Western Collegiate Hockey Association Bruce M. McLeod Commissioner Carol LaBelle-Ehrhardt Assistant Commissioner of Operations Greg Shepherd Supervisor of Officials Administrative Office Western Collegiate Hockey Association 2211 S. Josephine Street, Room 302 Denver, CO 80210 p: 303 871-4491. f: 303 871-4770 clabelle@wcha.com Doug Spencer Associate Commissioner for Public Relations Western Collegiate Hockey Association 559 D Onofrio Drive, Ste. 103 Madison, WI 53719-2096 p: 608 829-0100. f: 608 829-0200 dspencer@mailbag.com Home of a Record 37 Men s National Championship Teams Since 1951 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011 Men s Conference Members University of Alaska Anchorage Bemidji State University Colorado College University of Denver Michigan Technological University University of Minnesota University of Minnesota Duluth Minnesota State University University of Nebraska Omaha University of North Dakota St. Cloud State University University of Wisconsin 2012 Red Baron WCHA Final Five March 15-17 Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, MN wcha.com October 17, 2011/For Immediate Release Four WCHA Series Highlight Oct. 21-23 Weekend Play; It s UAA at UNO, MTU at BSU, MSU at DU, UND at UW Michigan Tech Leaps to 4-0 Start Under New Coach Mel Pearson as Huskies Sweep Badgers; Minnesota Wins Twice at Defending NCAA Champ UMD to Move to 4-0; Seawolves Also Remain Unbeaten Thru Four; CC Tigers Take Four Points from BSU; Upcoming Non-Conference Series Find Vermont at UM, New Hampshire at SCSU, UMD at Providence; Oct. 17 Men s Division 1 National Polls have DU No. 3, CC No. 4, UND No. 5/6, UM No. 8/10, UMD No. 15 MTU, UAA, UNO, UW Receive Votes MADISON, Wis. The third weekend of October competition Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd brings about the first conference action of the 2011-12 season for four more Western Collegiate Hockey Association men s-member teams in Alaska Anchorage, Denver, Minnesota State, Nebraska Omaha and defending league and MacNaughton Cup-champion North Dakota. The Seawolves (3-0-1, 0-0-0 WCHA) hit the road for a two-game set at Nebraska Omaha (1-3-0, 0-0-0 WCHA), with face-offs at CenturyLink Center Omaha (15,959) set for and. The No. 3-ranked Pioneers (1-1-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) open both their WCHA and home regular season schedules, playing host to Minnesota State (1-3-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) at Magness Arena (6,026) at on Friday and on Saturday. And the No. 5/6-ranked Fighting Sioux (2-1-1, 0-0-0 WCHA) will head to Madison to skate against Wisconsin (1-3-0, 0-2-0 WCHA) at the Kohl Center (15,325) in a pair of 7:07 pm 2011-12 WCHA Men s Standings Conference Only Overall Pts GP Record Win% GF- GA GP Record Win% GF- GA 1 Colorado College 4 2 2-0- 0 1.00 9-5 2 2-0- 0 1.00 9-5 Michigan Tech 4 2 2-0- 0 1.00 5-3 4 4-0- 0 1.00 12-7 Minnesota 4 2 2-0- 0 1.00 10-8 4 4-0- 0 1.00 25-8 4 Alaska Anchorage 0 0 0-0- 0 ---- 0-0 4 3-0- 1.875 17-9 Denver 0 0 0-0- 0 ---- 0-0 2 1-1- 0.500 7-6 Minnesota State 0 0 0-0- 0 ---- 0-0 4 1-3- 0.250 5-12 Nebraska Omaha 0 0 0-0- 0 ---- 0-0 4 1-3- 0.250 9-12 North Dakota 0 0 0-0- 0 ---- 0-0 4 2-1- 1.625 12-13 St. Cloud State 0 0 0-0- 0 ---- 0-0 4 1-3- 0.250 11-13 Bemidji State 0 2 0-2- 0.000 5-9 4 1-3- 0.250 12-15 Minnesota Duluth 0 2 0-2- 0.000 8-10 4 1-3- 0.250 15-18 Wisconsin 0 2 0-2- 0.000 3-5 4 1-3- 0.250 8-10 This Week in the WCHA Games for Friday, October 21: Minnesota Duluth at Providence (NC), 7:00 pm ET; Vermont at Minnesota (NC), 6:07 pm CT; North Dakota at Wisconsin (WCHA), ; Alaska Anchorage at Nebraska Omaha (WCHA), ; Michigan Tech at Bemidji State (WCHA), ; New Hampshire at St. Cloud State (NC), ; Minnesota State at Denver (WCHA),. Games for Saturday, October 22: Minnesota Duluth at Providence (NC), 7:00 pm ET; Alaska Anchorage at Nebraska Omaha (WCHA), ; Michigan Tech at Bemidji State (WCHA), ; North Dakota at Wisconsin (WCHA), ; New Hampshire at St. Cloud State (NC), ; Minnesota State at Denver (WCHA),. Games for Sunday, October 23: Vermont at Minnesota (NC), 1:07 pm CT. con t
