MANKATO, Minn. - No. 16 Minnesota State (5-3-0, 0-0-0) men's hockey begins CCHA play at Bemidji State (2-3-0, 1-1-0) Friday at 7:07 p.m. and Saturday at 6:07 p.m. The series represents a rematch between rivals after Bemidji State seized the MacNaughton Cup from the Mavericks in the final week of the 2023-24 regular season with 6-0 and 2-0 wins at Sanford Center March 1-2.

The Beavers fell 2-1 to Michigan Tech in the CCHA Championship game and narrowly missed a window into the NCAA Tournament. The Mavericks have won three straight with four victories over top-20 ranked opponents through eight regular season contests. Brian Carrabes (4-3--7), Adam Eisele (3-4--7) and Rhett Pitlick (3-4--7) share the team lead in points. Captain Josh Groll has four goals and freshman defenseman Luke Ashton leads the team with a +8 rating.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Minnesota State leads the all-time series 67-63-16. Last season, the Mavericks grabbed a 5-1 win on Nov. 17, but the Beavers won the next three regular season matchups to take the season series 3-1.
• MSU is 26-38-5 all-time in Bemidji, Minnesota.

SCOUTING BEMIDJI STATE

• Defending CCHA regular season champion Bemidji State played four of its first five games on the road, including a pair of ranked opponents. After winning at No. 18 Minnesota Duluth to open the year, the Beavers were swept in a home-and-home series against No. 15 St. Cloud State. Last weekend, the team fell 4-2 to Ferris State on Friday, then rebounded in Big Rapids for a 3-0 shutout Saturday.
• Senior alternate captain Jere Vaisanen was named CCHA Forward of the Week after helping the Beavers to a split against Ferris State this past weekend.
• Vaisanen scored three goals in the series, including two Friday for his second career multi-goal game. The senior won 14-of-23 faceoffs (61-percent) and posted four shots. He leads BSU with five points (4-1--5).
• Graduate forward Carter Randklev also won forward of the week on Oct. 14. After transferring from Niagara, where he played four seasons, Randklev ranks second on the squad with four points in five games (3-1--4).
• Graduate forward Jackson Jutting (Savage, Minn.) returned as team captain this season after serving as an alternate a year ago. Jutting was a CCHA Best Defensive Forward Finalist in 2023-24. He currently has a pair of goals and one assist through five games. A transfer from Colorado College (47 games, 12 points), Jutting's uncle Troy Jutting was the head coach at Minnesota State from 1987-2012.
• Senior goaltender Mattias Sholl was tabbed as the preseason top goalie by both league coaches and members of the media. He is the reigning CCHA Goaltender of the Year after the Hermosa Beach, Calif. native led the conference in goals against average (2.03) and winning percentage (.786). He held a 10-2-2 record with a .924 save percentage to help the Beavers secure their second-ever MacNaughton Cup title.
• Forward Jake Panzer (Grand Forks, N.D.) was selected Preseason Rookie of the Year. He has appeared in one game so far.
• BSU was picked second in the CCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll and first in the CCHA Media Poll.
• Head coach Tom Serratore is an eight-time conference Coach of the Year and the second-winningest coach in BSU hockey history.
• Since taking over in 2001, Serratore's teams have achieved seven regular-season conference championships, three CCHA Tournament titles, five NCAA Tournament appearances and one Frozen Four appearance (2009).
• BSU returned 18 letterwinners, including six of its top 10 scorers. Serratore also added 10 newcomers, including experienced transfers Carter Randklev, A.J. Macaulay and Reilly Funk.

FOR THE MAVERICKS

• The only CCHA team to sweep a weekend series, the Mavericks upended No. 28 Omaha 4-3 Friday and 1-0 Saturday.
• MSU improved to 4-2-0 to close out the longest homestand of the season. The team celebrated its 11 senior members prior to the game on Saturday.
• Minnesota State took back the 'Spirit of the Maverick' traveling trophy by winning the series against Omaha. It is the first time the teams have played a regular season series for the trophy since 2014-15.

