Off the Hop: #17/17 Minnesota State (14-9-1 overall, 9-6-1 CCHA) is back on home ice for the first time in a month, as the Mavericks host Lake Superior State (4-18-2 overall, 3-12-1 CCHA) Jan. 20-21 in a Central Collegiate Hockey Association series. Puck drop Friday from Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center is set for 7:07 p.m., while Saturday's contest is scheduled for a 6:07 p.m. start.

Mavericks vs. Lakers:  MSU is 26-4-1 all-time against Lake Superior State, which includes a 13-2-1 record at home. Minnesota State won the first 11 games in the series, which began in the 2013-14 season and are 8-2 in the last 10 meetings against the Lakers. Last season in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., the teams split the series with each recording a shutout. MSU lost the first game 1-0 before rebounding with a 3-0 victory.

Statistically speaking, Minnesota State leads the nation in face off percentage at 59.0 % (779 won, 541 lost). MSU sits sixth nationally with a 25.8 power play percentage, while Lake Superior State is nearly last nationally in penalty kill percentage at 73.1%. The Mavericks are 11th nationally in scoring margin (+1.0). The Lakers have a -1.71 scoring margin.

Broadcast Information:  The live video stream can be purchased at www.FloHockey.tv. Fans can watch locally on KEYC Circle 12.3. As always, both games will air on the radio on AM 1420 KTOE here in Mankato.

Home Crowd Advantage: Through 12 home dates, Minnesota State is averaging 4,526 fans which is 93.7% capacity of the 4,832 seat Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. The Mavericks have reached 90% or higher capacity seven times this season, with three games reaching "standing room only capacity" and two of those being sell outs. The Mavericks rank 12th nationally in average attendance and lead the CCHA in attendance per game. In terms of capacity percentage, the Mavericks sit sixth nationally and are one of seven teams with more than 10 home games to have an average capacity of 90% or higher.

What2Watch4: With an appearance in each game this weekend senior Andy Carroll will move into a tie for 11th all-time in career games played with 155 … BJ Abel (1999-03) and Teddy Blueger (2012-16) also appeared in 155 games as a Maverick … Junior defenseman Jake Livingstone sits with 67 career points, which ranks ninth on the school's all-time scoring chart by a defenseman … He is 10 points from a tie with Daniel Brickley (2015-18) for eighth …  Junior defenseman Akito Hirose is two points shy of tying Casey Nelson (2013-16) for 12th all-time in scoring by a defenseman with 60 points, while senior defenseman Andy Carrol is two points shy of tying Sean Flanagan (2013-17) for 15th in career scoring by a defenseman with 52 points …  Senior forward Cade Borchardt is one point shy of tying Zach Lehrke (2010-14) for 33rd on the school's all-time scoring list with 82 points … Junior Akito Hirose and senior Cade Borchardt are tied for the team lead for assists by an active player with 54 … The next point scored by senior Brendan Furry will be the 75th of his career, a tally sits second among active players behind only Borchardt (81) … Junior Jake Livingstone (111) and senior Andy Carroll (107) are the only two active Mavericks with over 100 career blocked shots … The Mavericks have scored the game's first goal 11 times this year with junior David Silye scoring a team-high three of those goals.

Last Time Out:  Minnesota State has won four straight in 2023 following a nonconference road sweep of Arizona State University. MSU won 3-1 Friday and 5-0 Saturday.   

After going down 1-0 in game one, the Mavericks scored three unanswered to claim the victory. Senior forward Brendan Furry scored the game winner in the third period and then assisted on a power play goal by senior forward Ryan Sandelin to secure the win. Sophomore goaltender Keenan Rancier totaled 30 saves in the victory.

Five different Mavericks netted a goal in game two, while 10 different players notched a point. Furry had a goal and an assist, while freshman forward Adam Eisele and junior forward Josh Groll each added two assists. Rancier had 26 saves for his first career shutout. On the weekend he stopped 56 of 57 shots and posted a .982 save percentage.

For their efforts at ASU, Furry and Rancier each earned a weekly honor from the league.

Polls: Minnesota State is ranked #17 in both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey national polls for the second consecutive week. The Mavericks have been ranked in all 16 of the USCHO polls this year. MSU returned to the top 20 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll last week.

The Last Time:  Minnesota State is ranked #17 in this week's USCHO Top-20 poll.  The last time Minnesota State didn't appear in the USCHO Top-20 was the second poll of the 2017-18 season (Oct. 9, 2017).  Since then, the Mavericks have appeared in the USCHO poll 123 consecutive times.

CCHA Players of the Week: Minnesota State is leading the league with 14 player of the week awards this season. Ten different players have been honored, as the Mavericks have claimed four forward, five defensive, two goaltender and three rookie of the week honors in 2022-23. This week, senior Brendan Furry was named forward of the week and sophomore Keenan Rancier was tabbed goaltender of the week.

Players of the Month: Three different Mavericks have been named player of the month by the CCHA, the last to do so being freshman Christian Fitzgerald who was the Rookie of the Month for the month of December.  Minnesota State is tied with Northern Michigan for the most players to earn player of the month honors from the CCHA with three.