MANKATO, Minn. - The race for the MacNaughton Cup continues to pick up steam this weekend, as first place Minnesota State (20-8-2, 15-5-2 CCHA) travels to Lake Superior State Friday (11-17-2, 9-12-1 CCHA) at 6:07 p.m. CT and Saturday at 5:07 p.m. CT. With four regular season games remaining, the Mavericks must finish with the highest points percentage to recapture the regular season championship.

Bemidji State won in 2023-24. Augustana (.625) is currently the closest to catching MSU, but has concluded its CCHA schedule with 16 games played. Bowling Green (.591) is in third place and visits Bemidji State this week. Michigan Tech (.561) is also mathematically in contention and hosts Ferris State. The Mavericks locked up home ice advantage for the Mason Cup quarterfinals last weekend with a sweep over Augustana.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Minnesota State is 34-5-2 all-time against Lake Superior State.
• The Mavericks have won the last three matchups and nine of the previous ten.
• Last year in Sault Ste. Marie, MSU won 4-3 and tied 2-2 (MSU won shootout). 

HOW TO WATCH

• AM 1420 KTOE (Matt Dean play-by-play)
• Stream/TV: Midco Sports Plus (Fri/Sat)
• Live Stats: lssulakers.com

HOW TO CLINCH THE MACNAUGHTON CUP

• Any combination of five points gained or lost between MSU and BGSU and any combination of three points gained or lost between MSU and MTU.
• MSU needs three points to finish with a higher points percentage than Augustana (.625).

SCOUTING LAKE SUPERIOR STATE

• LSSU split a road series with Ferris State last weekend, including a 3-2 overtime loss Friday and 5-3 win Saturday. 
• Brandon Piku (Harrison, Twp., Mich.) was named CCHA Forward of the Week while Easton Hesse (Beaumont, Alta.) was selected as CCHA Goaltender of the Week on Monday. Piku put together a strong weekend in which he produced four points for his team with three goals and an assist at Ferris State. On Saturday, he came away with a pair of goals on the night, including the game-winner, to help lift his team past the Bulldogs. Piku finished the weekend having put 11 shots on target and had a +4 on ice rating.
• Hesse secured the win between the pipes in his lone appearance this weekend on Saturday. In the victory, he recorded a career-high 50 saves in the game, the most saves in a single contest by a Laker goaltender since Nick Kossoff notched 63 at Denver in 2017.
• Junior forward Connor Milburn leads the squad with 22 points (9-13--22). Milburn (Kamploops, B.C.) had five points in 34 games a year ago.
• Junior forward Sasha Teleguine (North Attleborough, Mass.) leads LSSU and ranks second in the CCHA with 14 goals. Teleguine transferred from UConn, where he appeared in 20 games in 2021-22. 
• Senior forward Timo Bakos (Augsburg, Germany) is tied for second on the team with 19 points (8-11--19). 
• Freshman goaltender Rorke Applebee (Chateauguay, Quebec) has started 26 games and holds a 2.85 goals against average and a .909 save percentage for the Lakers with two shutouts.
• Head coach Damon Whitten is in his 11th season, the longest single stretch by a head coach in program history. Whitten has led the team to six WCHA playoff appearances, including the WCHA Championship in 2021. He also guided the Lakers to its first NCAA Appearance in 25 years during the 2020-21 campaign.
• LSSU closed the book on 2023-24 with a 17-20-1 overall record, including 11-12-1 in the CCHA. LSSU defeated St. Thomas in the Mason Cup Quarterfinals in three games before bowing out to eventual champion Bemidji State by a 4-1 score in March.
• LSSU added 10 new players to the roster this offseason, including a 6-man freshman class.
• The Lakers hold the fifth best power play in the CCHA (.207) and the fifth best penalty kill (.794).
• The Lakers are also third in faceoff percentage (.511) and eighth in penalties per game (4.43).

FOR THE MAVERICKS

• The Mavericks allow the fewest goals per game to opponents (1.60) in Division I ahead of Maine (1.72), Western Michigan (1.79), Boston College (1.79) and Augustana (2.00).
• Mike Richter semifinalist and junior Alex Tracy has started all 30 games for the Mavericks, surrendering 46 goals (33 at even strength). 
• Tracy's 1.53 goals against average top NCAA Division I. His .941 save percentage ranks third. Tracy has played 1,807 minutes (third in Division I) and totaled 734 saves (11th in Division I). 

PITLICK EXTENDS SCORING STREAK

• Senior forward Rhett Pitlick has three goals and six assists over the course of his five game scoring streak.
• Pitlick ranks tied for first in the CCHA and 19th in NCAA Division I points with 32 in 30 games. Pitlick and Josh Groll lead the CCHA with a plus-22 rating, tied for fifth in Division I.
• Pitlick and Adam Eisele are tied for the team lead with five game-winning goals apiece.
• Pitlick's 20 assists are third most in the CCHA.

LAST WEEKEND

• Idle over the weekend, Minnesota State swept a series for the first time in the new year at home against No. 17 Augustana Feb. 7-8.
• Friday night, Adam Eisele scored the game-winner and the penalty kill shined in a 4-1 victory. Tracy made 25 saves. Mason Wheeler, Campbell Cichosz and Will Hillman pitched in three blocked shots apiece.
• Saturday, Fin Williams scored his first goal as a Maverick and Tracy made 28 saves in the 2-1 win. The Mavericks blocked 18 shots. The sweep solidified MSU's spot atop the CCHA standings with four games remaining.

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey was ranked No. 15 in two national polls this week, including USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live. 
• Fellow CCHA school Augustana was ranked No. 20 by USA Hockey/The Rink Live. Bowling Green received national votes.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks are 17-90 (.213) on the power play this season and scored one power play goal in two games vs. Augustana.
• 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 82-93 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 3.4 penalties per game, with eight major penalties.

LAST YEAR: MAVERICKS FALL TO HUSKIES IN CCHA SEMIFINALS

• Scoring on a third-period penalty shot and again on a deflection in the crease with nine seconds left in regulation, Michigan Tech completed its comeback and defeated Minnesota State 4-3 in the CCHA Semifinal game on March 16, ending MSU's postseason at John MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, Michigan. The Mavericks outshot the Huskies 38-32 and marked the final games in a Maverick sweater for first line senior forwards Sam Morton and Lucas Sowder. 
• Adam Eisele, Will Hillman and Sowder scored goals while Brandon Koch recorded three blocked shots. 
• Logan Pietila was credited with the game-winner after the puck sailed back into the crease off the end glass and deflected off an MSU defender with 9.1 ticks left.

HISTORY OF THE MACNAUGHTON CUP

• The MacNaughton Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the regular season conference champion of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA).
• The trophy is named after James MacNaughton of Calumet, Michigan, who was a supporter of amateur ice hockey.
• The Cup is hand crafted of pure silver and stands almost three-feet high and weighs nearly 40 pounds.
• The Mavericks have won the cup eight times, including six straight seasons from 2017-23. Bemidji State is currently in possession.
• MSU MacNaughton Cup Champions... 2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23.