MANKATO, Minn. - Minnesota State men's hockey travels to the Upper Peninsula for a CCHA Semifinals rematch against Michigan Technological University Friday and Saturday night at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Huskies ended MSU's 2023-24 playoff run on March 16, 2024 with a 4-3 win in Houghton. Both teams boast strong defensive statistics.

The Mavericks rank second in NCAA Division I in goals allowed per game (1.5) and the Huskies check in sixth (1.75).

Michigan Tech qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season in 2023-24 and fell in the opening round to top-ranked Boston College 6-1 in Providence, Rhode Island. The Mavericks defeated Northern Michigan 3-0 Friday in Mankato, but tied the Wildcats 1-1 Saturday and fell in a shootout. The Mavericks are 3-0-2 over their last five games.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• The Mavericks lead the all-time series against Michigan Tech 52-29-11, though the Huskies have won four of the previous five meetings.
• The last time MSU defeated MTU in Houghton was Feb. 10, 2024 (W, 4-2). 
• Houghton, Michigan is the birthplace of professional hockey in the United States.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN TECH

• Four straight CCHA victories to start the conference schedule have helped Michigan Tech rise to No. 20 in this week's USA Hockey/The Rink Live Division I Poll. 
• The Huskies swept Ferris State on the road with a 3-2 win last Friday and 3-1 victory last Saturday night.
• After trailing 1-0 after the first period on Nov. 8, MTU scored a pair of power play goals, then Stiven Sardarian tallied his third goal in as many games. The Huskies led in shots 31-25, including a 16-3 advantage in the third period. Max Vayrynen made 23 saves.
• The Huskies used three first-period goals in 55 seconds to win on Nov. 9. Derek Mullahy made 36 saves to keep MTU undefeated in CCHA contests. - Michigan Tech had last weekend off.
• Stiven Sardarian (Jr., F, Saint Petersburg, Russia) leads the team in points 6-3--9. He is a third round selection in the 2021 NHL Draft (Buffalo). Sardarian is on a four game scoring streak and has six points in his last four outings.
• Max Koskipirtti (Soph., F, Espoo, Finland) ranks second on the squad in points (3-5--8). Koskipirtti talled four goals and 17 assists in 33 games as a freshman. He played for Finland at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Derek Mullahy (Sr., G, Scutuate, Mass.) has four starts in goal and holds a 1.48 goals against average and .946 save percentage. He recorded a shutout with 24 saves against Northern Michigan on Nov. 1. Mullahy played 30 games for Harvard from 2020-24. 
• Max Vayrynen (Jr., G, Espoo, Finland) has four starts and holds a 1.74 goals against average and .920 save percentage. Vayrynen made three starts last season. He attended the Calgary Flames NHL Development camp as a freshman in 2022-23.
• Head Coach Joe Shawhan was named the 22nd head coach of the Huskies in May, 2017. He entered the year second in wins at Tech with 138 and is the second coach in program history to take the team to at least four NCAA Tournaments.
• The Huskies captured their first CCHA Mason Cup Championship in 2023-24 after tying for second in the CCHA standings during the regular season (12-10-2). Isaac Gordon was named the CCHA Rookie of the Year and CCHA All-Rookie team. Gordon (Soph., F, Landmark, Manitoba) has five assists in eight games so far this season as a sophomore.
• Michigan Tech's roster is composed of 11 players from the United States, seven from Canada, six from Finland, three from Sweden and one from Russia.

TRACKING TRACY

• Having started all 14 games this season, Alex Tracy assembled another strong weekend with just one goal allowed against Northern Michigan on Saturday. 
• The junior goaltender made 21 saves each night and collected his third shutout of the season Friday (sixth career). 
• Tracy's 1.35 goals against average ranks third in NCAA Division I (among goalies who have played in six or more games. He has also played more minutes (844) than any goaltender in the country.
• Tracy ranks second in the nation with a .947 save percentage (JJ Cataldo, Army West Point, .956).
• In 14 starts, Tracy has allowed three goals to opponents three times and holds an 8-4-2 record.
• He has surrendered 11 even strength goals, or 0.79 even strength goals per game to opponents.

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey fell one position to No. 17 in the USCHO.com National Division I Rankings Poll on Monday. The Mavericks were also ranked No. 17 in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live National Division I Rankings Poll, down one spot from the previous Monday.
• Fellow CCHA institution Michigan Tech also appeared inside the USA Hockey/The Rink Live rankings at No. 20. Bemidji State and Augustana received votes.
• Denver (12-0-0) was the unanimous choice by USCHO.com voters as the No. 1 ranked team in the country, followed by Michigan State (9-1-0), Boston College (7-2-0), Minnesota (10-2-0) and Maine (7-2-2).

