

Behind the Bench
Minnesota State has gone 272-95-24 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 seven NCAA tournament appearances and no program in the nation has won more games (272) during the time Hastings has been behind the MSU bench.

About the Winning Streak
Minnesota State's current 16-game winning streak (the longest current streak in the nation) has established a school record for consecutive wins.  The 1979-80 team won its last 11 games of the year and the 1980-81 team won its first four games of the year. The program's longest unbeaten streak stands at 17 (2002-03, 12-0-5).

The Mavericks and the NCAA Tournament
Minnesota State, the recipient of the 2022 MacNaughton Cup as the Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season champion and the Mason Cup as the CCHA tournament champion, is making its eighth NCAA tournament appearance this year.

The Mavericks, who have won three of their last four NCAA tournament games, own an all-time record of 3-6 in NCAA DI Regional action.  

Minnesota State defeated Quinnipiac and Minnesota to capture last year's NCAA West Regional title and advanced to the Frozen Four for the first time.

McKay Named Richter Award Finalist
Minnesota State senior Dryden McKay has been named a finalist for the Mike Richter Award, which goes to the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's hockey.

This is the third year in a row that McKay has been named a finalist for the Richter Award.

McKay, a Downers Grove, Ill., native, was recently named the CCHA Player of the Year and CCHA Goaltender of the Year for his efforts this season. He is also a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
 
A two-time All-American, McKay stands 36-4-0 for the season with a .931 save percentage and a 1.31 goals against average. His 36 wins this year lead the nation and have established a NCAA DI men's hockey record for single-season victories. Minnesota's Robb Stauber (1987-88) and Michigan's Marty Turco (1995-96), with 34 wins, are the previous record-holders.

Already this year McKay established a NCAA standard for career shutouts (he has 33) and a Minnesota State record for career wins (111, which ties for second all-time in NCAA history with Steve Shields who had 111 wins for Michigan 1991-94. Marty Turco, who also played for Michigan 1994-98, owns the record with 127).
 
For his four-year college career, the Downers Grove, Ill., native stands 111-19-4 with a 1.47 GAA, and .932 Sv% in 136 games played.
 
Joining McKay as finalists for this year's Richter Award are Northeastern University sophomore Devon Levi and Quinnipiac University sophomore Yaniv Perets.

The ninth annual Richter Award will be presented in April during the NCAA Division I Frozen Four.

Sweet 16
With 51-64--115 in 172 games played for his Minnesota State playing career, senior forward Reggie Lutz  (Elk River, Minn.) ranks 11th on the school's career scoring list.

Games On
Senior forward Reggie Lutz (172) ranks first and senior defenseman Jack McNeely (171) second on Minnesota State's career games played list.

Re-Fur-bish
Junior center Brendan Furry picked up his 13th goal of the season in Thursday's 4-3 win over Harvard.  The goal extends his point-scoring streak to three games (2-4--6).

Furry stands third in scoring on the Mavericks with 12-30--42 and has played in all 41 games this  year. The Toledo, Ohio native, who has 6-12--18 in the last 16 games, has posted 17-38--55 in 69 career games.

Top Forty
Forwards Nathan Smith and Julian Napravnik top the Minnesota State scoring charts with 49 points each. Their 49-point totals are fourth-most on the school's DI single-season scoring list, trailing only Shane Joseph (65 in 2002-03), Grant Stevenson (63 in 2002-03) and Aaron Fox (50 points in 1999-00).

Brendan Furry (42 points) and Cade Borchardt (40 points) have also reached the 40-point threshold this season.

Denver is the only other team in the nation to have at least four players on the roster with 40 points each this season.

This year marks the seventh season for the school's DI-era that the Mavericks have had at least two players with 40 or more points. This year marks the first year that the program (DI-era) has produced at least four players reach the 40-point plateau.

To the Point
The three-point game turned in by sophomore defenseman Akito Hirose in Thursday's 4-3 win over Harvard is the second three-point game he's had this year. He also had three points on a goal and two assists in a 7-0 win over Northern Michigan Oct. 30.

The younger brother of Detroit Red Wing farmhand Taro Hirose, Hirose has 2-24--26 in 35 games played this year.  For his two years of college hockey, the Calgary, Alta., native has 3-38--41 in 63 games played.

Pavel Permutation
Sophomore center Ondrej Pavel's game-winning goal in Thursday's 4-3 win over Harvard in the NCAA Regional semifinal is his third game-winning goal of the season (and the third of his career).

Pavel, who has 4-3--7 in the last eight games, has 11-19--20 for the season and has played in all 41 games this year.

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