MANKATO, Minn. - No. 20 Minnesota State men's hockey hits the ice against a nationally ranked opponent for the second time this season Saturday, when the Mavericks welcome No. 14 Augustana at 6:07 p.m. CT.  The Vikings have won six straight, including a sweep of Ferris State at home last weekend. The Mavericks look to bounce back after a tough road trip at Michigan Tech. Saturday represents an opportunity to gain ground in the CCHA standings.

The Mavericks sit fifth with 28 points. Augustana is in second place with 35 points. Both teams have nine regular season conference games remaining. MSU will need to score against Josh Kotai, who became the first NCAA Division I hockey goaltender to record three straight shutouts since Dryden McKay (Minnesota State) did so in February of 2020. 

Fans can watch Saturday's game on midcosportsplus.com and listen via AM 1420 KTOE.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Minnesota State leads the all-time series against Augustana 3-1-2. The Mavericks fell to the Vikings for the first time in history on Dec. 12, 2025 by a 3-1 score in Sioux Falls.
• The teams tied 4-4 the next night, but the Vikings picked up an extra point with a shootout victory.
• MSU concludes its three-game season series with the Vikings on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Michigan Tech Huskies defended their home ice and defeated Minnesota State 3-1 Friday and 4-1 Saturday. 
• Friday, the Huskies scored two third period goals to break the tie. MSU freshman Jordan Ronn scored his third goal of the season at 6:02 of the first period. Reid Morich assisted. Alex Tracy made 26 saves and Luigi Benincasa led the Mavericks with five shots on goal.
• The Mavericks posted their second highest shot total of the season (47) on Saturday but the Huskies blocked 21 more to skate away winners.
• Fin Williams scored in the third period on a net-front scramble but MSU went 0-2 on the power play and Owen Bartoszkiewicz stopped 46 shots in net. Jack Smith won 14 of 17 faceoffs for MSU.

TEAM LEADERS

• The Mavericks are averaging 2.6 goals per game and 30.1 shots per game. Senior Tristan Lemyre (Edmonton, Alberta) leads the forward group with 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists). Evan Murr (Stillwater, Minn.) leads MSU defensemen with 20 points (six goals, 14 assists). Murr also ranks second in the CCHA and ninth in NCAA Division I defenseman points. Eric Pohlkamp (Denver) leads the category with 25 points.

TRUST IN TRACY

• Tracy ranks second in the CCHA in goals against average (2.06) and ranks fourth in save percentage (.924). 
• He totaled 48 saves and allowed five goals at Michigan Tech for a .905 save percentage. 
• Tracy made his 100th game appearance at Minnesota State on Saturday at Michigan Tech.
• 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 (Nov. 28) 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 went on the penalty kill just once over the weekend and were successful keeping the Huskies off the board.
• The Maverick power play is executing at a 22.5-percent rate this season (20-89). The team went 0-1 on Friday and 0-2 on Saturday. MSU's last power play goal came against Augustana (Reid Morich) on Dec. 13.
• 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 VIKINGS

• Last season, the Vikings finished 18-13-4 overall, including 9-5-2 in CCHA contests. The squad swept No. 12 Omaha last October but fell in the CCHA quarterfinals to Bemidji State in three games, including a 3-2 overtime loss on March 9 in Sioux Falls.
• Head coach Garrett Raboin spent four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota before being named the head coach of the Vikings for its inaugural collegiate season in 2022-23. In his first year, Augustana went 12-18-4 and saw four players sign ECHL contracts. Raboin is a St. Cloud State graduate (2010) and was an All-American for the Huskies. He coached for an additional six seasons at SCSU before transitioning to Minnesota.
• Easton Young scored his second goal of the night 2:54 into overtime as Augustana edged Ferris State 4-3 Saturday night at Midco Arena. The Vikings built a three-goal cushion in the opening period before the Bulldogs answered with three unanswered goals to force overtime. Augustana regrouped in the extra session, controlling possession before Young buried the game-winner to secure the victory. Kotai earned the win in net for Augustana, stopping 21 shots, while the Vikings outshot Ferris State, 32-24, on the night.
• Augustana scored three times in the opening period and added an insurance goal in the third to earn a 4-0 victory over Ferris State Friday night at Midco Arena. Augustana outshot Ferris State 33-22 for the game. Kotai finished with 22 saves to earn his third straight shutout.
• The Vikings are averaging 2.9 goals per game in CCHA matchups (fifth) and allowing 2.0 goals to opponents (first). Augustana also has the league's top power play with a conversion rate of 22.7-percent and the best penalty kill (87.8-percent). The Vikings take more penalties than any other conference team (6:52 per game) but has four short-handed goals (Tied-second).
• Junior forward Brett Meerman (Blackfalds, Alberta) leads the team with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists). He posted one goal and one assist in the series against Ferris State.
• Freshman Leonid Bulgakov (Minsk, Belarus) has 11 goals (team-high) and seven assists for 18 points (second on team). Bulgakov scored on Saturday vs. Ferris State.
• Junior goaltender Josh Kotai (Abbotsford, B.C.) played alongside Alex Tracy for the US Collegiate Selects at the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland last month and started one game. Named to the Mike Richter Award watch list, he was the CCHA Goaltender of the Week last week and ranks fifth in Division I save percentage (.934) and ninth in goals against average (1.98). Kotai and Lawton Zacher (Northeastern) are tied for first in the nation in shutouts this season with four apiece.

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey was ranked No. 20 by USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live in NCAA Division I National polls on Monday.
• The Mavericks ranked No. 17/17 last week. Michigan kept the top spot in both rankings polls for a fourth week.
• Fellow CCHA institutions Augustana (No. 14), St. Thomas (No. 16) and Michigan Tech (No. 19) also appeared in the top-20 rankings.
• Bemidji State received national votes. It was the first time this season that four CCHA teams appeared in the national rankings.

THIRD AND FOURTH LINES PROVIDE SPARK

• Both Maverick goals over the weekend came from a bottom six forward in the lineup. Jordan Ronn scored and Reid Morich assisted on Friday.
• Then Fin Williams scored, from Mason LeBel and Morich on Saturday.
• Morich takes a three game point streak into Friday (0-3--3).
• LeBel and fourth line center Jakob Stender were the goal scorers against St. Thomas on Jan. 10.