MANKATO, Minn. - Taking a trip to upstate New York, Minnesota State plays a non-conference series against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. EST to close out the year 2023. The Mavericks (7-7-2, 5-4-1 CCHA) split a home-and-home matchup last weekend against St. Thomas. 

Minnesota State and RPI last met in Troy, New York in 2011-12 with each team picking up one win. RPI enters the weekend winless in its last six outings. Fans can listen to this weekend's games on AM 1420 KTOE with Mike Sullivan (play-by-play). For streaming in the U.S., both games will be on ESPN+. International viewers can watch through Stretch ECAC. 

Last Weekend

• Minnesota State played a complete defensive game to defeat St. Thomas 3-1 at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center Friday night in CCHA play. The Mavericks limited the Tommies to 17 shots and kept UST off the scoreboard in the third period to secure three points. 
• Luciano Wilson scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal on the power play in the first period and nine different Mavericks recorded a point.
• St. Thomas scored a pair of late third period goals to salvage a series split against Minnesota State 2-1 Saturday evening at St. Thomas Ice Arena. Noah Prokop scored the game-winning goal at 16:16 of the third.
• The Mavericks applied late pressure with the net empty but Sibell's glove save with 19.4 seconds left helped seal it for the home team.
• Both teams finished 0-1 on the power play and shots on goal favored the Mavericks 29-27.

The Series 

• The Mavericks are 2-1-1 all-time against the Engineers. Most recently, the Mavericks won 4-3 in overtime, then tied 3-3 in Mankato on October 19-20, 2012.
• MSU scored three third period goals in the former and Eriah Hayes tallied the overtime game-winner.

Scouting the Engineers

• RPI fell 1-0 to No. 16 ranked New Hampshire on December 9 in Durham, North Carolina. Dovar Tinling led RPI with three shots on net, as Miller finished the day on the back end with 29 saves.
• The Engineers' last win was November 10 vs. Clarkson (W, 4-2), though RPI did tie Northeastern 3-3 on November 25, but the Huskies won in a shootout.
• RPI is currently in 12th place in the 12 team East College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a conference largely made up of the Ivy League. Quinnipiac leads the conference at 7-0-1. The Bobcats are defending National Champions after downing Minnesota 3-2 in overtime of the Championship game.
• Senior forward Jake Gagnon (Point Clark, Ontario) and sophomore forward Sutter Muzzatti (Okemos, Michigan) lead the team with nine points apiece. Gagnon's five goals are a team high.
• Sophomore goalie Carson Cherepak (Winnipeg, Manitoba) holds a 4.21 goals against average in eight starts but has not played since December 1.
• Senior goaltender Brett Miller (Northville, Michigan) made 27 saves and allowed one goal against New Hampshire last weekend. Miller holds a 4.21 goals against average with three games played and a pair of starts.
• Head coach Dave Smith started at RPI in 2017 after spending 12 seasons as head coach at Canisius. His best season at the helm was in 2019-20 as the team finished 17-15-2 but the playoffs were cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Familiar Feeling

• Seasoned Maverick fans will recall, captain Sam Morton was not always a Mankato resident. In fact, Morton played his first season of college hockey for Union College and made three appearances in games against RPI. In his first trip to Houston Fieldhouse, Morton scored a goal and added an assist for Union on October 26, 2018. 
• Junior Brian Carrabes is also no stranger to East Coast hockey, but did not face RPI in his time with Boston University.

A Quick Check of the Polls

• Minnesota State has been Nationally ranked as high as No. 20 in the USCHO Division I Ice Hockey Poll and No. 19 in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live Rankings Poll. The Mavericks were not receiving votes in either poll this week. Boston College (13-3-1) received 34 first place votes to ascend to No. 1, followed by Boston University (11-4-1), Quinnipiac (12-4-1), North Dakota (12-5-1) and Denver (12-5-1).

Dynamic Duo

• For the third straight weekend, coach Strand went with a goaltending split against an opponent. Alex Tracy made 16 saves and allowed one goal for the win Friday night. Tracy is third in the CCHA with a 2.65 goals against and fifth in save percentage (.907). 
• Keenan Rancier allowed two goals on 27 shots Saturday in Mendota Heights but suffered the loss.

MSU Team Summary

• Goals for: 3.06 (2nd)
• Goals against: 2.75 (2nd)
• Shots on goal: 28.88 (5th)
• Power Play Percentage: .182 (4th)
• Penalties per Game: 3.69 (6th)
• Penalty Kill Percentage: .808 (3rd)
• Faceoff Win Percentage: .498 (6th)
• Blocked Shots per Game: 11.56 (4th)

Special Teams Report

• The Mavericks scored twice on the power play major penalty in the first period of Friday night's game and it became very consequential in the positive outcome that night for the home team.
• Saturday, neither team scored with the extra attacker with one opportunity apiece.

CCHA Players of the Week

• Minnesota State led the league with 21 player of the week awards last season.
• Ten different players were honored, as the Mavericks claimed seven forward, eight defensive, two goaltenders and four rookie of the week honors in 2022-23.
• Livingstone led the team with four awards last season.
• This season, Alex Tracy (week two) earned CCHA Goaltender of the Week and Evan Murr (week seven) earned CCHA Rookie of the Week. Mason Wheeler (week nine) added CCHA Defenseman of the Week honors as well.

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).

CCHA Matchups Friday:

• Minnesota State at RPI 7 p.m. EST
• Bowling Green at Bemidji State 6:07 p.m. CT
• Augustana at Alaska Fairbanks 10:07 CT

CCHA Matchups Saturday:

• Lake Superior State at Ferris State 5:07 p.m. ET
• Minnesota State at RPI 7 p.m. ET
• Augustana at Alaska Fairbanks 10:07 p.m. CT