MANKATO, Minn. - No. 16 Minnesota State men's hockey hosts No. 15 St. Thomas in the CCHA Mason Cup Championship on Friday, March 20 at 7:07 p.m. CT. The Mavericks are the defending champions, having defeated the Tommies for the Mason Cup last season 4-2 in Mankato. This year, MSU defeated No. 8 seed Ferris State in the CCHA quarterfinals, then No. 4 seed Michigan Tech in the CCHA semifinals to return to the title game. Meanwhile St. Thomas dispatched No. 7 seed Lake Superior State, then No. 3 seed Augustana to set up a rematch with Minnesota State.

Games will be streamed on midcosportsplus.com with Ben Holden, Pat Micheletti and Don Westphal on the call. Fans can also listen on AM 1420 KTOE for free with Matt Dean (play-by-play) and John Maiers (color commentary). The Mavericks have won five postseason conference championships, including the Mason Cup three times. The Tommies entered the Division I era in 2021-22 and seek their first conference tournament championship.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• The Mavericks hold a 31-13-2 all-time record against the Tommies in games dating back to 1975.
• More recently, the Mavericks are 5-4-1 over the past ten matchups and went 1-2 in the regular season vs. UST, including a 3-1 win on Oct. 31, a 4-3 overtime loss on Nov. 1 and a 4-2 loss on Jan. 10.
• The Mavericks are 6-2-2 in their last ten games.

PATH TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• Eleven teams have already clinched a spot in the tournament: Michigan, North Dakota, Michigan State, Western Michigan, Denver, Minnesota Duluth, Dartmouth, Providence, Cornell, Penn State and Quinnipiac. Nine teams can only get in via automatic bid by winning their conference tournament: Bentley and Sacred Heart in Atlantic Hockey; Ohio State in the Big Ten; Minnesota State and St. Thomas in the CCHA; Clarkson and Princeton in ECAC Hockey; and Boston College and Merrimack in Hockey East.
• Augustana needs much help to get an at-large bid. The Vikings need Michigan to beat Ohio State and either Dartmouth or Cornell to win ECAC Hockey. But then they need one of these four Hockey East championship game results: UConn over Merrimack, Boston College over Merrimack, UMass over Boston College or Merrimack over Boston College.

LAST TIME OUT

• Tristan Lemyre led the Mavericks with two goals and one assist and Minnesota State pulled away from No. 19 Michigan Tech 7-2 in the CCHA Mason Cup Semifinals on Saturday.
• Reid Morich added his second career multi-goal game and goaltender Alex Tracy notched 24 saves at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
• Seven goals were the most the Mavericks have scored in a game this season.

TEAM LEADERS

• The Mavericks are averaging 2.8 goals per game and 31.2 shots per game. Senior Tristan Lemyre (Edmonton, Alberta) leads the forward group with 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists). Lemyre was named All-CCHA Second Team and CCHA Forward of the Week on Monday. Lemyre (senior, Mirabel, Quebec) paced all CCHA skaters with three points in the Mason Cup Semifinals, scoring two goals and adding an assist in Minnesota State's 7-2 victory over Michigan Tech on Saturday night.
• Posting a +3 rating, he recorded four shots on goal and played 18:25 minutes. He tallied the Mavericks' second and fourth goals of the game, while setting up the eventual game-winner, helping the hosts open up a big early lead.
• Evan Murr (Stillwater, Minn.) leads MSU defensemen with 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists). Murr (junior, Stillwater, Minn.) led conference defensemen with two points in the Mason Cup Semifinals, dishing out a pair of assists in Minnesota State's 7-2 win over Michigan Tech on Saturday. He was a +4 in the contest, with one shot on goal in 19:28 minutes. He set up the Mavericks' second and fifth goal in the game, while helping limit the Huskies 25 shots on goal.
• Murr was named All-CCHA First Team and CCHA Defenseman of the  Year for the second straight season.

TRUST IN TRACY

• Minnesota State senior goaltender Alex Tracy (Chicago, Illinois) has been named CCHA Goaltender of the Week six times this season. He was also named CCHA Goaltender of the Month for February and November and is a Mike Richter Award semifinalist for the second straight season.
• Tracy totaled 40 saves and three goals against in three CCHA quarterfinal games, including his 13th career shutout in a 2-0 win vs. Ferris State.
• He leads NCAA Division I in goals against average (1.816) and minutes played (2,246). Tracy has allowed 68 total goals to opponents. Only 53 have come at even strength.
• Tracy ranks third in the CCHA and eighth in the nation for save percentage (.926) and tied for first in CCHA shutouts (five).
• Tracy was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week five times last season, twice in 2023-24 and once in 2022-23. He was a Hobey Baker and Mike Richter Award finalist last season after leading the NCAA in goals against average and save percentage.

