MANKATO, Minn. - No. 14 Minnesota State men's hockey meets Michigan Tech Friday and Saturday at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in a CCHA clash. Game times are 7:07 p.m. CT Friday and 6:07 p.m. CT Saturday. The Mavericks, unbeaten in regulation since Oct. 10 at Omaha, made headway at Lake Superior State last weekend. MSU picked up a 2-1 overtime win Friday at Taffy Abel Arena, then won 4-2 on Saturday for the series sweep. Evan Murr led the Mavericks with five points, including both MSU goals on Friday and three assists Saturday.

The Huskies went to overtime in both home games against Bemidji State. MTU tied 2-2 on Friday, then won in overtime 2-1 on Saturday. Max Koskipirtti scored the game-winner 95 seconds into the extra session at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Huskies remain undefeated in the CCHA at 5-0-1.

• Fans can stream both upcoming games at midcosportsplus.com or listen for free on AM 1420 KTOE. On local television, games can be seen on North Star Sports & Entertainment Network (Antenna 7.3, Charter/Spectrum 193, Mediacom 3271, Midco 595, Comcast 228).

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Minnesota State holds a 55-30-11 all-time record against the Huskies.
• The teams met four times in 2024-25. MSU won three of four but fell in their last meeting 1-0 in overtime on Jan. 18, 2025.
• The season prior, Michigan Tech ended Minnesota State's season in the 2023-24 CCHA Semifinals with a late goal for a 4-3 score in Houghton, Michigan.

LAST WEEKEND

• Murr scored 29 seconds into overtime on Friday, sending MSU to a 2-1 victory over Lake Superior State. It marked Murr's second career two-goal game and was the first overtime game-winning goal for the Mavericks in six extra sessions this fall. Friday was also the fourth consecutive overtime game for MSU. L
• Luigi Benincasa and Tristan Lemyre assisted on the play, giving the Mavericks their eighth straight win head-to-head against the Lakers.
• The victory was also a milestone for goaltender Alex Tracy (50-24-11) and head coach Luke Strand (50-26-9) as both marked their 50th career wins at Minnesota State in Sault Ste. Marie.
• Murr tallied three assists on Saturday to help MSU over LSSU 4-2. The Mavericks killed a major penalty mid-way through the third period and Fin Williams skated the length of the ice for an empty net goal at 16:38.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Mavericks are averaging 2.7 goals per game and 29.6 shots per game.
• Junior Luigi Benincasa (Edmonton, Alberta) and senior Tristan Lemyre (Mirabel, Quebec) lead the team with 12 points apiece.
• Lemyre has the most goals with six, including one on Saturday against Lake Superior State.

MURR CCHA DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK

• Murr posted a career high two goals in Friday night's 2-1 overtime win at Lake Superior State on five shots.
• His second goal came 39 seconds into overtime. Murr also assisted on three of the Mavericks' four goals on Saturday for a career-high three-point night in the 4-2 victory.
• Murr leads CCHA defensemen in goals and points.
• After his second career two-goal game, Murr is tied for third in NCAA Division I in goals by a defenseman (five). His 11 points also rank sixth among NCAA Division I defensemen.
• Murr was previously named CCHA Defenseman of the Month for October and CCHA Defenseman of the Week on Oct. 27.

Division I Goals by Defensemen	Games Played	Goals
1. Eric Pohlkamp (Denver)	12	8
2. Ty Hanson (Minnesota Duluth)	14	6
3. Evan Murr (Minnesota State)	12	5
3. Eric Jamieson (Denver)	12	5
3. Cole Hutson (Minnesota Duluth)	13	5

TRUST IN TRACY

• Senior Alex Tracy (Chicago, Ill.) earned CCHA Goaltender of the Week honors for the ninth time in his career on Nov 17 (second time this season). 
• In the series sweep at Lake Superior State, Tracy turned aside 65 of 68 shots for a .956 save percentage.
• He posted a season high 37 saves on Friday and 28 saves on Saturday.
• With starts in all 12 games this fall, Tracy holds a 6-2-4 record with a .927 save percentage and 2.03 goals against average.

Active Division I Goaltender Wins	Wins
1. Kaiden Mbereko (Colorado College)	51
1. Alex Tracy (Minnesota State)	51
3. Phillip Svedeback (Providence)	50
3. Trey Augustine (Michigan State)	50
5. Simon Latkoczy (Omaha)	47

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks have killed 34 of 37 penalties to start the season (.919), third best in NCAA Division I behind Harvard (1.000) and Union (.951).
• Associate Head Coach Troy G. Ward has the Maverick power play executing at a 22-percent clip, with 12 goals in 54 opportunities. The power play went 0-7 in the series at LSSU.
• The Mavericks scored a season high four power play goals at Omaha on Oct. 11. 
• All three of Charlie Lurie's goals have come on the power play. Last season, Lurie skated in 20 games for Omaha and scored three of his four goals on power play. He leads all Maverick players in power play goals.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