TRACKING TRACY

• Junior goaltender Alex Tracy earned his fifth career shutout on Saturday with 27 saves. He also recorded 26 saves on Friday and holds a 1.51 goals against average and .938 save percentage with a pair of shutouts. 
• He was recognized on October 28 as CCHA Goaltender of the Week for the first time this season.
• Tracy has started all eight games for the Mavericks.

AN ASHTON OF HOPE

• Luke Ashton made a pivitol play on Saturday, leading toward the Mavericks' only goal. The freshman defenseman also blocked four shots in the series sweep.
• Ashton leads the CCHA with a +8 rating on the Maverick blue line. He also ranks second on the team with 13 blocked shots (11th in CCHA).
• In his first eight games, Ashton has one goal and three assists for four points, along with 14 shots on goal and four penalty minutes.
• Ashton was named CCHA Rookie of the Month on Oct. 30.
• On Wednesday, coach Strand said Ashton's combination of size, skill and space ability has made him effective in all three zones.

COUNT ON RHETT, YOU BET

• Senior left wing Rhett Pitlick made a seamless transition in September to the Mavericks from the University of Minnesota, where he spent the past three seasons. Pitlick was named CCHA Forward of the Month on Oct. 30 and is tied for the team lead with seven points. 
• Pitlick's three game-winning goals are the most in the CCHA. He also holds a +6 rating and recently snapped a four-game point streak.
• Pitlick's top line minutes with Adam Eisele and Josh Groll have spearheaded the Mavericks to four top-20 wins through eight games.
• Coach strand called Pitlick a difference maker of a hockey player on Wednesday and said he has been a very welcome addition to the team.

EYES ON EISELE

• Along with Pitlick, junior Adam Eisele has added offensive punch to the top line. After posting 23 points last year, Eisele has three goals and four assists for seven points in his first eight games in 2024-25. 
• He also is on a four-game point streak, with two goals and four assists since last Friday (Oct. 18). 

LIFE OF BRIAN

• The Mavericks have quietly received secondary scoring from senior forward Brian Carrabes. After playing for coach Strand in Sioux City, Carrabes transferred to MSU from Boston University and quickly found success on the Mavericks' second line. 
• Carrabes (Reading, Mass.) posted 10 goals (fourth) and 12 assists (sixth) last season. He is currently ahead of that pace this season with 4-3--7 through eight games. 

GROLL-IN ON A RIVER

• It took four games to get on the scoresheet, but now senior captain Josh Groll is on a roll, with six points over his last five games, including a pair of goals against North Dakota (Oct. 18) and a another multi-point night (one goal, one assist) against Omaha (Oct. 25). 
• With 112 starts in Purple and Gold, Groll leads all current players in games played. He has 20 goals, 30 assists and 50 points in his MSU career, which began in 2021-22.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks are 2-19 on the power play this season (.067) after going 1-2 Saturday and 0-2 on Friday. Rhett Pitlick posted MSU's first power play goal of the season in the first period against Merrimack College (Oct. 11), assisted by Josh Groll and Evan Murr.
• The Mavericks have killed 21-25 penalties so far.
• MSU was the 30th best team in Division I (fourth in CCHA) last year on the power play (.200) and the 21st best team on the penalty kill (.817), second in the CCHA.
• The Mavericks ranked second in the CCHA for fewest penalties per game (3.59).
• MSU scored three short-handed goals on the year.

MIDCO SPORTS PLUS

• Fans can stream all CCHA games live and on-demand, on their home televisions, computers, tablets, and mobile devices via Midco Sports Plus.
• The app is available on mobile/tablet apps (iOS and Android), connected TV device apps (AppleTV, FireTV and Roku) and a web-based browser interface.
• If you have additional questions or want to see more information about coverage or subscriptions, go to MidcoSportsPlus.com.

OTHER TEAM NOTABLES

• MSU is the seventh oldest team in Division I at an average age of 22.7 years.
• The Mavericks have the second largest senior class in Division I (nine players). MSU also has the second fewest freshmen (four).