MANKATO, Minn. - The CCHA schedule continues when No. 13 Minnesota State (10-2-4, 7-1-2 CCHA) hosts Ferris State (3-11-0, 2-6-0 CCHA) Friday at 7:07 p.m. CT and Saturday at 6:07 p.m. CT at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. Fans are encouraged to bring teddy bears for the annual Teddy Bear Toss at Saturday's game.

The Mavericks are unbeaten in regulation since October 10, have won six straight and ascended to the top of the CCHA standings following a road sweep of Northern Michigan in Marquette. Senior goaltender Alex Tracy (Chicago, Ill.) won CCHA Goaltender of the Week on a third straight Monday and senior forward Tristan Lemyre (Mirabel, Quebec) earned CCHA Forward of the Week for the first time in his career. This weekend marks the final home regular season series for the Mavericks until Jan. 10 (vs. St. Thomas).

Fans can watch both games this weekend through midcosportsplus.com and listen for free on AM 1420 KTOE (Matt Dean).

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Minnesota State holds a 40-12-2 all-time record against the Bulldogs, including 21-3-1 at home.
• MSU is 8-2 over the previous 10 matchups. Last season the teams split in Big Rapids.
• FSU won 2-0 on Friday but the Mavericks bounced back 7-2 on Saturday.
• Minnesota State won both games in Mankato, 4-2 and 4-0 in 2023-24.

LAST WEEKEND

• Sophomore forward Liam Watkins (Okotoks, Alberta) posted his first collegiate two-goal game and senior Alex Tracy made 35 saves for his 10th career shutout in a 4-0 victory at Northern Michigan Friday at Berry Events Center.
• Junior defenseman Evan Murr helped the effort with three assists and the Mavericks went 2-3 on the power play.
• The Mavericks polished off the sweep Saturday with a 3-2 win. Tracy turned aside 31 shots.
• Watkins and Jack Smith (power play goal) led the team with five shots apiece. Bryce Strand scored his first collegiate goal on a backhand shot and Tristan Lemyre also scored on the power play.

LEADERS

• The Mavericks are averaging 2.8 goals per game and 29.7 shots per game.
• Junior Luigi Benincasa (Edmonton, Alberta) leads the squad with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists).
• Evan Murr (Stillwater, Minn.) leads MSU defensemen with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists). Murr also ranks fourth in NCAA Division I defenseman points. Cole Hutson (Boston University) leads the category with 18 points.

TRUST IN TRACY

• Senior Alex Tracy (Chicago, Ill.) earned CCHA Goaltender of the Week honors for the 12th time in his career on Dec. 1 (fourth time this season, third week in a row). 
• He leads the CCHA in goals against average (1.78) and save percentage (.936). Nationally, Tracy ranks second in NCAA Division I total saves (424), 13th in goals against average and 8th in save percentage.
• Tracy was also named CCHA Goaltender of the Month for November. Starting all nine games in November, he totaled 246 saves for a .939 save percentage. 
• His shutout at Northern Michigan last weekend moved him into a tie for third place on the MSU men's hockey all-time career shutouts chart with 10 (Stephon Williams, 10).

Active Division I Goaltender Wins	Leaders
1. Alex Tracy (Minnesota State)	55
2. Kaidan Mbereko (Colorado College)	53
3. Philip Svedeback (Providence)	52
4. Trey Augustine (Michigan State)	51
5. Simon Latkoczy (Omaha)	48

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks have killed 41 of 48 penalties (.854), 11th best in NCAA Division I. The penalty kill went 3-5 at Northern Michigan.
• Associate Head Coach Troy G. Ward has the Maverick power play executing at a 26-percent clip, with 17 goals in 64 opportunities. The power play went 2-3 on Friday and 2-5 on Saturday.
• 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. Watkins, Smith and Lemyre lead the team with three power play goals apiece.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

