MANKATO, Minn. - Minnesota State men's hockey welcomes CCHA foe Bowling Green this weekend for a pair of games at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. Idle last weekend, the Mavericks are unbeaten over their last seven games and rose to No. 15 in two national rankings polls on Monday.

• The Falcons fell 3-0 at home to Michigan Tech on Friday, Nov. 29, then tied 2-2 the next day and collected a victory in a shootout. BGSU is 3-3-1 in road contests this season.
• After Friday night the Mavericks will reach to midpoint of the regular season. Lake Superior State leads the CCHA with an .833 win percentage (5-1-0), following closely by Minnesota State (5-1-2, .750) and Augustana (5-3-0, .667).
• Both games will be streamed on MidcoSportsPlus.com and over the radio airwaves AM1420 KTOE (Matt Dean play-by-play).
• Saturday night's game features the annual Teddy Bear Toss, which benefits Toys For Tots. Please bring a new teddy bear or stuffed animal to throw onto the ice during the first intermission.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Last season, MSU and BGSU split a weekend series at Slater Family Ice Arena. The Falcons won 4-3 on Jan. 19 to break a 13-game losing streak in the series.
• Then the Mavericks bounced back for a 4-1 victory on Jan. 20.
• Minnesota State holds the all-time series lead 27-11-3 in games dating back to 2008-09.

SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN

• The Falcons are off to a positive start after finishing sixth in the CCHA standings a year ago and bowing out in the Mason Cup quarterfinals to Michigan Tech.
• Dennis Williams was named head coach in February after he spent seven years as head coach of the Everett Silvertips (WHL), including the last three as general manager. He brought 17 years of head coaching experience across junior and collegiate levels and served as interim head coach of the Falcons in 2009-10 and also graduate assistant in 2002-03.
• BGSU averages 2.2 goals for and 2.8 goals against per game. The Falcons are also eighth in the country in penalty minutes (12.75), which tops the conference.
• Sophomore forward Brody Waters (Heidelberg, Ontario) leads the team with six goals and three assists. Waters posted a hat trick against Ferris State on Nov. 2 with 10 shots on goal.
• Senior forward Ryan O'Hara (Oakville, Ontario) leads the Falcons and ranks tied for second in the CCHA with nine assists. He totaled 10 goals and eight assists in 2023-24 to lead BGSU in goals and points.
• Junior Dalton Norris (Oxford, Mich.) was named CCHA Defenseman of the Week on Monday. The junior posted his fourth multi-point game Saturday against Michigan Tech and finished the weekend with a goal and an assist. Norris was a member of the CCHA All-Rookie team last season.
• Sophomore goaltender Cole Moore (Toronto, Ontario) has handled the bulk of the work in the crease. The 2023-24 CCHA All-Rookie Team selection holds a .910 save percentage and 2.81 goals against average with 12 games played and 11 starts. Last year, Moore appeared in 28 games and held a 2.87 goals against and .918 save percentage with a 10-13-1 record, including one shutout.
• BGSU ranks second in the CCHA in shots per game (32.5) and third in power play percentage (22 percent).
• The Falcons top the conference in faceoff percentage (.547), which is sixth in Division I.
• Waters and Brett Pfoh scored in Saturday night's shootout victory. Moore stopped all shots faced. Senior Christian Stoever (Northville, Mich.) made his first start of the season and recorded 43 saves in 47:08 in goal for BGSU.
• The Falcons are 4-0 in overtime and shootout games.
• BGSU began the year with non-conference wins over Mercyhurst, Robert Morris and Simon Fraser (B.C.).

TEAM COMPARISON

Minnesota State		Bowling Green
45.7% (56th)	Faceoff Percentage	54.7% (6th)
15.8% (T-45th)	Power Play Percentage	22% (19th)
1.50 (T-1st)	Opponent Goals	2.83 (34th)
+1.00 (T-9th)	Scoring Margin	-0.67 (47th)
69% (14th)	Winning Percentage	50% (T-28th)
2.50 (T-38th)	Scoring Offense	2.17 (49th)
80% (30th)	Penalty Kill	75% (T-55th)

DEFENSE PREVAILS

• The Mavericks allow 1.50 goals per game to opponents, tied for first in Division I with No. 1 ranked Michigan State.
• Defenseman Mason Wheeler ranks fifth in the CCHA with 28 blocked shots.
• Defenseman Ralfs Bergmanis leads the team and conference with a +10 player rating.
• Freshman Luke Ashton leads team defensemen with six points (two goals, four assists).