CT matchups. Two other teams Michigan Tech and Bemidji State will mark their second straight weekend of league competition when the Huskies (4-0-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) and Beavers (1-3-0, 0-2-0 WCHA) do battle at Sanford Center (4,373) in Bemidji at Friday and Saturday. On the opening weekend of WCHA play Oct. 14-15 Colorado College, Michigan Tech and Minnesota all earned four points by virtue of sweeps. The host Tigers won 3-1 and 6-4 over Bemidji State, the Huskies remained unbeaten under first-year head coach Mel Pearson with back-to-back overtime victories (2-1 ot, 3-2 ot) over visiting Wisconsin, and the Golden Gophers knocked off defending national champion and Minnesota Duluth on the road, 5-4 (ot) and 5-4. Those results also gave both Michigan Tech and Minnesota the season series advantage against Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth, respectively, with 2-0-0 head-to-head marks. Also of note, Michigan Tech is 4-0-0 for the first time since its national championship season of 1974-75. The race for the WCHA regular season championship consists of 168 games, with each league club playing 28 contests (14 home and 14 away). After this week, only St. Cloud State will still have not played a league game, as the Huskies are set to open their WCHA slate Oct. 28-29 at North Dakota. Non-conference series scheduled for the upcoming weekend have Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State all taking on Hockey East Association opponents. The undefeated and No. 8-ranked Golden Gophers (4-0-0) will entertain Vermont (0-0-0) at Mariucci Arena (10,000) on Friday evening at 6:07 pm CT and Sunday afternoon at 1:07 pm CT. The defending NCAA-champion and No. 15- ranked Bulldogs (1-3-0) will travel to Providence College (2-0-0) for back-to-back 7:00 pm ET encounters. And the SCSU Huskies (0-2-0) open their home season at the National Hockey Center (5,371) with Oct. 21 () and Oct. 22 () games against New Hampshire (0-3-0). Idle this week is No. 4-ranked Colorado College. In non-conference action last weekend Oct. 14-15 North Dakota forged a 3-1 victory and 3-3 (ot) tie against visiting Maine (HEA), Denver won 3-2 at top-ranked Boston College (HEA) before falling 4-3 at Boston University (HEA), and Alaska Anchorage won both of their games at the Brice Alaska Goal Rush in Fairbanks by defeating Nebraska Omaha 3-0 and Mercyhurst (Atlantic Hockey Association) 6-2. For the Seawolves, it was their second tournament victory of the 2011-12 season after having also captured their own Kendall Hockey Classic crown on Oct. 7-8. Nebraska Omaha, meanwhile, dropped two decisions at the Brice Alaska Goal Rush, falling to UAA 3-0 and host Alaska Fairbanks (CCHA) 4-1 while St. Cloud State was swept on the Next Week in the WCHA Games for Friday, October 28 Colorado College at Rensselaer (NC), 7:00 pm ET Denver at Michigan Tech (WCHA), 7:07 pm ET Bemidji State at Minnesota Duluth (WCHA), Nebraska Omaha at Wisconsin (WCHA), St. Cloud State at North Dakota (WCHA), Minnesota at Alaska Anchorage (WCHA), Games for Saturday, October 29 Colorado College at Rensselaer (NC), 7:00 pm ET Denver at Michigan Tech (WCHA), 7:07 pm ET Bemidji State at Minnesota Duluth (WCHA), St. Cloud State at North Dakota (WCHA), Nebraska Omaha at Wisconsin (WCHA), Minnesota at Alaska Anchorage (WCHA), Last Week in the WCHA Results of Friday, October 14 Wisconsin 1 at Michigan Tech 2 ot (WCHA) Denver 4 at Boston College 2 (NC) St. Cloud State 2 at Northern Michigan 5 (NC) Minnesota 5 at Minnesota Duluth 4 ot (WCHA) Maine 1 at North Dakota 3 (NC) UMass Lowell 4 at Minnesota State 2 (NC) * Nebraska Omaha 0 vs Alaska Anchorage 3 (NC) Bemidji State 1 at Colorado College 3 (WCHA) * Brice Alaska Goal Rush (Fairbanks, AK) Results of Saturday, October 15 Denver 3 at Boston University 4 (NC) Wisconsin 2 at Michigan Tech 3 ot (WCHA) St. Cloud State 2 at Northern Michigan 3 (NC) * Mercyhurst 2 vs Alaska Anchorage 6 (NC) Minnesota 5 at Minnesota Duluth 4 (WCHA) Maine 3 at North Dakota 3 ot (NC) UMass Lowell 4 at Minnesota State 1 (NC) Bemidji State 4 at Colorado College 6 (WCHA) * Nebraska Omaha 1 at Alaska Fairbanks 4 (NC) * Brice Alaska Goal Rush (Fairbanks, AK) road by CCHA-member Northern Michigan by 5-2 and 3-2 scores. Through games of Oct. 17, WCHA-member teams are now a combined 14-12-2 (.536) in 28 non-conference games. Conference teams are 7-0-0 vs the Atlantic Hockey Association, 4-6-0 vs the CCHA, 2-4-1 vs the HEA and 1-2-1 vs ECAC Hockey. In this week s (Oct. 17) USCHO.com Div. 1 Men s College Hockey Poll, Denver is No. 3, Colorado College is No. 4, North Dakota is No. 5, Minnesota is No. 8 and Minnesota Duluth is No. 15. Also receiving votes from the WCHA were Michigan Tech, Alaska Anchorage, Nebraska Omaha and Wisconsin. And in this week s (Oct. 17) USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Div. 1 Men s College Hockey Poll, Denver is No. 3, Colorado College is No. 4, North Dakota is No. 6, Minnesota is No. 10 and Minnesota Duluth is No. 15. Also receiving votes were Michigan Tech, Alaska Anchorage and Nebraska Omaha. