MANKATO, Minn. - Wait a minute. UMass (1-2-0, 0-0-0 HEA) and Minnesota State (2-0-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) have never met for a weekend series in Mankato before this Friday and Saturday? Well it may be about time because the Mavericks and Minutemen are both coming off wins over Nationally ranked opponents and the series could prove consequential in the pairwise rankings down the line. For the No. 19 Mavericks, 12 different players recorded at least a point in their home sweep over No. 10 St. Cloud State. 

• Head Coach Luke Strand posted his first wins at the helm and fifth year senior captain Sam Morton scored a pair of goals in a 5-1 exclamation Saturday night. Adam Eisele had the overtime game-winner for a 3-2 Friday night win at Mayo HSEC, improving MSU's season opener record to 27-23-4 all-time.
• Conversely, UMass handled No. 6 Michigan 6-3 after a 7-2 loss Friday to split against the Wolverines. The Minutemen hope to improve on a 13-17-5 record and a Hockey East Tournament quarterfinal loss to Boston College in March.
• The two teams have met before, in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Mavericks swept the 2021-22 opening weekend series 6-3 and 2-0 at Mullins Center but only four current players appeared in the lineup (Lucas Sowder, Tony Malinowski, Zach Krajnik and Josh Groll).

Scouting the Minutemen

• UMass is celebrating its 30th season of Division I college hockey in 2023-24.
• The roster features 15 returnees and 13 newcomers under eighth year head coach Greg Carvel.
• UMass brought back each of its top-five goal scorers from 2023-23, including Taylor Makar, who led the squad with 10 goals as a sophomore. Makar's older brother Cale, was the fourth overall draft pick in 2017 (highest in UMass history) and plays for the Colorado Avalanche. Cale played for UMass between 2017-19 and was a Hobey Baker candidate.
• Kenny Connors and Michael Cameron are back as well after posting nine goals apiece as freshmen. The lineup is bolstered by three graduate transfers and six freshmen. Six of those newcomers are NHL entry draft selections.
• In net, Cole Brady saw over 600 minutes for UMass last season over 13 games after transferring in from Arizona State. Brady, selected in the 2019 NHL entry draft by the New Jersey Devils has a pair of freshman netminders to mentor behind him.
• Junior Scott Morrow entered 2023-24 leading the nation in career goals by active defensemen and ranked fourth nationally among active defensemen with 64 career points.
• Massachusetts has a program record 13 NHL draft picks on its active roster, tied second nationally (Boston University, 14 and Boston College, 14). 
• UMass team captains include senior defenseman Aaron Bohlinger and junior defenseman Ryan Ufko. 
• UMass' 2023-24 roster is comprised of student-athletes from seven different countries. There are four different Canadian provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec) represented and 10 different states (Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania).
• Freshman forward Jack Musa was selected as the Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on Monday. The Orange Park, Florida native helped the Minutemen earn a split with No. 6 Michigan, setting up five of UMass' eight goals on the weekend. He leads the nation among freshmen in scoring with six points.
• Saturday, the Minutemen posted a Hockey East era program-record six third period goals in a comeback win over Michigan in front of a sellout 8,412 at the Mullins Center.
• Freshman goaltender Michael Hrabal made 24 saves and earned the win in his collegiate debut. Ufko finished the evening with three points with a goal and two assists. 

Tracy Earns Second CCHA Goaltender of the Week

• Sophomore goaltender Alex Tracy (Chicago, Illinois) was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week for the second time in his career on Monday.
• Tracy backstopped the Mavericks to a two-game sweep of No. 10 ranked St. Cloud State at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
• He combined to stop 50 shots and allowed three goals for a 1.46 goals against average and .943 save percentage.
• Friday night, Tracy made 21 saves and Saturday, he stopped 29. MSU won 3-2 in overtime Friday and 5-1 Saturday.
• He starts the year with a 2-0 record after going 6-3 as a freshman in 2022-23. In 12 games last season, Tracy played 12 games and amassed a 6-3 record with one shutout. He also held a 2.24 goals against average and .879 save percentage with 153 total saves.

Moving up in the Polls

• Minnesota State was Nationally ranked No. 20 in this week's USCHO Division I Ice Hockey Poll and No. 19 in this week's USA Hockey/The Rink Live Rankings Poll. It is the first time the Mavericks have been inside the Top-20 this season after they received votes in each of the previous two polls. Minnesota received 33 first place votes and was voted the No. 1 team in the nation in both polls. 
• St. Cloud State dropped from No. 10 to No. 20 and fellow CCHA institution Michigan Tech dropped from No. 10 to No. 17. MTU was selected to win the CCHA this season in both coaches and media CCHA preseason polls. The Mavericks checked in sixth and fourth in those respective polls. 

