MANKATO, Minn. - No. 17 Minnesota State hits the road for a CCHA series against Bowling Green Friday at 6:07 p.m. CT and Saturday at 5:07 p.m. CT. The Falcons are currently fourth in the conference standings with 43 points. The Mavericks are fifth with 41 points. Two weeks remain in the regular season and the top four seeds earn the right to host a CCHA Mason Cup quarterfinal series.

The Mavericks are coming off a home split against Bemidji State with a 1-0 win on Friday and a 1-0 overtime loss on Saturday. Senior goaltender Alex Tracy made 42 saves and was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week on Tuesday. Bowling Green won 1-0 at Augustana on Friday, then fell 4-2 on Saturday to the Vikings. The Falcons finish the regular season at Michigan Tech for two games. Minnesota State will host Northern Michigan Feb. 27-28.

Games will be streamed on midcosportsplus.com and fans can listen on AM 1420 KTOE.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Minnesota State is 29-11-5 all-time against Bowling Green and 11-6-3 vs. the Falcons on the road.
• Earlier this season, the teams tied twice in Mankato, including a 1-1 tie on Nov. 8 (MSU won shootout) and a 4-4 tie on Nov. 7 (BGSU won shootout). MSU's last loss to BGSU was on Jan. 19, 2024 in Bowling Green.

MACNAUGHTON TALK

• The Mavericks captured the MacNaughton Cup for the ninth time in program history last season. The team locked up first place with a win at Lake Superior State on Feb. 22, 2025. Bemidji State won the MacNaughton Cup a year prior on the final weekend of the regular season.
• Awarded annually to the regular season CCHA champion, the MacNaughton Cup was established in 1913 and weighs nearly 40 pounds.
• Michigan Tech currently leads the standings with 48 points. St. Thomas is second with 47 points (and two games in hand). Augustana is third with 45 points.

LAST TIME OUT

• Oliver Peer scored 26 seconds into overtime to lift Bemidji State over No. 16 Minnesota State 1-0 Saturday night in CCHA men's hockey.
• Peer's wrist shot came off the rush and was unassisted as the teams skated to a series split at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, snapping a four-game win streak for the Mavericks.
• Bemidji State freshman netminder Max Hildebrand made 18 saves for his second shutout of the season.
• Jack Smith led the Mavericks with four shots on goal. The Mavericks went 0-1 on the power play while the Beavers finished 0-3.
• The Mavericks won 18 of 44 faceoffs (40.9-percent).

TEAM LEADERS

• The Mavericks are averaging 2.7 goals per game and 30 shots per game. Senior Tristan Lemyre (Edmonton, Alberta) leads the forward group with 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists). Evan Murr (Stillwater, Minn.) leads MSU defensemen with 22 points (six goals, 16 assists).

TRUST IN TRACY

• Minnesota State senior goaltender Alex Tracy (Chicago, Illinois) was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week for the fifth time this season (13th career) on Tuesday (Feb. 17).
• Tracy totaled 42 saves against 43 shots in last weekend's home series against Bemidji State for a .977 save percentage.
• He stopped 20 shots on Friday night in a 1-0 victory, marking his 11th career shutout (ties him for second all-time among MSU goaltenders with Cole Huggins, 2013-17). He also posted 22 saves on Saturday in a 1-0 overtime loss.
• Last week, Tracy was named a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award, given to the top goaltender in men's college hockey. He leads the CCHA in goals against average (1.91), ranks third in save percentage (.926) and second in shutouts (three).
• Tracy was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week five times last season, twice in 2023-24 and once in 2022-23.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks converted 2 of 9 power play opportunities against Ferris State but did not score with the extra man in the series against Bemidji State.
• The Maverick power play is executing at a 21.4-percent rate this season (22-103).
• 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 FALCONS

• Last season, the Falcons improved from 13-22-1 to 18-14-4 and made a trip to the CCHA Semifinals. 
• Head coach Dennis Williams returned to Bowling Green as head coach on February 27, 2024. He spent seven years as head coach of the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League.
• He carries more than 18 years of head coaching experience across junior and college levels and was the Bowling Green Interim Head coach in 2009-10 after serving as Assistant Coach the previous season. 
• No. 18 Augustana (19-10-3, 13-8-3 CCHA) used a two-goal second period to outpace the Bowling Green Falcons (16-8-6, 13-6-3 CCHA) on Saturday night, 4-2, inside Midco Arena. After BGSU tied the game, 1-1, in the second period on a Tyler Hotson equalizer, the Vikings retaliated with two straight goals to take a commanding lead. With the CCHA's most efficient goalie, Josh Kotai, between the pipes, Augustana withstood the BGSU push as he made 32 saves, including 13 in the final frame.
• Senior Quinn Emerson (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) leads the Falcons with 31 points (9-21--31). He was held without a point in the series at Augustana.
• Freshman Jacob Steinman (Ottawa, Ontario) and junior Cole Moore have split time in goal for the Falcons. With 16 games played and 14 starts, Steinman holds an 8-3-3 record with a 2.14 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. Moore has 11 starts and holds a 5-3-2 record with a 2.29 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey was ranked No. 17 by USCHO.com and USA Hockey in NCAA Division I National polls on Monday. The Mavericks ranked No. 16 last week. Michigan State topped the national poll for the second straight week, after Michigan led for six straight weeks. 
• Fellow CCHA institutions, St. Thomas (No. 15), Michigan Tech (No. 16), Augustana (No. 18) also appeared in the top-20 rankings.
• Bowling Green received national votes in the USCHO.com poll and is ranked No. 20 by USA Hockey. It was the fourth time this season that four CCHA teams appeared in the national rankings.

Friday, February 20, 2026

• Augustana at St. Thomas 7:07 p.m. CT
• Minnesota State at Bowling Green 7:07 p.m. ET
• Lake Superior State at Northern Michigan 7:07 p.m. ET

Saturday, February 21, 2026

• Minnesota State at Bowling Green 6:07 p.m. ET
• Lake Superior State at Northern Michigan 6:07 p.m. ET
• Augustana at St. Thomas 7:07 p.m. CT