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association, home to a record 37 national championship teams since it s founding in 1951 including the most recent NCAA Frozen Four title won by Minnesota Duluth in 2011 proudly marks it s 60th season of on-ice competition in 2011-12. Catch the League s Weekly Radio Show This Week in the WCHA at WCHA.com The Western Collegiate Hockey Association is pleased to once again provide it s weekly radio show This Week in the WCHA via wcha. com and to interested media outlets. The show is available each Friday at WCHA.com and is also available for electronic distribution. Hosted by Jim Rich and produced by Kevin Falness of the Minnesota Wild Radio Network, This Week in the WCHA runs 6-7 minutes and features key moments and highlights from live game broadcasts, including goals, saves, overtime game-winners, post-game sound clips, a look at upcoming games.
USCHO.com Div. 1 Men s College Hockey Poll Minneapolis, Minn./October 17, 2011 Rk Team (First Place) Record Pts Last Week 1 Michigan (24) 4-0-0 933 4 2 Boston College (15) 3-1-0 927 1 3 Denver (4) 1-1-0 829 3 4 Colorado College (4) 2-0-0 785 7 5 North Dakota 2-1-1 744 6 6 Notre Dame 2-2-0 716 2 7 Boston University (1) 2-1-0 672 8 8 Minnesota (1) 4-0-0 609 14 9 Yale (1) 0-0-0 600 10 10 Miami 2-2-0 599 5 11 Western Michigan 2-0-2 510 12 12 Union 1-0-2 455 11 13 Merrimack 2-0-0 396 13 14 Ferris State 4-0-0 282 NR 15 Minnesota Duluth 1-3-0 278 9 16 Colgate 3-1-0 202 NR 17 Northern Michigan 3-1-0 143 NR 18 Maine 1-2-1 136 17 19 Lake Superior State 4-0-0 99 NR 20 Cornell 0-0-0 98 19 others receiving votes: Michigan Tech 97, Alaska Anchorage 88, Providence 69, Alaska Fairbanks 66, Quinnipiac 42, Dartmouth 33, Nebraska Omaha 16, Air Force 15, UMass-Lowell 12, New Hampshire 12, RIT 9, Wisconsin 9, Harvard 8, Ohio State 4, Northeastern 3, Rensselaer 2. The USCHO.com Poll consists of 50 voters, including 28 coaches from the Division I conferences and 22 beat writers and sports professionals from across the country. The poll, published weekly by the Associated Press, is a production of USCHO.com, which provides in-depth coverage of college hockey. USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men s Division 1 College Hockey Poll Week 3: October 17, 2011 Rk Team, Points (1st Place) Record Last Poll 1 Boston College, 463 (15) 3-1-0 3 2 Michigan, 446 (12) 4-0-0 5 3 Denver, 411 (2) 1-1-0 3 4 Colorado College, 396 (3) 2-0-0 8 5 Notre Dame, 334 2-2-0 2 6 North Dakota, 320 2-1-1 6 7 Miami, 275 2-2-0 4 8 Boston University, 273 (1) 2-1-0 7 9 Yale, 266 (1) 0-0-0 10 10 Minnesota, 243 4-0-0 14 11 Union College, 18 1-0-2 11 12 Western Michigan, 14 2-0-2 12 13 Merrimack College, 98 2-0-0 13 14 Colgate, 61 3-1-0 NR 15 Minnesota Duluth, 45 1-3-0 9 Others receiving votes: Ferris State, 24; Providence College, 19; Northern Michigan, 16; Maine, 15; Cornell, 12; Michigan Tech, 10; Alaska Anchorage, 6; Dartmouth College, 5; Alaska Fairbanks, 3; Nebraska Omaha, 2; Air Force Academy, 1; Lake Superior State, 1; Quinnipiac, 1; Rochester Institute of Technology, 1. Jeff Sauer, Mark Johnson Among Four Lester Patrick Trophy Winners Award Ceremony Set for Oct. 26 in Saint Paul Courtesy of NHL.com NEW YORK, N.Y. Distinguished player and coach Mark Johnson, Hockey Hall of Famer Bob Pulford, long-time USA Hockey executive Tony Rossi and college coaching legend Jeff Sauer have been named recipients of the 2011 Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. The recipients will be honored at an evening reception on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minn. Johnson, a Minneapolis, Minn. native, is an not only an accomplished athlete, but has distinguished himself as an outstanding coach as well. He played 11 years in the NHL (1979-90), where he amassed 508 points in 669 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota North Stars, Hartford Whalers, St. Louis Blues and New Jersey Devils. Johnson may be best known as