Off the Hop: The Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season title is up for grabs Feb. 24-25, as #12 Minnesota State (20-11-1 overall, 15-8-1 CCHA) hosts #11 Michigan Tech University (21-8-4, 14-6-4 CCHA) in the regular season finale. Game times from the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center are set for 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday.
Mavericks vs. Huskies: The Mavericks hold a 50-24-11 all-time advantage over the Huskies in a series that dates back to 1996. MSU had won seven straight in the series before suffering a 3-2 road loss earlier this year. The next night, Minnesota State won in a shootout. The last time the Mavericks lost to the Huskies at home was March 11, 2018 (6-0 since).
Statistically speaking, Minnesota State leads the nation in face off percentage at 59.1 % (1050 won, 727 lost), while MTU is 51st at 46.7%. Special teams will be key, as MSU sits fifth nationally with a 26.0 power play percentage, while Michigan Tech is second in penalty killing percentage at 88.7%. In the scoring defense category, the Huskies are second nationally (2.09, 33 games, 69 goals against), while the Mavericks sit third (2.09, 32 games, 67 goals against).
Home Ice Advantage: Through 15 home dates, Minnesota State is averaging 4,579 fans which is 94.8% 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 14th 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 nine teams with more than 10 home games to have an average capacity of 90% or higher.
What’s On the Line: This weekend’s series is for the MacNaughton Cup - the second oldest hockey trophy behind only the Stanley Cup. The MacNaughton Cup is presented to the CCHA’s regular season champion. Minnesota State has won the MacNaughton seven times (2014-15, 2015-16 {Shared with Michigan Tech}, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22). Minnesota State enters the weekend two points ahead of Michigan Tech in the CCHA standings. A regulation win in either game - or two overtime/shootout wins - would clinch the MacNaughton outright for the Mavericks..
20-Plus Dubs: With last Friday’s 4-1 win at Bemidji State, the Mavericks secured their 23rd 20-win season, and the 12th in the Division I era. Head coach Mike Hastings is tied with Don Brose with 11 20-win seasons, while Troy Jutting had one. Hastings and the Mavericks have hit the 20-win plateau in every season he has been with the program.
What2Watch4: With an appearance in each game this weekend, senior Andy Carroll will move into sole possession of third all-time in career games played with 164… Bryce Gervais (2012-16) is third all-time in games played with 163 … Junior defenseman Jake Livingstone has 73 career points, which ranks ninth on the school’s all-time scoring chart by a defenseman … He is four 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 65 points... Hirose sits one point shy of tying Ben Youds (2007-11) for 10th in scoring with 66 career points ... Senior defenseman Andy Carroll is 14th in career scoring by a defenseman with 58 points … Carroll is two points shy of tying Casey Nelson (2013-16) for 13th in scoring by a defenseman (60 points) ... Senior forward Cade Borchardt is tied with Zach Lehrke (2010-14) for 32nd on the school’s all-time scoring list with 82 points ... Bouchardt is one point shy of tying Ben Christopherson (1998-01) for 32nd all time with 83 points… Akito Hirose is the team’s active leader in assists with 59… Junior Jake Livingstone is two points shy of 75 for his career, a tally which would join him with senior Brendan Furry (78) and senior Cade Borchardt (82) as the only Mavericks with 75 or more career points … Jake Livingstone (118) and Andy Carroll (108) 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 104 career games joining Carroll (162), senior Ryan Sandelin (121), Borchardt (114) and Sam Morton (107) as active Mavericks with 100+ games played ... Senior forward Ryan Sandelin is the only Maverick with 300 career shots (306)… Seniors Cade Borchardt (248), Andy Carroll (219), Sam Morton (200) all have 200+ shots… Senior Brendan Furry is one shot shy of the 200-shot club while junior defenseman Jake Livingstone is 10 shots away from 200 for his career … For the season, Ryan Sandelin has a team-high 111 shots, which is 33 more than freshman Christian Fitzgerald who is second on the team in shots with 78.
The Extra Man: The Mavericks have scored a power play goal in 10 of their last 12 games and in that span have 12 power play goals. With 33 power play goals, MSU ranks tied for fourth nationally. The team’s 26.0 power play percentage is good for fifth in the nation. Junior forward David Silye’s 10 power play goals ranks tied for fourth in the nation.
In League Play: Junior David Silye leads the CCHA in league-only goals with 18. A league-leading nine of those tallies have come on the power play, while his 28 points sits second. Junior defenseman Jake Livingstone’s 17 assists is good for a tie for second in the conference. Junior Ondrej Pavel leads the conference with a .620 face-off percentage. Silye is second with a .606 percentage. Minnesota State leads the league with 33.1 shots on goal per game. The team’s 26.9 power play percentage is a conference best.
Maverick Hockey History: Now into the 54th year of its existence, Minnesota State owns an all-time record of 1030-680-159. The Mavericks are in their 27th year as members of NCAA Division I and are in their second season as members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
To the Quads: Junior defenseman Jake Livingston had a season-high seven-game scoring streak (1-8--9) from Oct. 28 through Nov. 25, which is the longest such streak on the team. Senior Andy Carroll is in the midst of a six-game scoring streak (2-4--6), which is tied with juniors Akito Hirose, David Silye, and senior Ryan Sandelin for the second-longest scoring streak this year.
