MANKATO, Minn. - Minnesota State (6-4-0, 1-1-0 CCHA) meets St. Thomas (2-4-1, 1-1-0 CCHA) for a home-and-home series beginning Friday at 7:07 p.m. CT. Both teams split to begin conference play last weekend. 

• The Mavericks, led by junior goaltender Alex Tracy (Chicago, Illinois), fell 1-0 at Bemidji State Friday, then bounced back for a 2-1 victory against the Beavers Saturday. In the effort, Tracy was awarded CCHA Goaltender of the Week. Sophomore Brett Moravec and senior Rhett Pitlick both scored on Saturday.
• The Tommies posted a 4-0 shutout of Augustana Friday in Mendota Heights, but were upended 3-2 Saturday. Goaltender Aaron Trotter recorded his third career shutout with 20 saves in the former.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Minnesota State is 27-10-1 all-time against St. Thomas in games dating back to 1975.
• The Mavericks and Tommies split the season series last year 2-2. The most recent game was on February 3.
• UST won 4-2 in Mankato. MSU is 7-3 with one overtime victory over the previous 10 matchups.

SCOUTING ST. THOMAS

• Like the Mavericks, UST has been challenged in non-conference play by the likes of No. 16 St. Cloud State and No. 5 Minnesota.
• Head coach Rico Blasi returned several top players from 2023-24. Goaltender Jake Sibell was a Mike Richter Award semifinalist last year. 
• CCHA Preseason Player of the Year Lucas Wahlin scored 30 points and was named All-CCHA after setting career marks in goals (12) and assists (18) while playing in all 37 games. He was named captain of the Tommies as a sophomore.
• Blasi is in his fourth season as head coach. During his 20-year tenure at Miami (Ohio) he led his team to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, one national runner-up and two Frozen Fours, leading to his selection as National Coach of the Year in 2005-06.
• UST's roster features three graduate students, three seniors, ten juniors, seven sophomores and four freshmen. Ryder Donovan (4th round, 110th overall, Vegas Golden Knights) and Chase Cheslick (5th round, 154th overall, New Jersey Devils) are NHL Draft selections.
• The Tommies were picked to finish first in the 2024-25 CCHA Preseason Coaches Poll and second in the 2024-25 CCHA Preseason Media Poll behind Bemidji State.
• Senior forward Liam Malmquist currently leads the team with nine points (3-6--9). 
• Sophomore defenseman Mason Poolman (East Grand Forks, Minn.) leads UST defensemen with three goals and two assists for five points. Poolman was named CCHA Defenseman of the Month for October. He was CCHA Defenseman of the Week on Oct. 14 after posting a three-goal weekend against Vermont.
• Goaltender Aaron Trotter posted his third career shutout against Augustana on Nov. 2. Trotter has four starts and holds a 2.52 goals against average along with a .906 save percentage.
• Goaltender Jake Sibell has three starts and holds a 4.26 goals against average and an .867 save percentage.
• Augustana collected a 3-2 win over the Tommies on Saturday in front of a sold out crowd in Mendota Heights. Ryan O'Neill scored on the power play for UST and Malmquist added his third multi-point game of the season with a shorthanded tally. Trotter stopped 20 of 23 pucks and the UST penalty kill went 6-6.
• Friday night, the Tommies posted a pair of goals in periods two and three for a 4-0 win. Trotter stopped all 20 shots. Casy Laylin scored his first career goal and Matthew Gleason added two goals, including one shorthanded on an empty net. Lucas Wahlin posted his second of the year.

TRACKING TRACY

• For the second time this season and fifth time in his career, Minnesota State men's hockey junior goaltender Alex Tracy (Chicago, Illinois) was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week on Monday (Nov. 4).
• Tracy allowed one goal Friday and one goal Saturday and his 43 saves Friday night were a career high. He leads the CCHA in both goals against average (1.41) and save percentage (.946). Tracy has started in all 10 games this fall and holds a 6-4-0 record.
• Nationally, Tracy ranks first in NCAA Division I goaltenders in save percentage (among players with five or more games played) and fifth in goals against average.

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey remained at No. 16 in the USCHO.com National Division I Rankings Poll on Monday. The Mavericks were also ranked No. 18 in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live National Division I Rankings Poll.
• Fellow CCHA schools Augustana, Bemidji State, Michigan Tech and Bowling Green received National votes this week by USCHO.com.
• The Mavericks are currently No. 18 in the NCAA Tournament Pairwise Ratings with four wins over ranked opponents through 10 games.

LAST TIME OUT

• Rhett Pitlick and Brett Moravec each scored as Minnesota State defeated Bemidji State 2-1 Saturday night at Sanford Center to split a CCHA weekend series.
• The Mavericks led 30-21 in shots on goal and Alex Tracy made 20 saves in the victory for the visitors.
• MSU began with an energized first period but BSU goaltender Mattias Sholl was excellent and reached back for an acrobatic save on the back door against Moravec to keep the game scoreless deep in the second.
• After MSU men's hockey failed to score in 10 consecutive periods in Bemidji, Rhett Pitlick broke the seal for the Mavericks on a 4-on-3 power play.
• The Mavericks finished 1-2 on the power play and the Beavers went 1-3.
• Kaden Bohlsen, Adam Eisele and Campbell Cichosz were all absent from the lineup on Saturday.

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 league lead with nine points.
• (Video) Pitlick October Highlights
• Pitlick's three game-winning goals are the most in the CCHA. Pitlick's top line minutes with Adam Eisele and Josh Groll have spearheaded the Mavericks to four top-20 wins through eight games.
• Pitlick's five assists are tied for second in the CCHA. Pitlick and teammate Luke Ashton are tied for the league lead in plus/minus rating (+7) through ten games.

MORAVEC MAGIC

• Sophomore Brett Moravec appeared in 27 games as a freshman with four goals and four assists for eight points.
• This year, he has starts in all 10 games and has three goals and one assist with 13 shots on goal. Moravec's position shift to center has also seen him win 61 faceoffs.
• His game-winning goal Saturday came after a drop pass from Pitlick. Moravec skated around a BSU defender and lifted the puck over Mattias Sholl in the low slot.

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 10 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 eight points over his last seven games, including a pair of goals against North Dakota (Oct. 18) and another multi-point night (one goal, one assist) against Omaha (Oct. 25). 
• With 114 starts in Purple and Gold, Groll leads all current players in games played. He has 20 goals, 32 assists and 52 points in his MSU career, which began in 2021-22.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks are 3-22 on the power play this season (.136) after going 1-2 Saturday and 0-1 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 25-30 penalties so far (.800). 
• 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 3.00 penalties per game.

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). 

MAVERICK HOCKEY HISTORY

• Now in its 56th year of existence, Minnesota State owns an all-time record of 1052-697-163 (.602).
• The Mavericks are in their 26th year as members of NCAA Division I and their fourth season as members of the CCHA.