MANKATO, Minn. – They knew it wouldn't be easy. Losing your top eight scorers and the entire coaching staff would be enough to sink most teams into a rebuilding mindset at any level. The Mavericks simply refused, rendered preseason expectations irrelevant, and added talented freshmen and transfer players who meaningfully contributed all year long. Now, only one team stands between Minnesota State men's hockey and the MacNaughton Cup.
 
Currently four points shy of Bemidji State, the Mavericks need wins Friday and Saturday at the Sanford Center. If the teams close the weekend tied in points (one MSU win, one overtime/shootout loss), there will be CCHA co-champions for only the seventh time in 100-year history of the trophy. If the Mavericks win in overtime/shootout both nights, Bemidji wins the Cup two points clear for first place.
 
In other words, one regulation win and one overtime/shootout win for MSU earn a shared title. The Mavericks need five points. Six wins it outright.
 
Making The Case

• In the face of long odds this season, loyal Minnesota State fans continued to show up, on average 4,581 strong at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. But in case you're just tuning in for the stretch run and beyond, the Mavericks are led by captain and fifth-year Hobey Baker Award candidate Sam Morton (Lafayette, Colo.).
• He spent months rehabilitating an injury to get to this position. He's now a 22-goal scorer, which tops the CCHA. Asked about preseason prognostications and goals for his team in October, Morton called himself the most motivated player in the country.
• His supporting cast includes senior left wing Lucas Sowder (11-14—25) and sophomore right wing Luc Wilson (6-10—16).
• Collectively, they are one of the best top-lines in college hockey. The sophomore duo of Mason Wheeler (Rosemount, Minn.) and Campbell Cichosz (Albert Lea, Minn.) hold down the first line of defense, with freshman Evan Murr also lurking with 25 points (first among all CCHA defensemen).
•  Throughout the month, others have supplanted the offense. Junior Josh Groll (San Diego, Calif.) has had a breakout year on the second line.
• Along with Murr and Brian Carrabes (North Reading, Mass.), Groll led the Mavericks with six points in February for 19 points on the year (previous career best was 12 points in 2021-22 in 40 games).
•  Carrabes' speed through the neutral zone has been evident, and his 20 points and eight goals this season show the trust he brought in with head coach Luke Strand, whom he spent three years under with the Sioux City Musketeers.
• It's even more impressive when you consider Carrabes totaled one goal and one assist in 2022-23 as a member of the Boston University Terriers.
•  Junior right wing Kaden Bohlsen posted four points in 48 games at Nebraska Omaha. This year, the Willmar, Minnesota native is up to 11 goals (T-2nd), 10 assists for 21 points (fifth).
• Achieving their ultimate goal is still extremely difficult as there is little doubt the Beavers (and the rest of the CCHA) have little sympathy for the only team ahead of them in the standings over the past six years. A pair of wins could land the Mavericks the MacNaughton Cup, but a pair of losses could see them settle as low as fifth place, which would exclude them from home-ice advantage in the first round of the Mason Cup playoffs.
• The Mavericks have been solid on the road so far (8-5-3) and split against Bemidji State in November with a 5-1 victory, followed by a 7-6 loss at Mayo Clinic HSEC.
• However, there is a reason the Beavers are the top 'log'. Unbeaten over their last six games, BSU capped a road sweep of St. Thomas last weekend.

Scouting the Beavers

• Jackson Jutting (Troy Jutting's nephew) put away the game-winning overtime goal Friday night for a 6-5 win (assisted by Mankato West graduate Kyle Looft).
• Then the Beavers secured home-ice with a 3-1 victory Saturday.
• Looft (a fifth-year senior) earned his fourth CCHA Defenseman of the Week accolade on Monday and Rhy Chiddenton was honored as CCHA Rookie of the Week. Looft led all blueliners with three points on the weekend and blocked four shots Friday. Chiddenton led all league rookies with three points and his first multi-point night with a pair of helpers Friday.
• Head Coach Tom Serratore has guided BSU for the last 22 years and is a seven-time conference coach of the year, the second-winningest coach in Beaver history.
• Six straight MacNaughton Cups have been well-earned by Minnesota State, but it was Serratore's Beavers who held it last (2016-17).
• Last season, Bemidji State finished 14-17-5 overall, 12-11-3 in CCHA play. The Beavers fell to Northern Michigan in the CCHA quarterfinal round in Marquette 7-3 and 2-1 OT.
•  The Beavers play in the Sanford Center, located on the south shore of Lake Bemidji. The event center seats 4,373 for hockey and was opened on October 15, 2010.
•  Like the Mavericks, the Beavers exceeded expectations and were projected to finish fourth in the CCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll and fifth in the CCHA Preseason Media Poll.
•  The Mavericks lead the CCHA in goals scored per game (3.13) and goals against (2.56) but the Beavers are a disciplined group, and top the league in shots percentage (0.11) and fewest penalty minutes per game (7:28).
• Junior Mattias Sholl (19 games) and Senior Gavin Enright (14 games) mind the net for the Beavers. Sholl stopped 28 shots Friday and 24 Saturday in the team's sweep of the Tommies. Sholl holds a 2.76 goals against average (fourth) and .902 save percentage (seventh).

