MANKATO, Minn. - No. 15 ranked Minnesota State men's hockey meets St. Thomas for a home-and-home CCHA series Friday and Saturday night. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. CT Friday at Mayo Health System Event Center, then 6:07 p.m. CT Saturday evening at St. Thomas Ice Arena.

The Mavericks earned a 5-3 win at UST on Nov. 8 and posted a shootout victory at home on Nov. 9, following a 1-1 tie. Both teams enter the weekend following split weekends. Both teams also have eight games remaining in the regular season. The Mavericks hold a narrow lead over No. 19 Augustana in the CCHA Standings while St. Thomas is sixth. MSU is 3-3-0 in the month of January. 

ALL TIME SERIES

• The Mavericks lead the all-time series 28-10-2 against St. Thomas in matchups dating back to 1975.
• Since UST entered the Division I era in 2021, MSU is 12-3-1 vs. the Tommies.
• The most decisive victory in the matchup came on Nov. 18, 2021 (W, 9-0) in the first Division I matchup between the schools. 

SCOUTING ST. THOMAS

• CCHA Preseason Player of the Year Lucas Wahlin (Woodbury, Minn.) 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.
• Wahlin ranks third on the team in goals (10), second in assists (15) and second in points (25).
• Senior forward Liam Malmquist (Edina, Minn.) leads the CCHA in points (32) and assists (20). Malmquist's three shorthanded goals leads the league.
• Junior forward Cooper Gay (Hanover, Minn.) ranks second in the CCHA with six power play goals. He leads UST with 13 goals, including seven assists and 20 points (third).
• Junior goaltender Aaron Trotter (Victoria, B.C.) has played 18 games and allowed 40 goals. He ranks fifth in CCHA goals against average (2.56) and sixth in save percentage (.911). 
• Senior goaltender Jake Sibell (Isanti, Minn.) has played 11 games (10 starts) and holds a 3.03 goals against average and .902 save percentage.
• 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 CCHA Preseason Coaches Poll and second in the CCHA Preseason Media Poll behind Bemidji State.
• The Tommies fell 2-1 Saturday in Mendota Heights to Bemidji State at St. Thomas Ice Arena. Chase Cheslock scored his first goal of the year, from Lucas Wahlin and Chase Foley while Aaron Trotter stopped 19 of 21 shots faced. Both team placed 21 shots on goal.
• Late game heroics from Matthew Gleason and Aaron Trotter pushed the Toms to a 3-2 victory Friday. 
• Gleason recorded the game-winning goal in the final three minutes of regulation from Mason Poolman. Ryan O'Neill scored in the first period from Luc Laylin and Jake Braccini scored his fifth goal of January from Chase Cheslock and Laylin in the second. Aaron Trotter stood tall in net with 27 saves on 29 shots for his sixth win of the season.
• Three years ago, MSU downed St. Thomas 7-1 at Blakeslee Stadium in the snow for Hockey Day Minnesota in Mankato (Jan. 22, 2021), in front of 10,022 fans. David Silye recorded a hat trick.

TOP OF DIVISION I

• The Mavericks allow the fewest goals per game to opponents (1.58) in Division I ahead of Boston College (1.74), Maine (1.78) and Augustana (1.79).

ENTERING THE STRETCH RUN

• The Mavericks hold the top spot inthe CCHA standings (38 pts, .704 pts percentage).
• Friday, junior Alex Tracy (Chicago, Ill.) made 38 saves, second most this season. He ranks fourth in the nation in save percentage (.941) and is nominated for the Hobey Baker Award.
• Saturday, the Mavericks scored seven unanswered goals to win 7-2. Center Adam Eisele scored two goals with two assists. Forward Kaden Bohlsen also scored twice. Forwards Josh Groll, Ralfs Bergmanis and Rhett Pitlick (Plymouth, Minn.) tallied one goal apiece. Tracy made 23 saves Saturday.
• With 10 goals in 26 games, Pitlick ranks tied for fifth in the CCHA in goals. His 16 assists is third in the league and 26 points leads the Mavericks and is also third in the CCHA. Pitlick leads the CCHA with a plus-18 player rating.
• Groll ranks fifth in CCHA points with 23 (26 games). He is second only to Pitlick in plus/minus at plus-17.
• Junior Adam Eisele (Lake Elmo, Minn.) is tied for the conference lead with four game-winning goals. Eisele also ranks second in penalty minutes (41:00) and third in faceoff winning percentage (.566, 227 wins).
• Defenseman Mason Wheeler (Rosemount, Minn.) is eighth in the CCHA with 42 blocked shots. The junior posted a season high seven blocks in a 3-0 win over North Dakota (Oct. 19).
• Similar to 2023-24, sophomore Evan Murr leads all Maverick defensemen in assists (10) and points (12). Murr recorded a pair of assists on Jan. 17 against Michigan Tech.

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey fell one position to No. 15 in this week's USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live Division I national rankings polls (Jan. 27).
• Boston College (18-4-1) topped both polls this week, following a sweep over Boston University. Michigan State, Western Michigan and Minnesota rounded out the top-five.
• The Mavericks have been ranked as high as No. 11 this season and cracked the top-20 for the 15th straight week. 
• Fellow CCHA member school Augustana was also ranked No. 19 by USCHO.com while Michigan Tech and Bowling Green received national votes.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks are 15-71 (.211) on the power play this season and scored a pair of extra-man tallies in Saturday's 7-2 win at Ferris State.
• 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.
• MSU scored four power play goals at Northern Michigan in a series (most against any opponent this season).
• The Mavericks have killed 62-75 penalties. 
• 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 fewest penalties per game (3.59) last year. They are currently taking 3.6 penalties per game, with eight major penalties.

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

• 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.