• With 15 points in six CCHA games, the Huskies are in third place heading into this weekend. Bill Muckalt was named the 23rd head coach at MTU on May 22, 2025. He returned to Houghton after one season as head coach at Lindenwood. Muckalt also served as associate head coach at University of Michigan from 2017-23.
• The Huskies are unbeaten over their last five outings, which includes wins over St. Lawrence, Northern Michigan (x2) and Bemidji State.
• MTU averages 3.3 goals per game.
• Senior forward Stiven Sardarian (Saint Petersburg, Russia) leads the team with four goals, 13 assists and 17 points. Sardarian led the team with 35 points on 11 goals and 24 assists in 2024-25. He was also a Hobey Baker Award nominee and the CCHA Forward of the Month in December after leading the nation with 10 points. Sardarian was named CCHA Forward of the Week last week after posting three goals and one assist in a CCHA series against Northern Michigan.
• Freshman forward Teydon Trembecky (Sherwood Park, Alberta) has six goals and six assists, including a pair of multi-goal games. Trembecky was named the CCHA Rookie of the Month for October after he scored five goals and added five assists. 
• Junior forward Max Koskipirtti (Espoo, Finland) has recorded six goals and four assists, including a goal in each game in last weekend's series against Bemidji State. Koskipirtti finished second on the Huskies last season with 27 points, and ranked fourth in CCHA faceoff wins (336).
• Junior goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz (Northville, Mich.) holds an 8-2-1 record with a 2.09 goals against average and .925 save percentage with 11 starts and one shutout. Bartoszkiewicz played at Lindenwood under Muckalt last seaosn and held a .919 save percentage and 2.57 goals against average in 29 games. He was named Independent Hockey Goaltender of the Year.
• Michigan Tech is tied for the largest freshman class in the nation (12). Six of the 25 college hockey players from Finland play for Michigan Tech (24-percent).
• Coach Muckalt is one of six NCAA head coaches with NHL playing experience.
• The Huskies wrap up November with a CCHA series at home against St. Thomas Nov. 28-29.

TEAM COMPARISON (National Statistics)

Minnesota State	Category	Michigan Tech
47.5% (48th)	Faceoff Percentage	49.3% (35th)
22.2% (22nd)	Power Play Percentage	16.1% (41st)
2.17 (10th)	Opponent Goals	2.50 (18th)
+0.50 (24th)	Scoring Margin	+0.83 (16th)
60% (22nd)	Winning Percentage	71% (10th)
2.67 (40th)	Scoring Offense	3.33 (19th)
91.9% (3rd)	Penalty Kill	83.7% (18th)

 

WORLD JUNIORS PRE-TOURNEY SERIES SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR CITY OF MANKATO

• The 50th anniversary of the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship will take place Dec. 26, 2025 – Jan. 5, 2026, in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the leadup to the tournament, teams from around the world will compete in the World Juniors Pre-Tournament Series, presented by Delta Dental of Minnesota, hosted by four Minnesota communities representing the State of Hockey: Mankato, Duluth, Bemidji and Rochester.
• As a part of this series, Mankato will host Team Denmark's official pre-tournament camp at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center and will host a pair of highly anticipated games; one between Switzerland and Minnesota State men's hockey (Dec. 16, 7 p.m.), and another between Denmark and Canada (Dec. 23, 7 p.m.). Tickets are now available.

MAVERICK LEADERSHIP

• Senior defenseman Mason Wheeler was named team captain on Sept. 18, 2025. He took 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 entered the year with 113 games played in Purple and Gold.
• Assistant captains are 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. 14 by USCHO.com and No. 18 by USA Hockey/The Rink Live in NCAA Division I National polls on Monday. The Mavericks ranked No. 16/17 last week. Michigan State remained the top-ranked team in the nation for a fourth straight week in both polls. This week, the Spartans were a unanimous selection. Michigan, Denver, Minnesota Duluth and Penn State rounded out the top five.
• The Mavericks were the top-ranked team in the CCHA and second ranked team from the state of Minnesota behind No. 4 Minnesota Duluth. Michigan Tech and Bemidji State received national votes.

TRACY CHOSEN FOR SPENGLER CUP

• Senior Alex Tracy was 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 maximum of five during the six-day event.

MORTON RECALLED BY CALGARY FLAMES

• Former Maverick captain Sam Morton was recalled from AHL Calgary by the Flames on Monday (Nov. 17). Morton began the regular season in the AHL, where he recorded four goals, eight assists and four PIM in 16 games this year. Morton (6-foot-0, 190 lb, Lafayette, Colorado) made his National Hockey League debut with the Calgary Flames on Thursday, April 17, against the Los Angeles Kings.
• Morton became the 24th former Maverick men's hockey player to play in an NHL game. In the second period, he became the 29th player in Flames history to score in his first NHL game.
• After completing his collegiate career at Minnesota State in 2023-24, Morton signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Flames organization. 
• Morton's time in Mankato included 102 games played, 44 goals, 32 assists, 76 points, 292 shots, 17 power-play goals, and six game-winning goals.
• In 2023-24, Morton led the Mavericks as captain and ranked first in CCHA goals (24), shots (151), faceoff wins (433) and power play goals (nine). He was named CCHA Player of the Year, First Team All-CCHA, Krampade All-American Scholar, and All-Tournament Team (2022 Frozen Four). He was also a top-10 finalist for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award, given to the top player in Division I college hockey.