the leading scorer for Team USA at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, where he scored twice in Team USA s iconic victory against the Soviet Union en route to the gold medal. All total, Johnson represented the United States as a player in 13 international tournaments. He also enjoyed a three-year collegiate playing career at the University of Wisconsin where he was a twotime All-American and was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Freshman of the Year in 1977. Johnson is currently the head coach of the women s hockey team at his alma mater, having led Wisconsin to four NCAA championships (2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011). He also served as the head coach of the 2010 silver-medal winning U.S. Olympic women s ice hockey team and twice was as an assistant coach for the U.S. men s national team at the International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship (2000, 2002). Johnson, the son of legendary college and NHL coach Badger Bob Johnson, was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004. Pulford was one of the most reliable players in the NHL during a 16-year career that spanned three decades. The Ontario native played 1,079 regular-season NHL games, winning four Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs (1962-64, 1967) before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1970. He took his first coaching role with the Kings, guiding them to their first playoff appearance in five years in 1974, and won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 1975. That season, the Kings amassed 105 points, still a club record. Pulford then joined the Chicago Blackhawks, where he spent more than 30 years in various roles. He served as the club's coach on three separate occasions from 1977 to 1987. He was promoted to senior vice president in 1990 and took on the general manager s duties three separate times. Pulford was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. Outside of a highly successful business career, Rossi has generously donated significant time, resources and expertise to USA Hockey for parts of five decades at the grassroots and executive leadership levels. After beginning his volunteer career with the National Governing Body in the mid-1970s, Rossi was elected to the USA Hockey Board of Directors in 1983 and served as a director from the Central District until 1988. After that, he was elected to the USA Hockey Executive Committee and transitioned into the role of USA Hockey treasurer in 1995. He currently serves as vice president of the organization and its international council chair. During his time with USA Hockey, Rossi helped guide the formation and growth of The USA Hockey Foundation, a charitable and educational non-profit corporation that provides long-range financial support for USA Hockey and promotes the growth of the
game in the United States. He was elected to the International Ice Hockey Federation council in 2008. Sauer, a Fort Atkinson, Wis., native, is one of the most successful and distinguished coaches in the history of college hockey. Following his playing career at Colorado College, where he played for Bob Johnson, Sauer spent more than 30 seasons as an NCAA Division 1 head coach both at Colorado College from 1971-80 and then at the University of Wisconsin from 1983-2002. Sauer won national championships as coach of the Badgers in both 1983 and 1990 and ranks eighth on the all-time wins list of college hockey coaches with more than 650 victories (655-532-57) and a winning percentage of.549. Sauer also is closely involved with preparing and coaching the USA Deaf Olympic Team, having participated in seven Deaflympics and earning a gold medal in 2007 at the IIHF Winter Deaf Olympics. In April 2009, he also coached Team USA to a bronze medal in the first ever World Deaf Hockey Championships. Sauer earned the John Snooks Kelley Founders Award from the American Hockey Coaches Association in 2003, presented to individuals in the coaching profession who have contributed to the overall growth and development of the sport of ice hockey in the United States. He is a member of USA Hockey s International Council and the Disabled Hockey Committee and also currently works for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association as assistant to the commissioner. Sauer was recently named