CCHA Forward of the Month: Adam Flammang (Bemidji State, Soph., St. Michael, Minn.)

• Flammang led all CCHA skaters in points (8), goals (5), plus-minus (+9) and game-winning goals (2) in the month of February, leading the Beavers to a 6-1-1 record.
• Sixth in shots (23), he converted 21.7% of his attempts into goals, while dishing out three assists.
• Opening the month on a six-game point streak, he had a four-point weekend (3 goals, 1 assist) at Northern Michigan on February 9 and 10, helping the Beavers to five points in the standings.
• Taking just one minor penalty over eight games, he also chipped in with four blocks at the defensive end of the ice.

CCHA Defenseman of the Month: Eric Pohlkamp (Bemidji State, Fr., Brainerd, Minn.)

• Pohlkamp paced all conference blueliners with seven points in games during February, scoring three goals and assisting on four more, while posting a +3 plus-minus.
• One of his tallies was a game-winner, while another came on the power play.
• He was second among all skaters in both shots on goal (25) and blocked shots (16), helping Bemidji State to a 6-1-1 record, including a 5-0-1 mark in CCHA play.
• Notching at least one point in six contests, he had a goal and an assist on February 9 at Northern Michigan, leading the Beavers to a 4-2 victory.
• He closed out the month by scoring the game-winning goal at St. Thomas on February 24 in a 3-1 victory.

In the Crease

• It is anyone's guess who gets the nod Friday night for the Mavericks in goal and with line charts always 'subject to change', it may be a while until we know for sure.
• Sophomore Alex Tracy allowed three goals in the first period Friday night against Lake Superior State but has been sharp most of the season, with a 2.45 goals against average (third) and .908 save percentage (fifth) in 24 starts.
•  Junior Keenan Rancier was the starter the last time the Mavericks made a postseason run. In eight starts, Rancier holds a 2.50 goals against average and .910 save percentage.
• He surrendered three against 30 shots Saturday to LSSU.

Last Weekend

• The Mavericks went 3-3 in the month of February and split last weekend's home series against the Lakers.
• Friday night, MSU played with a two-goal deficit early in the first period and failed to come back in a 4-3 loss, despite a 43-20 edge in shots on goal.
• Carrabes was the third period hero for Minnesota State Saturday night as the Mavericks upended Lake Superior State 4-3.
• Carrabes protected the puck with his backhand, wheeled around a defender in the low slot, and lifted it over the left pad after he collected his own rebound. Forty-six point five seconds remained in the game.

Special Teams Report

• Minnesota State ranks third in the CCHA on the power play (21.2-percent) and third on the penalty kill (80.4-percent).
• Bemidji State stands seventh on the power play (15.9-percent) and eighth on the kill (74-percent).
• MSU went 2-for-3 with the extra man Friday night and 1-for-3 Saturday (50-percent series).
• The Beavers did not enjoy an extra-attacker situation Friday, but still managed six goals at UST.
• Saturday the team went 1-for-1.

Around the League

• Bowling Green entered last weekend on a 5-0-1 run for third place in the CCHA standings but ran into a buzzsaw against Michigan Tech at home.
• The Huskies won 7-0 Friday night, then threw a wrench into senior night with a 3-1 victory on Saturday.
• Now the Falcons see Northern Michigan on the road for two games.
• Michigan Tech, the preseason favorites from the south shores of Superior have St. Thomas at home to close the regular season.
• Fifth-year goaltender and Mike Richter goaltender of the year candidate Blake Pietila was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week.
• Jack Works' four assists in two games earned him CCHA Forward of the Week.
• Things were looking good for St. Thomas at the end of January, but the Tommies are winless over their last six, despite another Sports Center top-10 kick save Saturday night by Jake Sibell.
• With a split against the Mavericks, Lake Superior State still has first-round home-ice advantage as a possibility when it takes on Ferris State in a single game Friday night in Sault Ste. Marie.
• LSSU forward Jared Westcott leads MSU's Sam Morton 33-32 for the most points in the league but Morton's 22-17 edge in total goals may be out of reach for the senior.

CCHA Standings

	Team	Pts.	GP	W-L-T	OW-OL	SW	GF-GA	GP	Overall	GF-GA
1.	Bemidji State	42	22	13-7-2	2-1	2	74-64	32	15-15-2	95-104
2.	Minnesota State	38	22	12-8-2	2-1	1	73-54	32	16-12-4	100-82
3.	Michigan Tech	36	22	11-9-2	1-2	0	57-52	33	14-13-6	85-86
4.	St. Thomas	36	22	11-10-1	0-2	0	66-56	32	13-17-2	88-90
5.	Bowling Green	35	22	11-10-1	1-1	1	59-64	32	13-18-1	80-100
6.	Lake Superior State	31	23	10-12-1	2-2	0	75-72	33	14-18-1	100-101
7.	Northern Michigan	30	22	8-10-4	1-1	2	52-66	30	10-14-6	76-96
8.	Ferris State	19	23	6-16-1	3-2	1	48-76	33	10-21-2	78-112

How they Prepare

• Practice and position meetings take place early in the week. Then the team bus pulls out of town Thursday morning to make the four hour, 40 minute drive North.
• The Mavericks practice Thursday night at the Sanford Center, sleep in a hotel connected to the arena, commence morning skate, then hit the ice at 7:07 p.m. CT.
• Saturday's faceoff is at 6:07 p.m.