2023-24 CCHA Standings

Team	CCHA PTS	GP	W/L/T	OW-OL	SW	GP	Overall	GF-GA
Minnesota State	0	0	0-0-0	0-0	0	2	2-0-0	8-2
Bemidji State	0	0	0-0-0	0-0	0	2	1-1-0	6-6
St. Thomas	0	0	0-0-0	0-0	0	4	1-3-0	10-14
Ferris State	0	0	0-0-0	0-0	0	4	1-2-1	14-18
Bowling Green	0	0	0-0-0	0-0	0	4	1-3-0	6-10
Lake Superior State	0	0	0-0-0	0-0	0	3	0-1-2	5-8
Northern Michigan	0	0	0-0-0	0-0	0	2	0-1-1	10-13
Augustana*	0	0	0-0-0	0-0	0	4	2-2-0	7-10

(Augustana becomes full time member of the CCHA in 2024-25)

Leading the Offense: 

• Five MSU players posted a two-point weekend against St. Cloud State.
• Fifth-year captain Sam Morton (Lafayette, Colorado) posted five shots and a pair of goals Saturday to help MSU top SCSU.
• An injury forced Morton out of the lineup after just 10 games last season.
• He triumphantly returned this weekend, prompting head coach Luke Strand to refer to him as "the ultimate warrior" in his postgame press conference. Morton has 22 goals and 22 assists in 67 career games at Minnesota State.

Freshman Impressions:

• Evan Murr (Stillwater, Minnesota) was elevated to a first line defensive role Saturday after a strong game in his Maverick debut Friday night.
• Murr recorded an assist and five shots on goal on the weekend and played the right side with sophomore assistant captain Mason Wheeler.
• Freshman Brett Moravec (Airdrie, Alberta) was slated at right wing with center Adam Eisele and left wing Luc Wilson.
• He wasted no time scoring his first career goal Friday night to tie the game 2-2 in the second period, assisted by Murr and Eisele. Moravec nearly scored a second goal in the period on a wraparound try but the play was blown dead prior to the puck crossing the goal line and deemed non-reviewable.

Home Ice Advantage

• Last year, Minnesota State averaged 4,533 fans which is 93.8% capacity of the 4,832 seat Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. The Mavericks reached 90% or higher capacity 13 times last season, with seven games reaching "standing room only capacity" and four of those being sell outs. The Mavericks ranked 13th nationally in average attendance and led the CCHA in attendance per game. In terms of capacity percentage, the Mavericks ranked tenth nationally and were one of 12 teams with more than 10 home games to have an average capacity of 90% or higher. 
• In 2022-23, the Mavericks went 14-7-0 in Mankato, including four CCHA playoff wins.
• The Mavericks posted attendance figures of 4,398 (Friday) and 4,767 (Saturday) on opening weekend.

Last Time vs. UMass 

• The Mavericks swept the then No. 1 ranked Minutemen in Amherst October 2-3, 2021. It was the first series following Massachusetts 2020-21 Division I National Championship.
• On Friday, Reggie Lutz scored an early power play goal and the Mavericks shutout UMass 2-0. Netminder Dryden McKay turned aside 18 shots for the clean sheet.
• The following night, the Mavericks scored six unanswered goals to win 6-3. McKay had 18 saves and Nathan Smith finished with two goals and an assists for MSU.

Captains

• Fifth year senior forward Sam Morton (Lafayette, Colorado) was named team captain for the 2023-24 season.
• Alternate captains include sophomore Mason Wheeler (Rosemount, Minnesota), fifth year senior forward Jordan Steinmetz (Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin) and senior defenseman Tony Malinowski (Clarkston, Michigan).

How to Watch

• All Minnesota State home and CCHA games during the 2023-24 season will be live streamed on FloHockey.tv.
• Fans can purchase either annual ($150) or monthly ($30) subscriptions and will have access to all CCHA games along with the full USHL, Atlantic Hockey and ECHL schedule. Download the FloSports app today on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and the App Store.
• Local Television will show Maverick hockey this weekend on The Circle over air channel 7-3 / 12.3, Charter 193, Mediacom 140, Comcast 228, Midco 595, Spectrum 191 & 826

CCHA Scores Last Week Friday:

• Alaska -4, Michigan Tech -1
• Alaska Anchorage -1, Lake Superior St. -5
• Western Michigan -3, Ferris State -3
• Wisconsin -4, Bemidji State -3
• St. Cloud State -2, Minnesota State -3 OT
• Northern Michigan -5, Minnesota Duluth -5
• Minnesota -6, St. Thomas -5

CCHA Scores Last Week Saturday:

• Alaska -2, Michigan Tech -2
• Alaska Anchorage -3, Lake Superior St. -2
• Army -2, Bemidji State -3
• St. Cloud State -1, Minnesota State -5
• Bowling Green -2, Augustana -3
• St. Thomas -0, Minnesota -3
• Northern Michigan -5, Minnesota Duluth -8

CCHA Scores Last Week Sunday:

• Bowling Green -1, Augustana -4

CCHA Matchups Friday:

• Wisconsin at Michigan Tech 7:07 p.m. ET
• Western Michigan at Bowling Green 7:07 p.m. ET
• Grand Valley State at Ferris State 7:07 p.m. ET
• Lindenwood at St. Thomas 7:07 p.m. CT
• Bemidji State at Minnesota Duluth 7:07 p.m. CT
• UMass at Minnesota State 7:07 p.m. CT
• Northern Michigan at Arizona State 9 p.m. ET

CCHA Matchups Saturday:

• Wisconsin at Michigan Tech 6:07 p.m. ET
• Bowling Green at Western Michigan 6 p.m. ET
• Simon Fraser at Lake Superior State 6:07 p.m. ET
• Minnesota Duluth at Bemidji State 6:07 p.m. CT
• UMass at Minnesota State 6:07 p.m. CT
• Lindenwood at St. Thomas 6:07 p.m. CT
• Northern Michigan at Arizona State 9 p.m. ET