head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. The Lester Patrick award, one of the most prestigious in hockey, was presented to the National Hockey League by the New York Rangers in 1966. It honors the memory of Lester Patrick, who spent 50 years in hockey as a player, coach and general manager and was a pioneer in the sport s development. A Live Mobile National Scoreboard box scores via www.wcha. com/mobile. Game story integration with game stories posted from all games to make the all-new WCHA.com a place fans want to visit more regularly. For example, on Saturday morning fans can read what happened in all Friday night games in one cohesive location. An Upgraded Standings Page includes information on headto-head records within the league. New Sortable Team Statistic Pages can be sorted by category at the top of the table. A New WCHA Against the Rest Page with records for each WCHA team against teams from other leagues. New WCHA-member team pages that feature direct links to each school s website, tickets, and audio and/or video broadcasts. Some of the new technology employed in the design of the all-new TheWCHAShop.com are upgraded photo zooming on the product pages, the ability for people to share product pages through places like Facebook and Twitter for added exposure, new TheWCHAShop. com Gift Certificates, and a new checkout process upgraded to a onepage checkout to make it easier for customers to shop. Additionally, TheWCHAShop.com is developing a mobile commerce website to allow for purchases from Smart Phones. WCHA.com will continue to evolve as we build and integrate the history of the men s and women s leagues into the archives. Visit Us on the Web at WCHA.com Website Features Game Day Story Integration, Live Game-Day League & National Scoreboards, Mobile Applications; Sortable Statistics; Individual Player Pages; New On-Line Store at TheWCHAShop.com The Western Collegiate Hockey Association s official website WCHA.com was all-new for 2010-11. The WCHA teamed up with SportDesigns.com to provide visitors with a full-service experience that now features a significant number of upgrades, including new game-day live league and national scoreboards, fully-functional mobile pages, a host of new features including sortable statistics and individual player pages, and the league s on-line store TheWCHAShop.com. Now included at WCHA.com are game-day live scoreboards, fully functional mobile pages that include press releases, game stories, box scores, team and league stats and live game box scores, a more seemless integration of schedules, rosters, standings, live box scores, and statistics in conjunction with collegehockeystats.net, a new campus news section that features the latest press releases from both men s and women s member teams. In addition, the upgrades include: Easy access to standings and statistics right from the home page. A Live Game Day WCHA Scoreboard with links to live box scores that will appear on the home page on any day there is a game. A Live Game Day National Scoreboard with links to live box scores that will appear on the home page on any day there is a game. A Live Mobile WCHA Scoreboard box scores via www.wcha. com/mobile. This is a fully functional mobile website that also includes game stories, statistics, etc.
2012 Red Baron WCHA Final Five March 15-17 Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, MN The 2012 Red Baron WCHA Final Five will once again be held at one of the nation's premier ice hockey facilities, Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn. Dates are Thursday, March 15, Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17. The six first-round playoff winners will be re-seeded No. 1 through No. 6, according to their regular season finish, and advance to the Final Five. 2012 Red Baron WCHA Final Five Schedule Thursday, March 15: Quarterfinals: 2:07 pm CT & Friday, March 16: Semifinals: 2:07 pm CT & Saturday, March 17: Broadmoor Trophy Championship Game, Red Baron WCHA Final Five Season Ticket Holders Season Ticket Holders: All tournament package holders for the Red Baron WCHA Final Five receive: discounted ticket pricing, right of first refusal to their seats the following year, seating upgrade opportunity (based on availability), and the ability to add additional packages. Season tickets will be mailed in February 2012. Tournament Ticket Packages: Reserve your