MANKATO, Minn. - Minnesota State travels to Houghton, Michigan to play Michigan Tech in a CCHA series Friday and Saturday as the stretch run continues in men's hockey. The Mavericks play the Huskies during MTU's annual Winter Carnival weekend, and the John MacInnes Trophy is decided by total goals for the weekend in the series. Saturday, a postgame ceremony will take place with the presentation of the trophy and MVP award.

Both games can be heard on AM 1420 KTOE with the voice of the Mavericks, Mike Sullivan on the call. The first matchup between the CCHA rivals occurred on November 24-25. Michigan Tech took game one 3-2 in overtime, then bested MSU 3-2 the next night in Mankato. 

Following a weekend split with St. Thomas, Minnesota State ranks second in the CCHA standings with 32 points and a 10-6-2 conference record. Michigan Tech is currently in fifth with 27 points and an 8-8-2 mark. Both teams have six regular season games left on the calendar and compete for a chance to host in the CCHA quarterfinals.

Last Time Out

• In a battle between the two top teams in the CCHA standings, the Mavericks split with the Tommies, winning 4-3 in overtime Friday night in Mendota Heights, then falling 4-2 Saturday in Mankato. The teams also split the season series 2-2.
• Friday, Kaden Bohlsen was the hero after he scored the overtime game-winner on a pass from Zach Krajnik, who circled around the net before finding Bohlsen's stick. Alex Tracy made 22 saves while Aaron Trotter stopped 35 for UST.
• Saturday, St. Thomas capitalized early and held on late to beat the home team in front of 4,973 fans. Trotter was outstanding in goal, with 33 saves. Josh Groll and Brian Carrabes scored for the Mavericks.

Morton Continues Hobey Bid

• The Maverick captain was held scoreless in a weekend series for only the second time this season (Oct. 20-21 vs. UMass) but he still managed 10 shots on goal, one shot off the goalpost and 32 faceoff wins (78-percent). 
• Morton was named CCHA Forward of the Month in January, with at least a point in seven of eight games. He still leads the conference in scoring (19), points (29), shots (119) and total faceoff wins (603). 
• Morton's five game point streak ended Friday at St. Thomas.

The Murr is the Word

• Murr led all CCHA blueliners with six points in January, scoring a goal and recording five assists for CCHA Defenseman of the Month honors. 
• He also posted defenseman bests in plus-minus (+5) and multi-point games (2), while notching 11 shots on goal and four blocks in the Mavericks' end. 
• He helped set up both goals in a 2-1 win at Augustana on January 6, before dishing out two more helpers in a 4-1 victory at Bowling Green on January 20. 
• Murr posted one assist and three shots on goal against St. Thomas in two games last weekend.

A Check of the Polls

• Minnesota State received national votes (1) in Monday's USCHO.com Division I men's hockey Top-20 rankings poll. The Mavericks have received votes on 13 occasions and did so for the sixth straight week since the holiday break. The 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. 27. 
• Fellow CCHA foes St. Thomas (11) and Michigan Tech (3) also received votes this week.
• The Mavericks did not receive votes in this week's USA Hockey/The Rink Live Division I poll.
• No. 1 Boston College garnered 48 first place votes to top the USCHO.com poll. North Dakota (2), Boston University, Wisconsin and Quinnipiac rounded out the top-5.

