Off the Hop: #13/13 Minnesota State (18-9-1 overall, 13-6-1 CCHA) went undefeated in January and is set to begin February with a home-and-home series with University of St. Thomas (7-17-2, 6-10-2 CCHA). The Feb. 3-4 Central Collegiate Hockey Association series begins in Mankato with a 7:07 p.m. start and concludes Saturday in Mendota Heights, Minn. at 6:07 p.m. Riding an eight-game win streak, the Mavericks sit first in the CCHA standings with 41 points.
Mavericks vs. Tommies: The Mavericks hold a 17-5 all-time record against St. Thomas. MSU has won eight straight in the series since the teams re-connected in 2021-22. Prior to that season the two teams last battled on Dec. 14, 1996. Earlier this season, Minnesota State won 7-2 on the road and 4-3 at home. In the eight-game win streak, the Mavericks have outscored the Tommies 48-11.
Statistically speaking, Minnesota State leads the nation in face off percentage at 58.8 % (912 won, 639 lost). MSU sits eighth nationally with a 25.9 power play percentage, while St. Thomas has a penalty kill percentage of 78.8% to sit 37th nationally. The Mavericks are eighth nationally in scoring margin (+1.21). The Tommies have a -0.88 scoring margin.
Home Ice Advantage: Through 14 home dates, Minnesota State is averaging 4,562 fans which is 94.4% capacity of the 4,832 seat Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. The Mavericks have reached 90% or higher capacity nine times this season, with four games reaching "standing room only capacity" and two of those being sell outs. The Mavericks rank 13th nationally in average attendance and lead the CCHA in attendance per game. In terms of capacity percentage, the Mavericks sit seventh 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 fourth all-time in career games played with 160… Zach Palmquist (2011-15) and Chase Grant (2010-15) each appeared in 160 games as well … Junior defenseman Jake Livingstone has 70 career points, which ranks ninth on the school's all-time scoring chart by a defenseman … He is nine points from a tie with Daniel Brickley (2015-18) for eighth … Junior defenseman Akito Hirose moved into 11th all-time in career scoring by a defenseman with 64 points... Hirose sits two points shy of tying Ben Youds (2007-11) for 10th in scoring with 66 career points ... Senior defenseman Andy Carroll is tied with Sean Flanagan (2013-17) for 15th in career scoring by a defenseman with 54 points … With his next point, Carroll will tie Steve Wagner for 14th all-time with 55 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 … Akito Hirose is the team's active leader in assists with 58… Senior Brendan Furry scored his 75th career point against Lake Superior State and joins Borhardt (81) as the only Mavericks with 75 or more career points … Jake Livingstone (116) and Andy Carroll (107) are the only two active Mavericks with over 100 career blocked shots … The Mavericks have scored the game's first goal 14 times this year with junior David Silye scoring a team-high four of those goals ... Brendan Furry and Jake Livingstone have each appeared in 100 career games joining Carroll (156), senior Ryan Sandelin (116), Borchardt (108) and Sam Morton (107) as active Mavericks with 100+ games played ... Four active Mavericks (Carroll, Sandelin, Morton and Borchardt) all have over 200 career shots with Sandelin leading the way with 290.
On the Docket: Minnesota State has an idle weekend Feb. 10-11 and will return to the ice Feb. 17-18 for a CCHA road series at Bemidji State University. MSU will look to avenge two losses to the Beavers at home Dec. 15-16.