tournament packages now to receive the best seats available following the season ticket holder renewal process. Alltournament packages are $160 for lower level, club level and upper level side sections and $75 for upper level end sections. Each ticket package includes five tickets, one ticket to each of the five games of the tournament. Group Tickets: Group tickets (10+) are available for tournament packages and individual games beginning December 5. Call (651) 312-3486. Single Game Tickets: Single game tickets (if available) go on sale to the public Monday, March 5, 2012. Purchase tickets in person at the Xcel Energy Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000. Individual Game Ticket Prices Game Date - Time (CT) LCU Upper Game 1: Quarterfinal Thursday, March 15-2:00 pm $25 $20 Game 2: Quarterfinal Thursday, March 15 7:00 pm $30 $20 Game 3: Semi-final Friday, March 16 2:00 pm $40 $20 Game 4: Semi-final Friday, March 16 7:00 pm $45 $20 Game 5: Championship Saturday, March 17 7:00 pm $45 $20 LCU = Lower, Club & Upper (Side) Levels; UPPER = Upper (End) Levels WCHA Fan Fest Friday, March 16 & Saturday, March 17 Iron Range Grill (Xcel Energy Center/Gate 4) 4:30 pm 6:30 pm Come celebrate the Red Baron WCHA Final Five with live music, interactive games, food & beverages and more! Cheerleaders, mascots and WCHA pep bands will rock the house with the school songs that lead their teams to victory! Microsoft Store WCHA Fan Fest is free and open to the public! Live Music Enjoy the sounds of local live music before the games on Friday and Saturday nights as these bands rock inside Gate 4 at the Iron Range Grill. Friday, March 16, 4:30 pm Uncle Chunk (www.unclechunk.com) Saturday, March 17, 4:30 pm Playback (www.playbackrocks.com) Dance Mania Bring your dance moves and shake what your momma gave you at the 2012 Red Baron WCHA Final Five Dance Mania Contest! Throughout the tournament, get up and dance when you hear the designated song! The person who shakes it the best throughout the entire tournament will walk away with $250 from Visit Saint Paul and tickets to the 2013 Red Baron WCHA Final Five. Costumes encouraged! Pick Your Final Five Get in on the action at this year s 2012 Red Baron WCHA Final Five with the Pick Your Final Five Sweepstakes! Pick the teams you think will be part of the 2012 Red Baron WCHA Final Five and you may go to the 2013 Red Baron WCHA Final Five with three friends for FREE! For details, visit www.xcelenergycenter.com/wcha. Stay & Play Saturday As you prepare for the championship game at 7 p.m. on Saturday, take time to enjoy all there is to do around Saint Paul. Hop on the FREE shuttle to Mall of America from the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm. Take in the Minnesota Wild vs. Carolina Hurricanes at 1 pm. Or celebrate St. Patrick s Day at one of our local Irish pubs and then stop by the Microsoft Store WCHA Fan Fest at 4:30 pm.
Weekly Team Notebooks 101711 Seawolves University of Alaska Anchorage The undefeated Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (3-0-1) commence Western Collegiate Hockey Association action this weekend with an away series against Nebraska Omaha (1-3-0) on Oct. 21-22 The games will be the first meetings between the teams in Omaha The Seawolves enter the weekend against the Mavericks after winning the Brice Alaska Goal Rush tournament title over in-state rival Alaska Fairbanks Both Alaska teams posted a 2-0 record in the Goal Rush, but UAA won the title on goal differential, edging the host plus-7 to plus-6 It is UAA s first BAGR title since the inaugural event in 2008, and it marks the first time in four years that the Seawolves have swept both of their preseason tourneys (BAGR and Kendall Hockey Classic) The Seawolves and Mavericks will face each other after meeting on Oct. 14 in a non-conference game at the BAGR tournament in Fairbanks UAA won the meeting, 3-0 the first time the Seawolves have shutout the Mavericks The Seawolves own the all-time record against UNO, 2-1-1 The teams have never faced each other in Omaha, with three games being played at the Sullivan Arena and the one in Fairbanks Last season the teams split the WCHA series on Feb. 18-19, with UAA winning on Feb. 18, 3-2, before dropping a 4-1 contest on Feb. 19 The lone tie came on Oct. 14, 2006 in the Nye Frontier Classic tournament in Anchorage (2-2) The No. 15/16 Mavericks was the