TRACKING TRACY

• Junior Alex Tracy (Chicago, Ill.) leads the nation in goals against average (1.369) and save percentage (.947).
• He has started all 16 games and made 395 saves (sixth in nation).
• In 964:17 time of ice, Tracy has surrendered 22 goals (13 at even strength) in 16 games.
• He leads the CCHA (and is tied for third in Division I) with three shutouts and averages 24.63 saves per game.
• Tracy has allowed three goals just three times.
• Last weekend, he stopped 53 of 56 shots for a .946 save percentage and helped the Mavericks to a road sweep over Michigan Tech.
• Tracy is tied for ninth among active goaltenders in Division I with six career shutouts, 18th in career goals against average and 12th in career save percentage.
• Tracy earned his third CCHA Goaltender of the Week honor on November 25.

EYE ON ATTENDANCE

• The Mavericks rank first in the CCHA and place 19th in Division I for average attendance, with 4,509 fans through the turnstiles per game (nine openings).
• A home-heavy schedule this season has the Mavericks at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center 20 times with 14 road contests.
• MSU added a pair of exhibitions to the calendar, including December 30 vs. Manitoba at home and January 7 vs. St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. The latter will be broadcast on AM1420 KTOE in the local area.

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey moved up two positions to No. 15 in both USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live Division I Top-20 polls this week. The Mavericks were idle over the weekend but swept Michigan Tech on Nov. 22-23 in Houghton.
• Fellow CCHA teams Bemidji State, Michigan Tech, and Augustana also received national votes. No. 15 is the highest the Mavericks have been ranked since April 10, 2023.
• Michigan State University topped both polls with an 11-1-0 record (second straight week). Denver, Boston College, Minnesota and Maine rounded out the top five.

Minnesota State Rankings History (2024-25)

Poll	USCHO	USA Hockey
Sep. 23	RV	RV
Oct. 7	19	19
Oct. 14	20	RV
Oct. 21	18	16
Oct. 30	16	16
Nov. 4	16	18
Nov. 11	16	16
Nov. 18	17	17
Dec. 2	15	15

 

LAST TIME OUT

• Ralfs Bergmanis, Zach Krajnik and Adam Eisele pitched in a goal apiece in a 3-1 victory on Saturday, November 23 at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena as the Mavericks completed the sweep against CCHA rival Michigan Tech. Campbell Cichosz played strong on defense and MSU killed all seven minor penalties on the night.
• The Mavericks won 5-2 Friday night in Houghton and improved to 5-0-2 over their last seven games.

BEST OF NOVEMBER

• The Mavericks played to an impressive 5-1-2 record in November beginning with a road split at Bemidji State Nov. 1-2.
• Freshman Luke Ashton was second on the squad in blocked shots in November with 10.
• Ralfs Bergmanis led all MSU defensemen in points with a pair of goals and an assist, including a game-winning goal.
• Forward Rhett Pitlick led the Mavericks in points in November and had a +3 rating. He notched multi-pt. games against Bemidji State (1-1--2) and Michigan Tech (1-1--2) and is the current team leader with 13 points this season.
• In eight starts, Alex Tracy made 21 saves in a shutout win over Northern Michigan. He held a scorching .955 save percentage over that stretch.

TOP LINE TIME

• The Mavericks top line trio of left wing Rhett Pitlick, center Adam Eisele and right wing Josh Groll have contributed 35 points in 16 games.
• Kaden Bohlsen returned to the lineup against MTU and promptly scored his first of the year playing on a line with Pitlick and Eisele.

THIS WEEK IN THE CCHA

Friday, December 6, 2024
Ferris State at Northern Michigan 7:07 p.m. ET
Bemidji State at Lake Superior State 7:07 p.m. ET
St. Thomas at Michigan Tech 7:07 p.m. ET
Bowling Green at Minnesota State 7:07 p.m.CT
Augustana at Alaska 10:07 p.m. CT

Saturday, December 7, 2024
Ferris State at Northern Michigan 6:07 p.m. ET
Bemidji State at Lake Superior State 6:07 p.m. ET
St. Thomas at Michigan Tech 6:07 p.m. ET
Bowling Green at Minnesota State 6:07 p.m. CT
Augustana at Alaska 10:07 p.m. CT

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks are 6-38 on the power play this season (.158) with one extra-man goal in the series against the Huskies.
• 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 37-46 penalties so far and improved from 44th to 30th in Division I PK percentage over the past two weeks.
• 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 third in the CCHA for few- est penalties per game (3.59) last year.
• They are currently taking 3.31 penalties per game, third-fewest behind Bemidji State (2.40) and Michigan Tech (3.08).

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).