Active Division I Goaltender Career Wins	Wins
1. Alex Tracy (Minnesota State)	65
1. Trey Augustine (Michigan State)	65
3. Kaidan Mbereko (Colorado College)	57
4. Michael Hrabel (Massachusetts)	54
5. Philip Svedeback (Providence)	54

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks went 0-13 on the power play in the series against Ferris State and did not go on the power play against Michigan Tech. The Mavericks' last power play goal came at Bowling Green on Feb. 20 (Evan Murr). MSU ranks 41st in NCAA Division I on the power play (18-percent).
• The Mavericks have also not allowed a power play goal against since Jan. 31 vs. Ferris State, a streak of 25 consecutive successful kills. 

SCOUTING THE TOMMIES

• Head coach Rico Blasi guided his team back to the Championship game after a 2-1 victory on Saturday over No. 13 ranked Augustana at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. Carsen Musser stopped 24 of 25 shots faced for his 11th win of the season. The low scoring affair also featured the CCHA Player of the Year, Augustana goaltender Josh Kotai.
• The two netminders combined for over 45 minutes of scoreless hockey and 35 saves before Lucas Van Vliet notched the tiebreaker 5:23 into the third period.
• Nick Williams picked up an assist on Van Vliet's goal in his return to the lineup from injury. Augustana answered with the tying goal 57 seconds later but Alex Gaffney shot from outside the right circle became the game-winner.
• With it, Gaffney became the third Tommie to surpass the 40-pt. mark. The Tommies outshot the Vikings 28-25 and neither team scored on the power play.
• The Tommies have set program records for goals, shots, assists and shorthanded goals this season. The Tommies are 8-2-0 in one-goal games this season.
• St. Thomas is also unbeaten in overtime with a 3-0-5 record. The Tommies have outshot their opponent in 26 of 37 games this season.
• UST leads the CCHA in scoring (3.5 goals per game). Gaffney leads the team with 40 pts. (18-22--40), followed by senior Lucas Wahlin (21-18--39) and freshman Van Vliet (14-21--35).

AROUND THE COUNTRY

Friday, March 20, 2026

• St. Thomas at Minnesota State 7:07 p.m. CT
• Merrimack vs. Massachusetts 4 p.m. ET
• Boston College vs. Connecticut 7 p.m. ET
• Clarkson vs. Dartmouth 4 p.m. ET
• Princeton vs. Cornell 7 p.m. ET

TEAM COMPARISON

Minnesota State (Nat'l Rank)	Category	St. Thomas (National Rank)
50% (32nd)	Faceoff Percentage	49.6% (36th)
18% (41st)	Power Play Percentage	19.9% (31st)
2.03 (3rd)	Opponent Goals Allowed	2.84 (27th)
+0.76 (15th)	Scoring Margin	+0.68 (17th)
64.5% (11th)	Winning Percentage	63.5% (11th)
2.79 (38th)	Scoring Offense	3.51 (10th)
85.7% (8th)	Penalty Kill	79.9% (39th)

HEADED TO THE POLLS

• Minnesota State men's hockey was ranked No. 16 by USCHO.com and by USA Hockey in NCAA Division I National polls on Monday.
• The Mavericks ranked No. 16/18 last week. Michigan kept the top  spot in the rankings, followed by  North Dakota, Michigan State, Western Michigan and Minnesota Duluth.
• Other ranked teams in the CCHA included No. 15 St. Thomas and No. 18 Augustana. Michigan Tech and Bowling Green received national votes.

MASON CUP HISTORY

• The Mason Cup is the trophy awarded to the champion of the CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, the postseason championship event of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, an NCAA Division I college ice hockey league. The Cup was awarded from 2001 until the original CCHA folded at the end of the 2012–13 season.
• The CCHA was revived in 2020 by seven schools that had previously announced plans to leave the Western Collegiate Hockey Association at the end of the 2020–21 season, with an eighth school being invited shortly thereafter.
• On May 19, 2021, the new CCHA announced that the Mason Cup would return for the 2021–22 season as the championship trophy for the revived CCHA tournament.

MASON CUP WINNERS

2001 - Michigan State

2002 - Michigan

2003 - Michigan

2004 - Ohio State

2005 - Michigan

2006 - Michigan State

2007 - Notre Dame

2008 - Michigan

2009 - Notre Dame

2010 - Michigan

2011 - Miami

2012 - Western Michigan

2013 - Notre Dame

2022 - Minnesota State

2023 - Minnesota State

2024 - Michigan Tech

2025 - Minnesota State