• The Bulldogs topped Lake Superior State at home 4-3 on Saturday in overtime. Xavier Jean-Louis scored his first career game-winning goal and the Bulldogs received multi-point performances from Jack Silich (1-1--2) and Christopher Lie (0-2--2). Goaltender Noah Rupprecht returned from a month-long absence to record his first victory at Ferris State.
• One night prior, the Bulldogs fell to the Lakers 2-1. Carter Rapalje scored an empty net goal late but FSU came up short at home despite 33 shots on goal.
• Without question, Ferris State's biggest win of the season was a 3-2 road victory over then-No. 1 ranked Western Michigan on October 9. Carter Rapalje scored twice in the second period and Hobie Hedquist made 48 saves as the Bulldogs downed the reighning NCAA Division I national champions at Lawson Arena on banner night.
• Since the big win, the Bulldogs have  been swept by Michigan Tech, Lindenwood, and Bowling Green.
• Brett Riley was hired as head coach, following the retirement of Bob Daniels, who stood behind the bench at FSU for 33 years and accumulated more than 500 wins. Riley came to Big Rapids from Long Island University, where he coached from 2020-25. The Sharks finished 14-1-0 at home last season, the best home record in Division I. Riley's father, grandfather and uncle have all coached hockey.
• The Bulldogs average 2.36 goals per game and 25.4 shots. Senior forward Josh Zary leads the squad with 10 points (7-3--10) through 14 games. Senior Gavin Best tops the team chart with five goals, along with three assists.
• Three goaltenders have played at least three games this season. Sophomore Martin Lundberg is 1-6-0 with an .888 save percentage and a 2.85 goals against average in nine games. Junior Hobie Hedquist is 1-3-0 with an .887 save percentage and 3.86 goals against average in four starts. Junior Noah Rupprecht is 1-2-0 with an .851 save percentage and 5.24 goals against in three starts.

Minnesota State (NCAA rank)	Category	Ferris State (NCAA rank)
48.6% (43rd)	Faceoff Percentage	49.9 (31st)
26.2% (8th)	Power Play Percentage	13.5% (56th)
1.88 (T-4th)	Opponent Goals	3.79 (57th)
+0.94 (13th)	Scoring Margin	-1.43 (56th)
75% (T-5th)	Winning Percentage	21% (59th)
85.1 (11th)	Penalty Kill	74.5% (50th)

 

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 available at the Mayo Clinic HSEC box office.

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey was ranked No. 13 by USCHO.com and No. 13 by USA Hockey/The Rink Live in NCAA Division I National polls on Monday, their highest national rankings to date.
• The Mavericks ranked No. 14/14 last week. Michigan (15-3) kept the top spot in both rankings polls for a second week after sweeping Harvard 5-1 and 4-3 (overtime). 

MURR TAKES IN BACK-TO-BACK CCHA DEFENSEMAN OF THE MONTH HONORS

• Junior Evan Murr (Stillwater, Minn.) led Maverick defensemen with three goals and eight assists in November and was also CCHA Player of the Month in October.
• He posted three assists in wins against Lake Superior State (Nov. 15) and Northern Michigan (Nov. 28). Murr also totaled 25 shots and seven blocks.
• Murr is currently fourth among Division I defensemen with 16 points on the year (first among CCHA blueliners).
• He is also eighth among Division I defensemen in assists with 10. His plus-13 rating ranks second in the CCHA.
• Murr passed Akito Hirose (2020-23) for 16th on MSU's all-time career leaderboard for defenseman points with 69 over the weekend.

LEMYRE SCORES EARLY AND OFTEN

• Tristan Lemyre leads Minnesota State and ranks tied for third in the CCHA with eight goals on the season to go with eight assists through 16 games. - For comparison, through the first 16 games last season, Adam Eisele and and Josh Groll each led the squad with six goals apiece. Eisele and Rhett Pitlick led the team with 13 points.
• Lemyre was named CCHA Forward of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday. He played 42 games at Western Michigan last season, but has seen his role elevated to the top-six forwards this fall with time on the power play and penalty kill.

STRAND UP TO CENTER

• Injuries continued to linger for Minnesota State men's hockey last weekend, so coach Luke Strand elevated his son, Bryce to center at Northern Michigan.
• The move paid off as Strand, a freshman from Green Bay, Wisconsin scored his first career goal on Saturday, took three faceoffs and blocked one shot.
• With 12 games played, Strand continues to be a versatile rookie.

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.

COLLEGE HOCKEY INC. NOTES

• Defenseman Mason Wheeler entered 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 entered 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 began 2025-26 with 113 games played, tied for fourth among active NCAA Division I defensemen.
• Alex Tracy started 2025-26 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. MSU also has the most wins of any NCAA Division I program over the past 10 seasons.

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).
• 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.