MANKATO, Minn. - Old WCHA rivals Minnesota State and Wisconsin collide for the first time since 2013 this week at Kohl Center. The Mavericks enter the weekend 1-1-0 after a series split at Omaha to begin the regular season. The Badgers collected a pair of road wins at Lindenwood, then defeated the U.S. National Under-18 Development Team 6-0 on Thursday.

The matchup features current Maverick head coach Luke Strand and former Maverick head coach Mike Hastings, who spent 11 seasons at MSU and guided the team to 309 wins from 2012-23. Strand helped the Mavericks to a 27-9-3 record last year, en route to CCHA MacNaughton Cup and Mason Cup titles, along with a trip to the NCAA Fargo Region Tournament. Wisconsin finished last season 13-21-3 overall and fell in three games to Ohio St. at the Big-10 Tourney.

TURN THE DIAL

• Fans can tune in via radio at AM 1420 KTOE (Matt Dean, play-by-play)
• Streaming: Big 10+
• Live Stats: uwbadgers.com

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Minnesota State is 17-26-4 all-time against Wisconsin in games dating back to 1999.
• The Badgers have won the past three matchups.
• MSU is 6-17-1 all-time when playing Wisconsin on the road.

LAST WEEKEND

• The Mavericks opened the regular season with a 6-2 loss at Omaha. With 49 shots on goal, it was the third most shots recorded in a regulation loss in team history. 2024-25 NCHC Goaltender of the Year Simon Latkoczy was excellent for UNO and Omaha scored three third-period goals to pull away late. 
• Highlights for MSU included Sawyer Scholl's goal just 20 seconds into the game, his first shift in Purple and Gold. It was the first goal scored under a minute into regulation by a Maverick since Reggie Lutz scored in 55 seconds against Massachusetts on Oct. 2, 2021. Liam Watkins also scored on the power play in the third period with Jakob Stender and Ean Somoza assisting.
• Saturday's 4-1 win included 30 saves by Alex Tracy. The teams combined for 86 penalty minutes (include two majors against each team). MSU scored four power play goals and pulled away late in the third period with one empty-net tally. 
• Charlie Lurie (one goal, one assist) and Luigi Benincasa (two assists) led the Mavericks with multi-point games. Jack Smith also won nine of 13 faceoffs. UNO outshot MSU 31-29 on Saturday.
• Omaha reclaimed the 'Spirit of the Maverick' trophy based on goal differential in the series split. 

OH, BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU

• For the fourth time in team history and first time in the Division I era, two brothers skated in a Maverick game together on Saturday.
• Sophomore forward Jacob Bonkowski played on the third line right wing side and freshman Rylan Bonkowski appeared on the third defensive pairing on the right, opposite Ralfs Bergmanis.
• The duo both came from Richmond, British Columbia. Jacob played junior hockey for Coquitlam (BCHL) and Rylan skated for Tri-City (USHL).

FIRST TIMERS CLUB

• Five players recorded their first point as Mavericks over the weekend. Both student-athletes who transferred from Omaha, Charlie Lurie and Liam Watkins scored goals.
• Charlie Lurie, Jr., F (1-1--2) 
• Liam Watkins, So., F, (1-1--2)
• Ean Somoza, Jr., F, (0-2--2)
• Jacob Conrad, So., D, (1-0--1)
• Sawyer Scholl, Jr., F, (1-0--1)

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks scored five power play goals in 14 opportunities (.357) at UNO, including four on Saturday night.
• The penalty kill was successful on 6 of 8 tries (.750).
• The last time MSU scored three power play goals in a game was Mar. 1, 2025 in a 5-1 win over Bemidji State at home. 
• The last time MSU scored four power play goals in a game was Oct. 14, 2022 in a 6-0 victory over Minnesota Duluth.

END OF YEAR CCHA ACCOLADES

• Defenseman Evan Murr (Stillwater, Minn.), forward Rhett Pitlick (Plymouth, Minn.) and goaltender Alex Tracy (Chicago, Ill.) were all named first team All-CCHA in 2024-25.
• Murr and Tracy return this season. Pitlick was also CCHA Forward of the Year while Tracy earned CCHA Goaltender of the Year and Murr was named CCHA Defenseman of the Year. 
• Tracy topped the country in goals against average and save percentage, leading to his selection as CCHA Player of the Year.

MAVERICK LEADERSHIP

• Senior defenseman Mason Wheeler was named team captain on Sept. 18, 2025. He takes the mantle from Josh Groll (2024-25) and Sam Morton (2023-24).
• Wheeler served the past two seasons as assistant captain.
• In his fourth season with the Mavericks, Wheeler was a 2024-25 CCHA Scholar Athlete.
• He skated in 39 games with six assists and six points. He also led the team with 69 blocked shots (fourth in CCHA), including a season-high seven blocks against North Dakota on Oct. 19.
• Wheeler enters the year with 113 games played in Purple and Gold.
• Assistant captains will be senior defenseman Campbell Cichosz, junior defenseman Evan Murr, junior forward Luigi Benincasa, and junior forward Fin Williams.

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey was ranked No. 20 by USCHO.com and No. 19 by USA Hockey/The Rink Live this week.
• Boston University usurped Western Michigan for the top spot in both rankings polls this week.
• Western Michigan slotted in second, followed by Michigan, Michigan State and Denver.
• The Mavericks were the only team in the CCHA to be ranked inside the top-20 this week.
• However, Michigan Tech, St. Thomas, Augustana and Ferris State received votes.
• Minnesota State was ranked No. 20 in both national rankings polls last Monday.

