MANKATO, Minn. - Minnesota State men's hockey returns to conference competition this week when it hosts St. Thomas on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 6:07 p.m. CT. The Mavericks are currently first in the CCHA standings with 28 points. The Tommies are right behind with 27 points and Saturday marks the final regular season meeting between the two teams that met in the CCHA Mason Cup Championship last spring.

The Mavericks are coming off a split in the Cactus Cup Jan. 2-3 in Palm Springs, California. MSU fell 3-1 to UMass Lowell, then bounced back for a 4-3 win over Yale. St. Thomas scored 13 goals in a home sweep over Ferris State last weekend. The Tommies won 5-3 on Friday in St. Paul, then 8-4 on Saturday.

Fans can listen to the game on AM 1420 KTOE or watch via MidcoSportsPlus.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Minnesota State leads the all-time series with St. Thomas 31-12-2.
• The teams split a home-and-home series in late October with the Mavericks prevailing 3-1 on Friday in St. Paul before the Tommies collected a 4-3 overtime win the next night in Mankato.
• MSU won the first eight meetings after St. Thomas ascended to NCAA Division I in 2021, though the Mavericks are 5-4-1 over their previous ten.

LAST TIME OUT

• Jack Smith was the only MSU goal scorer in a 3-1 loss to UMass Lowell on Jan. 2. Ean Somoza assisted. Alex Tracy flew from Davos, Switzerland to Palm Springs, California to make the start in goal.  
• Somoza and Smith teamed for the fourth Maverick goal the next day against Yale in a 4-3 victory. Jordan Ronn, Mason LeBel and Alex Zetterberg also scored in the game.
• Max Beckford made 15 saves in his regular season debut and picked up the win in goal. Beckford, a freshman transfer from Bentley University previously appeared for the Mavericks on Dec. 16 in a World Junior Pre-Tournament series exhibition and marked 17 saves against Switzerland.

TEAM LEADERS

• The Mavericks are averaging 2.8 goals per game and 30.0 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 eighth in NCAA Division I defenseman points. Eric Pohlkamp (Denver) leads the category with 22 points.

TRUST IN TRACY

• Alex Tracy returned from Davos, Switzerland after participating in the Spengler Cup as a member of the US College Selects. He started in the semifinal game. 
• Tracy leads the CCHA in goals against average (1.93) and ranks second in save percentage (.929). Nationally, Tracy ranks fifth in NCAA Division I total saves (537), eighth 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 (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 have killed 56 of 68 penalties (.824).
• Associate Head Coach Troy G. Ward has the Maverick power play executing at a 24.1-percent clip, with 20 goals in 83 opportunities. The power play went 0-8 at the Cactus Cup.
• 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 TOMMIES

• St. Thomas (11-7-3) enters this week with a five game winning streak which includes CCHA sweeps over Northern Michigan and Ferris State.
• Chase Cheslock earned CCHA Defenseman of the Month for December with six points in four games. The Rogers, Minn. native finished the month with a +6 rating and six assists led the Tommies in both categories. After a two-assist weekend against Ferris State to begin January, Cheslock's 17 assists this season lead all defensemen in the nation. He is third among all CCHA players in assists as well.
• Carson Musser was named CCHA Goaltender of the Month for December and posted a 3-0-0 record, 1.34 goals against average, and .945 save percentage. All were single-month highs for the Utah Mammoth draft pick. He also recorded the first shutout of his collegiate career in a 29 save performance against Northern Michigan on Dec. 12. Musser's 1.99 goals against average in CCHA play this season ranks fourth.
• Alex Gaffney (West Orange, N.J.) leads the squad with 27 points (13 goal, 14 assists). Gaffney has five power play goals and one game-winning goal for the Tommies.
• Lucas Wahlin was an All-CCHA First Team selection a year ago. The Woodbury, Minn. native is the team captain. He is tied for the team lead and CCHA lead in goals with 13, along with nine assists for 22 points. Wahlin and teammate Nathan Pilling rank first and second in the CCHA in shots with 82 and 76 respectively.
• The Tommie offense has be buoyed by freshman Lucas Van Vliet (Livonia, Mich.). Van Vliet was selected in the seventh round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights. The forward ranks third on the team with 21 points, including seven goals and 14 assists.
• As a team, St. Thomas leads the CCHA in goals per game (3.71), shots per game (33.0) and shorthanded goals (8).
• Head coach Rico Blasi is in his fifth season as head coach in 2025-26. Blasi joined the Tommie family in April 2021 to help usher in the Division I era. He previously held a 20-year era as head coach at Miami (Ohio). The Red Hawks made 10 NCAA appearances highlighted by one championship game berth (2008-09) and on other Frozen Four appearance (2009-10). Blasi was named the National Coach of the Year in 2005-06.

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey was ranked No. 15 by USCHO.com and No. 15 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 Michigan State, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth.

SOMOZA ADDS BOOST TO LINEUP

• For the first time in a long time, the Maverick roster is close to being healthy. Junior forward Ean Somoza (Simi Valley, Calif.) returned to the lineup on Dec. 12 at Augustana and has two goals and two assists in four games since that night. Somoza spent two seasons at Western Michigan prior to joining the Mavericks this season and helped the Bronchos the 2025 NCAA Championship last spring.

LEMYRE SCORES EARLY AND OFTEN

• Tristan Lemyre leads Minnesota State and ranks tied for fifth 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.