Matchup Statistics

MINNESOTA STATE				BEMIDJI STATE
3.13	1st	Goals	3rd	2.97
2.56	1st	Goals Against	7th	3.25
31.41	2nd	Shots on Goal	7th	28.19
.212	3rd	Power Play Percentage	7th	.159
3.75	6th	Penalties Per Game	8th	3.56
.804	3rd	Penalty Kill Percentage	8th	.740
.513	3rd	Faceoff Win Percentage	7th	.461
11.09	8th	Blocked Shots Per Game	2nd	14.88

The All-Time Series

• In 2022-23, the Mavericks split at Bemidji State, winning 4-1 on Friday, Feb. 17, then falling 2-1 in overtime on Saturday, Feb. 18.
•  MSU leads the all-time series 69-65-21 in games dating back to 1974-75.
• The former WCHA rivals memorably met in the 2021-22 CCHA Championship game in Mankato.
• The Mavericks won it 2-1 in overtime after Jack McNeely sealed MSU's 15^th straight victory.
• Minnesota State is 14-9-0 in games hosted at the Sanford Center. 

History of the Cup

• The MacNaughton Cup is named after James MacNaughton of Calumet, Michigan, who supported amateur ice hockey. The Cup is hand-crafted of pure silver and stands almost three feet high, weighing nearly 40 pounds.
• The Cup is awarded to the CCHA regular season champion and previously went to the regular season winner of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. 

If You're Going

• Single-game tickets for all Bemidji State Hockey games are available for purchase at the Sanford Center Ticket Office, call (218) 441-4032 or online by visiting: https://www.ticketmaster.com/the-sanford-center-tickets-bemidji/venue/50434
• General admission tickets for CCHA series begin at $10.
• The Mavericks will be wearing their purple sweaters designed by Gemini Athletics (and head equipment manager Scott Rideout) both nights, with Bemidji State in their single-stripe home whites (which has remained the same well back to the WCHA days) with the Beaver logo on their breezers. 

A Check of the Polls

• Minnesota State received national votes (3) in Monday's USCHO.com Division I men's hockey Top-20 rankings poll. The Mavericks have received votes on 16 occasions and did so for the ninth straight week since the holiday break. MSU has been ranked as high as No. 20/19 in the nation (week two). The Mavericks continued to lead the CCHA in the Pairwise Rankings at No. 30. 
• Fellow CCHA foe Bemidji State also received votes this week. No. 1 Boston College (25-5-1) garnered all 50 first place votes to top the USCHO.com poll.
• Boston University, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Denver rounded out the top-5.

Mavericks with Active Scoring Streaks

• Evan Murr - 3 games (1-4--5)
• Adam Eisele - 3 games (0-3--3)
• Lucas Sowder - 3 games (1-2--3)
• Brian Carrabes - 3 games (2-1--3)
• Note: Josh Groll snapped a six game point streak Saturday against Lake Superior State. He scored three goals, four assists over the span.

Captains

• Fifth year senior forward Sam Morton (Lafayette, Colorado) was named team captain for the 2023-24 season.
• Alternate captains include sophomore Mason Wheeler (Rosemount, Minne sota), fifth year senior forward Jordan Steinmetz (Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin) and senior defenseman Tony Malinowski (Clarkston, Michigan).

FloHockey.TV

• All Minnesota State home and CCHA games during the 2023-24 season will be live streamed on FloHockey.tv.
• Fans can purchase either annual ($150) or monthly ($30) subscriptions and will have access to all CCHA games along with the full USHL, Atlantic Hockey and ECHL schedule.
• Download the FloSports app today on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and the App Store.

CCHA Scores Last Friday

• Northern Michigan -3, Ferris State -2
• Michigan Tech -7, Bowling Green -0
• Lake Superior State -4, Minnesota State -3
• Bemidji State -6, St. Thomas -5 OT
• Alaska Anchorage -6, Augustana -5

CCHA Scores Last Saturday

• Ferris State -1, Northern Michigan -1
• Minnesota State -4, Lake Superior State -3
• Bemidji State -3, St. Thomas -1
• Augustana 3, Alaska Anchorage -0
• Michigan Tech -3, Bowling Green -1

CCHA Matchups Friday:

• St. Thomas at Michigan Tech 7:07 p.m. ET
• Ferris State at Lake Superior State 7:07 p.m. ET
• Bowling Green at Northern Michigan 7:07 p.m. ET
• Minnesota State at Bemidji State 7:07 p.m. CT
• Alaska Fairbanks at Augustana 7:07 p.m. CT

CCHA Matchups Saturday:

• St. Thomas at Michigan Tech 6:07 ET
• Bowling Green at Northern Michigan 6:07 p.m. ET
• Minnesota State at Bemidji State 6:07 p.m. CT
• Alaska Fairbanks at Augustana 6:07 p.m.