LAST TIME OUT

• Minnesota State tied Northern Michigan 1-1 (NMU won shootout) Saturday night in CCHA men's hockey at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
• Will Diamond scored to tie the game for the Wildcats at 10:27 of the third period and despite a heavy advantage in time of possession in overtime, the Mavericks were unable to grab the deciding goal.
• Minnesota State did score first in front of 4,557 home fans. Will Hillman collected a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated across the line and fired a wrist shot over the glove of Ryan Ouellette for his second goal of the weekend. The even-strength marker came unassisted at 7:20 of the first period.
• Brian Carrabes finished with a team-high six shots on goal and Will Hillman won 10 of 15 faceoffs.

FRIDAY RECAP 

• Ralfs Bergmanis scored his first goal as a Maverick and added an assist as No. 16 Minnesota State closed out Northern Michigan 3-0 Friday night Tracy made 21 saves to collect his third shutout of the season (sixth career). Ryan Ouellette stopped 20 of 22 shots for the Wildcats. Jakob Stender lifted the puck into an empty net for his first career goal at 19:42 in the third period.
• Both teams blocked 16 shots, including four by Mason Wheeler and NMU led 23-19 in the faceoff circle.
• The Mavericks improved to 6-1-1 over their last eight games and are 5-2-1 at home.
• Forward Zach Krajnik (Eagle River, Alaska) skated in his 100th game in a Maverick uniform on Friday. Forward Fin Williams (North Vancouver, British Columbia) appeared in his first game at Minnesota State.

TOP LINE TIME

• The Mavericks top line of left wing Rhett Pitlick, center Adam Eisele and right wing Josh Groll have contributed 27 points in 14 games, though the trio was held to just one assist in the series against NMU.
• Pitlick is tied for the team lead with 11 points (4-7--11).  

ASHTON CONTINUES TO SEE MINUTES

• Freshman defenseman Luke Ashton (North Vancouver, B.C. leads Maverick defensemen with five points.
• He posted his first career goal at Michigan on Oct. 4, then lit the lamp again at St. Thomas on Nov. 8. Ashton's 20 blocked shots rank second on the squad behind Mason Wheeler (25).
• Ashton was selected in the sixth round (165th overall) of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

LIFE OF BRIAN

• The Mavericks have quietly received secondary scoring from senior forward Brian Carrabes (North Reading, Mass.) After playing for coach Strand in Sioux City, Carrabes transferred to MSU from Boston University and quickly found success on the Mavericks' second and third lines.
• Carrabes posted 10 goals (fourth) and 12 assists (sixth) last season. He is ahead of that pace this season with 5-6--11 through 14 games. He has one goal and three assists over the past four games and is the team leader in goals.

NATIONAL STATISTICS

Minnesota State		Michigan Tech
46.1% (54th)	Faceoff Percentage	48.4% (41st)
15.6% (T-44th)	Power Play Percentage	20.7% (T-25th)
1.50 (2nd)	Opponent Goals	1.75 (T-6th)
+0.79 (T-16th)	Scoring Margin	+0.88 (15th)
64% (18th)	Winning Percentage	75% (T-10th)
2.3 (T-48th)	Scoring Offense	2.6 (33rd)
77% (44th)	Penalty Kill	75 (T-45th)

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks are 5-32 on the power play this season (.172) and went 0-3 in opportunities against Northern Michigan. 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 34-42 penalties so far.
• The team killed all three minor penalties against the Wildcats over the weekend.
• 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) last year. They are currently taking 2.86 penalties per game, third fewest behind Michigan Tech (2.63) and Bemidji State (2.82).

LAST YEAR: MAVERICKS FALL TO HUSKIES IN CCHA SEMIFINALS

• Scoring on a third-period penalty shot and again on a deflection in the crease with nine seconds left in regulation, Michigan Tech completed its comeback and defeated Minnesota State 4-3 in the CCHA Semifinal game on March 16, ending MSU's postseason at John MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, Michigan. The Mavericks outshot the Huskies 38-32 and marked the final games in a Maverick sweater for first line senior forwards Sam Morton and Lucas Sowder. 
• Adam Eisele, Will Hillman and Sowder scored goals while Brandon Koch recorded three blocked shots. 
• Logan Pietila was credited with the game-winner after the puck sailed back into the crease off the end glass and deflected off an MSU defender with 9.1 ticks left.

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 mavericks.com/midco.

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). 

THIS WEEK IN THE CCHA

Friday, November 22, 2024

• Augustana at Ferris State 7:07 p.m. ET
• Minnesota State at Michigan Tech 7:07 p.m. ET
• St. Thomas at Bemidji State 7:08 p.m. CT

Saturday, November 23, 2024

• Augustana at Ferris State 6:07 p.m. ET
• Minnesota State at Michigan Tech 6:07 p.m. ET
• St. Thomas at Bemidji State 6:07 p.m. CT
• Lake Superior State at Alaska Anchorage 10:07 p.m. ET