first ranked opponent UAA has had to play this season The Seawolves and the Mavericks were both well-behaved throughout the game, with neither team being tagged for a penalty The last time UAA wasn t whistled for a minor was on March 3, 2000 against Alaska Fairbanks UAA won that game at UAF, 3-1 The game marked just the fourth time ever the Seawolves haven t spent time in the box Picking up his first collegiate shutout was sophomore G Rob Gunderson on Oct. 14, as well as his second career assist earning him Player of the Game honors and an eventual spot on the all-tournament team Scoring his first collegiate goal was sophomore D Quinn Sproule, who also landed on the all-tournament team On Oct. 15, the Seawolves squared off with Atlantic Hockey s Mercyhurst and defeated the Lakers, 6-2 UAA is undefeated against the Lakers, winning all five meetings Since the inaugural tournament in 2008-09, the Seawolves are 5-3 in the Brice Alaska Goal Rush Against the Lakers, the Seawolves offense was spearheaded by a two-goal game from senior F Jade Portwood his second multi-goal night of career and first since Jan. 15, 2010 against Michigan Tech Registering 2-2=4 totals over the weekend was junior F Daniel Naslund, extending his current point streak to four games After picking up a shorthanded strike, Naslund leads UAA in scoring and is tied for third in the league Naslund and Portwood were both named to the all-tournament team, while Naslund was selected as the Player of the Game on Saturday Also picking up a multi-point game against Mercyhurst were junior F Mitch Bruisjten and junior F Alex Gellert Collecting their first collegiate assists were rookies Derek Docken and Austin Coldwell, while Sam Mellor picked up his first collegiate goal Between the pipes for UAA last Saturday night was sophomore G Chris Kamal (2-0-0), who posted 22 saves and earned the win The Seawolves tallied a season-high 44 shots on net; marking the fourth consecutive night UAA has placed 30-plus shots on goal. UAA is averaging 38 shots per game on net Over the weekend, UAA was tagged for only three penalties in 120 minutes of play. Beavers Bemidji State University The Bemidji State University men's ice hockey team was swept by a nationally-ranked Colorado College in its WCHA-opening series Oct. 14-15. The Beavers dropped the opener 3-1 last Friday before being edged 6-4 in the finale last Saturday The Beavers one-goal effort last Friday was the team s lowest scoring output of the young season BSU s odds of winning with just one goal are pretty slim Since the beginning of the 1999-00 season, BSU has won only two times when scoring one goal, posting a 2-55-7 record in those games Through its first three games, BSU failed to score a single goal in the first period, but that all changed last Saturday as the team potted a pair of goals to take a 2-1 lead into the second period of play in Colorado Springs Newcomer Mitch Cain has a tremendous weekend in Colorado The freshman scored the Beavers only goal Friday, registering the marker in his first collegiate game The last Beaver to net a goal in his BSU debut was Matt Pope, Oct. 22, 2004 versus Ferris State Cain added an assist Saturday to sit locked in a tie for sixth on the team in scoring (1-1=2) Jake Areshenko recorded his first assist of the season last Friday giving him 1-1=2 points on the season Two of the junior s career 11 assists have come in four games versus CC Last weekend s match up with the Tigers stood as the Beavers first contests of 2011-12 on Olympic ice BSU was 4-4-0 on the 200-by-100 a year ago, but playing on Olympic ice has traditionally not been a strong suit of BSU Since making the jump to the major college hockey ranks in 1999-2000, BSU is now 9-33-3 on Olympic ice Forward Brance Orban was one of three BSU players to log three points on the Oct. 14-15 weekend posting an assist Friday and two more Saturday With 0-4=4 points this season, through just four games of his junior season,he has eclipsed his scoring totals from a year ago He now has 4-8=12 career points He currently leads the team in assist scoring and shares the top scoring spot with Shea Walters Walters contributed a goal and two assists at CC In four games versus the Tigers, the senior now has 1-5=6 points Sophomore Radoslav Illo, had a career night versus CC last Saturday He scored a power-play goal and added a pair of assists for a