Scouting the Huskies

• Selected to finish at the top of the CCHA standings this season, Michigan Tech has seen mixed results so far. The Huskies are 6-5-3 in their home building but just 4-7-2 on the road.
• Last weekend, MTU suffered a 4-1 loss to rival Northern Michigan, then picked up a 3-3 tie at home against the same team (NMU won shootout). 
• The last series sweep for the Huskies came against the Mavericks November 24-25.
• Head coach Joe Shawhan is in his seventh season.  Shawhan was voted the 2023 CCHA Coach of the Year and served as assistant coach at Tech for three season (2014-17) before taking the mantle.
• Frontrunner for CCHA Rookie of the Year is forward Isaac Gordon (Landmark, Man./Sioux Falls USHL), who ranks second behind Sam Morton for the conference lead in goals with 14.
• Gordon and Chase Pietila (Howell, Mich.) were both named to the Tim Taylor Award watch list. Gordon leads the Huskies in points while Pietila tops the league with 17 assists and leads the team in blocked shots.
• Senior forward Ryland Mosley (Arnprior, Ont.) was an All-CCHA first team selection last season and ranks second on the team with 13 goals, nine assists and 22 points.
• Last season, the Huskies finished 22-11-4 (15-7-4 CCHA) and lost to Northern Michigan 4-0 in the CCHA Semifinals.
• The team went on to lose in the NCAA Regional Semifinals to Penn State 8-0 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, having qualified for the NCAA tournament three times under coach Shawhan's tenure.

Last Time They Met

• Ryan Mosley scored a power play goal with six second left in overtime on November 24 as MTU defeated MSU 3-2.
• Both teams created great scoring chances in the extra session.
• Brian Carrabes was robbed by the glove of goaltender Blake Pietila and Keenan Rancier stopped Isaac Gordon on a back-door one timer 30 seconds later. 
• Tech outshot MSU 38-23. The Mavericks scored the only goal of the third period to send the game to extra time.

All-Time Against Michigan Tech

• MSU is 52-27-10 all-time against Michigan Tech in games dating back to 1996.
• The Mavericks are 20-18-7 against the Huskies in Houghton.
• MTU has won or tied each of the previous six meetings in the matchup.
• The Mavericks went 1-2-1 against the Huskies last season.

MSU Team Summary

• Goals for: 3.14 (2nd)
• Goals against: 2.50 (1st)
• Shots on goal: 31.18 (2nd)
• Power Play Percentage: .202 (4th)
• Penalties per game: 3.96 (4th)
• Penalty Kill Percentage: .800 (3rd)
• Faceoff Win Percentage: .508 (3rd)
• Blocked Shots per Game: 11.11 (6th)

Goaltending Matchup

• Perennial Mike Richter Award candidate Blake Pietila is in his fifth season at Michigan Tech and holds a 2.58 goals against average (third) and .914 save percentage (second). 
• Pietila has started 26 of 30 games this year and played both outings last weekend against Northern Michigan, where he allowed seven goals.
• Strand utilized the goaltending tandem of Keenan Rancier and Alex Tracy for six straight weekends, before turning to Tracy for both games against St. Thomas.
• Tracy holds a 2.37 goals against average (second) and .911 save percentage (fifth) in 23 games played.
• Tracy posted a pair of shutouts last month and was given the nod as CCHA Goaltender of the Month.

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 Players of the Week (2023-24)

• Evan Murr (Defenseman) Jan. 29
• Lucas Sowder (Forward) Jan. 22
• Josh Groll (Forward) Jan. 15
• Evan Murr (Defensemen) Jan. 8
• Keenan Rancier (Goaltender) Jan. 8
• Adam Eisele (Forward) Jan. 3
• Mason Wheeler (Defenseman) Dec. 4
• Evan Murr (Rookie) Nov. 13
• Alex Tracy (Goaltender) Oct. 16

CCHA Scores Last Friday:

• Michigan Tech -1, Northern Michigan -4
• Bowling Green -4, Ferris State -3
• Augustana -0, Bemidji State -5
• Minnesota State -4, St. Thomas 3 OT

CCHA Scores Last Saturday:

• Northern Michigan -3, Michigan Tech -3 (NMU SO)
• Bowling Green -3, Ferris State -1
• Augustana -5, Bemidji State -2
• St. Thomas -4, Minnesota State -2

CCHA Matchups Friday:

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

CCHA Matchups Saturday:

• Lake Superior State at Bowling Green 7:07 p.m. ET
• St. Thomas at Augustana 6:07 p.m. CT
• Minnesota State at Michigan Tech 5:07 p.m. ET
• Bemidji State at Northern Michigan 6:07 p.m. ET