MANKATO, Minn. - The MacNaughton Cup Champion Minnesota State men's hockey team hosts No. 8 seed Lake Superior State in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Mason Cup quarterfinals Mar. 7-9 at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. Game times are Friday at 7:07 p.m., Saturday at 6:07 p.m. and Sunday 5:07 p.m. (if necessary).

MSU last met LSSU in the postseason in 2022-23. The Mavericks defeated the Lakers in two quarfinal games 6-1 and 2-1 in Mankato. This season, MSU hopes to extend its playoff run after falling the Mason Cup semifinals last season to Michigan Tech 4-3 in Houghton, Michigan. All playoff games will be streamed on Midco Sports Plus and can be heard on AM 1420 KTOE radio. The Mavericks enter the series on a seven game unbeaten streak and swept four regular season contests vs. LSSU.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Minnesota State  is 36-5-2 all-time vs. Lake Superior State.
• The Mavericks won all four previous meetings this season, including Dec. 14 in overtime 3-2 at Mayo Clinic HSEC. MSU is 11-1-1 over their last 13 meetings.
• The Mavericks are 20-3-1 at home against the Lakers.

TRACKING TRACY

• Tracy (Chicago, Illinois) earned CCHA Goaltender of the Month for the second time this season after he was also recognized in November. In February, he posted his fourth shutout of the season at Lake Superior State, helping secure MSU's ninth MacNaughton Cup and went 5-0-1 with starts in all six games.
• Tracy leads the country in both save percentage (.945) and goals against average (1.447) and was named a Mike Richter Award semifinalist last month.
• He has not allowed more than three goals to an opponent this season in 33 games played and is credited with 822 total saves (ninth in Division I).

MURR TAKES IN D-MAN OF THE MONTH

• Murr (Stillwater, Minnesota) led Maverick defensemen with seven points in February, all assists.
• He tallied two assists on three occasions, including one on a game-winning goal.
• This season, Murr leads all CCHA defensemen with 23 points (five goals, 18 assists).
• He has appeared in 34 games and holds a plus-12 rating with four power play goals and one game-winning goal, along with 30 blocked shots.
• Last season, Murr was named All-CCHA Second Team and CCHA All-Rookie Team. He earned CCHA Defenseman of the Month in January, 2024.

SCOUTING LAKE SUPERIOR STATE

• 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.
• Junior forward Connor Milburn (Kamloops, B.C.) leads LSSU with 22 points.
• He does not have a point in three games played against Minnesota State.
• The Lakers split their final weekend series of the regular season with a 4-3 win Friday at Bowling Green, followed by a 5-3 loss Saturday at Slater Family Ice Arena.
• The Lakers scored the first five goals of the game, including two on the power play before BGSU mounted a late comeback attempt with three goals in the final 10 minutes of the third period.
• Senior forward Timo Bakos (Augsburg, Germany) ranks second on the team with 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists).
• Bakos posted one goal and one assists Friday night at Bowling Green.

DEFENSE PREVAILS

• The Mavericks allow the fewest goals per game to opponents (1.50) in Division I ahead of Boston College (1.76), Maine (1.78) and Michigan State (2.06). MSU has allowed four goals to an opponent only once in 2024-25, October 5 at No. 7 Michigan.

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey was ranked No. 14 by USCHO.com on Monday (Mar. 3) and No. 16 by USA Hockey/The Rink Live in National Division I rankings polls.
• Boston College remained No. 1 in the country in both polls with Michigan State second, Minnesota third and Western Michigan/Maine fourth. Fellow CCHA school Michigan Tech also received national votes.
• The Mavericks polished off a 5-1 win on Saturday over Bemidji State to close out the regular season schedule. Junior goaltender Alex Tracy leads Division I in goals against average and save percentage.
• Senior forward Rhett Pitlick finished atop the conference with 37 points, including 13 goals and 24 assists. Sophomore Evan Murr led all CCHA defensemen in points (23).

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks are 20-95 (.211) on the power play this season and scored two power play goals in two games vs. Bemidji State.
• 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 81-96 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 3.5 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 MASON CUP

• The Mason Cup is awarded to the champion of the CCHA Tournament and was awarded until 2001 until the original CCHA folded at the end of the 2012-13 season. 
• The CCHA was revived in 2020 by seven schools which left the WCHA.
• The cup was created in honor of Ron Mason, who coached three different CCHA teams but is most remembered for his time at Michigan State. Mason ended his coaching career in 2002 and, at the time of his retirement, was the winningest coach in NCAA history with 924 victories.
• The Mavericks have won the Mason Cup twice. 

OTHER TEAM NOTABLES

• MSU is the seventh oldest team in Division I at an average age of 22.7 years.
• The Mavericks have the second largest senior class in Division I (nine players).
• MSU also has the second fewest freshmen (four). 

MAVERICK HOCKEY HISTORY

• In its 56th year of existence, Minnesota State owns an all-time record of 1052-697-163 (.602).
• The Mavericks are in their 26th year as members of NCAA Division I and their fourth season as members of the CCHA.