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Coachella Valley Cactus Cup 2026 Graphic

PREVIEW: Mavericks Gear up for Cactus Cup

12/30/2025 10:30:00 PM

MANKATO, Minn. - Four NCAA Division I men's hockey teams clash at the 2026 Cactus Cup on Friday and the No. 14 Minnesota State Mavericks (11-4-5) take on the UMass Lowell River Hawks (6-11-0) at 5:30 p.m. CT at Acrisure Arena. On Saturday, MSU will see either St. Cloud State or Yale in Palm Springs, California in the Championship or third place game. 
  • Friday marks the first regular season action for the Mavericks since December 13, when the team tied Augustana in CCHA play 4-4 in overtime (Augustana won shootout).
  • Fans can watch the Cactus Cup via FloSports.com or listen free via radio on AM 1420 KTOE.
  • The Mavericks topped the CCHA standings in the first half of the regular season with 28 points.
ALL-TIME SERIES
  • Minnesota State is 3-5-0 all-time against the River Hawks. In their last meeting, UMass Lowell won 2-1 on Mar. 29, 2014 in Worchester, Mass. The first matchup between the teams was Mar. 17, 1979, and resulted in a 6-4 win for the River Hawks.
LAST TIME OUT 
  • Minnesota State skated to a 1-1 overtime tie against Switzerland on Tuesday in a World Junior Pre-Tournament Series exhibition men's hockey game at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. Switzerland scored the tying goal late in the third period and won in a shootout.
  • The teams played a five-minute 3-on-3 extra session. Then Switzerland won a five-round shootout with the final goal scored by Robin Antenen. Jordan Ronn was the lone goal scorer for MSU. Max Beckford made 17 saves in goal for the Mavericks and Elijah Nuenschwander and Phileas Lachat stopped a combined 14 shots for Switzerland.
TEAM LEADERS
  • The Mavericks are averaging 2.8 goals per game and 29.9 shots per game. - Senior Tristan Lemyre (Edmonton, Alberta) leads the squad with 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists). Evan Murr (Stillwater, Minn.) leads MSU defensemen with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists).
  • Murr also ranks first in the CCHA and fifth in NCAA Division I defenseman points. Cole Hutson (Boston University) leads the category with 21 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 (1.92) and ranks third in save percentage (.929).
  • Nationally, Tracy ranks third in NCAA Division I total saves (508), 10th in goals against average and 12th 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 moved him into a tie for third place on the MSU men's hockey all-time career shutouts chart with 10 (Stephon Williams).
SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT
  • The Mavericks have killed 47 of 59 penalties (.793). - Associate Head Coach Troy G. Ward has the Maverick power play executing at a 25.6-percent clip, with 20 goals in 71 opportunities. The power play went 1-7 on the man advantage against Augustana before the break.
  • 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. Tristan Lemyre leads the team with four power play goals.
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
  • The River Hawks have just one weekend sweep on the season (Oct. 24-25 vs. Mercyhurst) but faced stiff competition in December, including losses to No. 14 Providence and No. 15 Maine in conference play.
  • Coached by 2012-13 Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year Norm Bazin, the River Hawks will look to use the Cactus Cup as a springboard to a strong second half.
  • Last season, UMass Lowell finished 16-16-4 and fell in the Hockey East quarterfinals to Maine 7-1, after picking up a win in the opening round 3-2 in overtime over New Hampshire.
  • The last time the team took the ice, the River Hawks defeated Bentley 3-2 in an exhibition on Dec. 28. Freshman David Adaszynski (Burnaby, B.C.) scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
  • Freshman Dalyn Wakely (forward, Port Hope, Ontario) leads the team with 12 points (five goals, seven assists). He was selected 192 overall (round six) by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
  • Senior Dillan Bentley (forward, Peoria, Ill.) has also helped the offense with a team-high seven goals to go with four assists. He posted a pair of goals in the last regular season game the River Hawks played on Dec. 10 against Maine.
  • Goaltenders Samuel Richard (Sr., SainteCatherine, Quebec) and Austin Elliott (Fr., Strathmore, Alberta) have both seen significant minutes. Richard has eight appearances and holds a 2.72 goals against average and .912 save percentage with one shutout. Elliott has played in 13 games (including 12 starts) with a 2.75 goals against average and .896 save percentage.
  • The team bolstered its lineup of 14 returners with 15 newcomers, including three transfers and 12 freshmen.
  • Of those transfers, one is graduate student, one is a senior and one is a sophomore.
  • The team kicked off the 2025-26 season tied for the seventh spot in the Hockey East Preseason Poll with 53 points.
  • The River Hawks roster features 12 Americans, 15 Canadiens, one player from Sweden and one player from Slovakia.
  • The River Hawks have made the NCAA Tournament 14 times, including a run from 2012 to 2024. UMass Lowell was NCAA Division II Champions in 1979, 1981 and 1982. The team to win the title in between (1980) was Minnesota State.
HEADED TO THE POLLS
  • Minnesota State men's hockey was ranked No. 14 by USCHO.com and No. 14 by USA Hockey/ The Rink Live in NCAA Division I National polls on Monday.
  • The Mavericks ranked No. 15/14 last week. Michigan kept the top spot in both rankings polls for a third week, followed by Wisconsin and Michigan State.
MSU IN NATIONAL STATISTICS
  • Faceoff Percentage 49.3% (36th)
  • Power Play Percentage 25.3% (9th)
  • Opponent Goals 2.10 (8th)
  • Scoring Margin +0.7 (18th)
  • Winning Percentage 68% (11th)
  • Scoring Offense 2.80 (37th)
  • Penalty Kill 79.3% (38th)
LEMYRE SCORES EARLY AND OFTEN
  • Tristan Lemyre leads Minnesota State and ranks tied for fourth in the CCHA with 10 goals on the season to go with 10 assists through 20 games.
  • Lemyre 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.
TRACY IMPRESSES AT 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 defeated HC Davos to advance to the semifinals in Davos.
  • Tracy then started his first game and totaled 32 saves in a 5-3 win on Dec. 30 against Sparta Prague, propelling the team to the final against HC Davos, set for Wednesday, Dec. 31 (streaming for free on YouTube - Spengler Cup).
INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS
  • Minnesota State's roster features student athletes from four different countries. - United States (16) - Canada (8) - Latvia (2) - Sweden (1)
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