Mankato, Minn. --- Third-rated Minnesota State begins the 2022-23 season Saturday with the Mavericks on the road in exhibition action at Omaha.

Face-off at Baxter Arena in Omaha is slated for 6:07 p.m.  The last time the two schools met was in 2015-16 when Omaha claimed a pair of wins (2-0 and 3-2 in Mankato). This game marks the first time Minnesota State will have played Omaha in Baxter Arena. Minnesota State is 18-16-5 all-time vs. Omaha.

Omaha, members of the National Collegiate Hockey Association, went 21-17-0 last season. The Mavericks are under the guidance of Mike Gabinet (Nebraska-Omaha '04), who owns a 75-86-11 mark in his five years with the program.

Minnesota State, which constructed a 38-6-0 record and captured the Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season title with a 23-3-0 league mark last year, is coming off of back-to-back Frozen Four appearances.

After claiming the CCHA postseason tournament title last year, the Mavericks picked up wins over Harvard and Notre Dame in winning the NCAA Albany Regional Championship. A second straight trip to the NCAA Frozen Four saw Minnesota State down Minnesota in a semifinal contest before a loss to Denver in the national championship brought the season to an end.

The Mavericks own a 274-96-24 record in 10 seasons under the tutelage of head coach Mike Hastings (St. Cloud State '93). Including a pair of trips to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2020-21 and 2021-22, Hastings has led the Mavericks to eight NCAA tournament appearances and no program in the nation has won more games (274) during his time behind the MSU bench. A three-time Spencer Penrose Award recipient as the nation's Coach of the Year and a five-time league Coach of the Year, Hastings spent three weeks in Bejing last winter as a member of the Team USA coaching staff at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Minnesota State is scheduled to open the 2022-23 campaign with three nonconference opponents. The Mavericks square-off with #2 Minnesota Oct 7 in Minneapolis and Oct. 8 in Mankato. #5 Minnesota Duluth visits the Key City Oct. 14-15 and Minnesota State plays at St. Cloud State Oct. 21-22. Central Collegiate Hockey Association action begins Oct. 28-29 when Bowling Green pays a visit to Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center for a pair of league games.

    2022-23 Minnesota State roster
    2022-23 Minnesota State schedule
    Furry Named Preseason CCHA Player of the Year
    Furry & Livingstone named Preseason All-CCHA

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