TRACY CHOSEN FOR SPENGLER CUP

• Senior Alex Tracy has been selected to participate in the 2025 Spengler Cup, joining a squad of college hockey players representing NCAA Division I hockey in the prestigious men's tournament. 
• Held annually in Davos, Switzerland, since 1923, the six-team invitational tournament traditionally features club and national teams from Europe and North America.
• It is hosted by the Swiss professional team HC Davos each year from Dec. 26-31 at Eisstadion Davos.
• The United States Collegiate Selects will face Team Canada to open play Spengler Cup play on December 26. Each team will play a minimum of three contests and a maximum of five during the six-day event.

SCOUTING THE BADGERS

• Junior forward Sawyer Scholl faces his previous team this week as the Mavericks travel to the Kohl Center for the first time since Nov. 23-24, 2012 (MSU swept the series with a pair of 4-2 wins). - Scholl appeared in 34 games for the Badgers as a sophomore with three goals and six assists for nine points.
• Head coach Mike Hastings, a three-time Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year is a former Maverick, along with Associate Head Coach Todd Knott, who spent 11 seasons on Hastings' staff and 14 years at MSU. Director of Hockey Operations Luke Regner is a Wisconsin graduate who held a similar role on the staff at MSU under Hastings. Three former Maverick players will suit up for the Badgers, including senior forwards Simon Tassy and Christian Fitzgerald, along with sophomore goaltender Eli Pulver. Pulver was MSU's primary backup goaltender last season.
• Wisconsin looks to get back into the NCAA tournament after missing out during the 2024–25 campaign.
• UW earned an NCAA bid during the 2023–24 season.
• New in college athletics is the eligibility of players from Major Junior leagues in Canada. Wisconsin brought in three of these players, including WHL forward Oliver Tulk and goaltender Daniel Hause, as well as OHL forward Blake Montgomery.
• Junior forward Quinn Finley enters the season as one of five returning players nationally who scored at least 20 goals last season. Finley is also one of eight in the country who tallied at least 40 points last year.
• Gavin Morrissey also returns for his sophomore season after becoming the 12th Badger freshman in school history to record at least 30 points in a season. One of three finalists for the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, he earned Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors after his nine goal, 32-point season.
• Senior forward Kyle Kukkonen is one of two returning Badgers who scored double figures in goals last season, tallying 10 during his first year at Wisconsin. Kukkonen began his collegiate career at Michigan Tech.
• The Badgers returned six defensemen. Defenseman Luke Osburn is a freshman and was the 2024-25 USHL Defenseman of the Year.
• The Badgers have 10 NHL draft picks on their current roster, including four whose rights are owned by the Ottawa Senators.
• The Badgers picked up a 6-0 win against the USNDT under-18 team last week. Eli Pulver made 15 saves in goal. Quinn Finley and Bruno Idzan each tallied two goals.

MAVERICK ALUMNI AT NHL TRAINING CAMPS

• Wyatt Aamodt (Colorado Avalanche)
• Brian Carrabes (New Jersey Devils)
• Dryden McKay (Utah Mammoth)
• Ryan Sandelin (Minnesota Wild)
• Brendan Furry (Tampa Bay Lightning)
• Walker Duehr (Winnipeg Jets)
• Sam Morton (Calgary Flames)
• Connor Mackey (New York Rangers)
• Teddy Blueger (Vancouver Canucks)*
• Jake Livingstone (Pittsburgh Penguins)
• Rhett Pitlick (Edmonton Oilers)
• Tyler Pitlick (Minnesota Wild)

MANKATO CHOSEN TO HOST WORLD JUNIORS

• Mankato was named as one of Minnesota's host communities for the World Juniors Pre-Tournament Series presented by Delta Dental of Minnesota.
• Several exhibition games will be played throughout Minnesota as part of the exciting lead up to the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship, which will take place Dec. 26, 2025 - Jan. 5, 2026, in the Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
• Details regarding pre-tournament game schedules in Mankato, ticketing information, and related events will be released in the coming days.

COLLEGE HOCKEY INC NOTES

• Defenseman Mason Wheeler enters the season with a career +36 rating, 10th in NCAA Division I and No. 1 among active CCHA players and sixth among defensemen.
• Evan Murr enters the season with seven career power play goals, which ranks tied for fifth among active NCAA Division I defensemen.
• Murr's four game-winning goals are also tied for third among active Division I blueliners.
• Mason Wheeler enters 2025-26 with 113 games played, tied for fourth among active NCAA Division I defensemen.
• Alex Tracy enters the season ranked seventh among NCAA Division I goaltenders in games played (76), fifth in goals against average (1.91), third in save percentage (.926), second in shutouts (8), and seventh in minutes played (4463:53). Tracy is among three returning Hobey Baker Top-10 finalists (Aiden Fink, Penn State, Mac Gadowsky, Penn State).
• The Mavericks have the second fewest returning goals on the roster in NCAA Division I (21) behind Miami (OH) with 13.
• MSU has qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times over the past 10 seasons, tied for third in NCAA Division I.

NON-CONFERENCE

• The Mavericks have eight non-conference games scheduled for the season. The season begins at Omaha Oct. 10-11.
• MSU travels to Wisconsin Oct. 16-17.
• Minnesota State hosts RPI Oct. 24-25.
• The Mavericks play in the Coachella Cactus Cup Jan. 2-3. MSU will play University of Massachusetts-Lowell in the semifinals, with the finals the following day at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif.

INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS

• Minnesota State's roster features student athletes from four different countries.
• United States (16)
• Canada (8)
• Latvia (2)
• Sweden (1)

MAVERICK HOCKEY HISTORY

• In its 57th year of existence (27th in Division I), Minnesota State owns an all-time record of 1079-706-166 (.610)(As of beginning of season).
• The Mavericks are in their fifth season as members of the CCHA and have had five head coaches since 1969. Don Brose (1969-83, 1984-00) is the all-time winningest head coach with 535 wins, including the 1980 NCAA Division II National Championship.