career-high three points Illo had just 4-2=6 points during his entire freshman campaign Danny Mattson and Mitch Cain each made their collegiate debuts for the Beavers last Friday Mattson, a Minneapolis, Minn. native comes to BSU after a USHL career playing for Omaha, Chicago and Youngstown Cain comes to BSU from Fort Frances, Ont., and played 2010-11 in Des Moines of the USHL The BSU penalty-kill unit was flawless last Friday night (4-4) and held CC to one goal in three power-play opportunities last Saturday to finish the weekend at.857 (6-7) The Beavers are now 14-18 (.778) on the kill and have allowed just one power-play goal in its opponents last nine opportunities After stumbling through its first three games, the Bemidji State power-play unit clicked last Saturday netting three goals in four opportunities BSU finished the weekend at CC 3-for-6 (.500) on the man-advantage and improved to 4-for-12 (.333) in 2011-12 BSU falls to 1-3-0 versus nationally-ranked teams this season In 2010-11 the Beavers played 17 games against teams holding down one of the nation s top 15 spots and posted a 7-8-2 mark in those games Since the BSU made the jump to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1999-2000, it is 15-46-4 (.266) versus teams in the top-15 With that said, BSU is now 12-12-2 (.500) versus the top 15 since the beginning of 2008-09 The Beavers return the the friendly confines of Sanford Center this weekend to welcome Michigan Tech for a two-game WCHA series The series is set to get underway Friday with a 7:37 pm opening face-off, with a 7:07 pm start for the series finale The series is a brief break at home before returning to the road for another four-game road swing The Beavers begin the season playing eight of thier first 10 game on the road.
Weekly Team Notebooks con t Tigers Colorado College The Tigers have won 15 consecutive home openers, including all 13 during Scott Owens reign as head coach, since dropping a 6-3 decision to St. Cloud State at the World Arena on Nov. 1, 1996 They ve prevailed in 10 straight season openers overall, all at home, dating back to a 6-2 loss at North Dakota to start the 2001-02 campaign Junior center Rylan Schwartz, whose first career hat trick fueled last Saturday s come-frombehind 6-4 victory over Bemidji State, has factored in on 19 game-winning goals for Colorado College after his third tally midway through the third period stood up as the GWG in last weekend s series finale He s scored five game winners and assisted on 14 Schwartz also won 59.5% (25 of 42) of his face-offs in the Bemidji series Sophomore left wing Jaden Schwartz has either scored or assisted on the game-winning goal in CC s last six victories, including all four post-season triumphs last March, when the Tigers reached the WCHA Final Five and NCAA quarterfinals The younger Schwartz struck for the GWG in last Friday s 3-1 win over the Beavers, then teamed up with junior linemate Scott Winkler to set up his brother s final red lighter on Saturday before adding an empty netter of his own with :32.7 seconds left He s already been involved in 10 game winners during his collegiate career, and has amassed 51 points (19g, 32a) in just 32 games overall Twenty-four of the 28 players on Colorado College s roster saw action in last week s sweep of BSU, and 13 of them including five of the six defensemen who played recorded at least one point With his three assists on Saturday, Winkler recorded the first three-point game of his career as a Tiger Junior netminder Joe Howe, who started 36 games in each of his first two seasons, was credited with both victories last weekend after stopping 36 of 37 Bemidji shots for a.973 saves percentage Howe made 25 saves while going the distance last Friday, then steered away all 11 third-period attempts he faced in a relief role on Saturday CC s blue-line corps, which included freshmen Aaron Harstad and Peter Stoykewych, combined for nine points (2g, 7a) in the season-opening sweep over BSU Senior Gabe Guentzel and junior Mike Boivin each scored a goal last Friday Boivin added an assist in both games, while alternate captain Guentzel helped set up a tally on Saturday The Tigers, who gave up three power-play goals in last Saturday s victory, allowed that many in a game on only one occasion the entire 2010-11 season In 310 all-time games on the World Arena s Olympic-size ice, including 19 exhibitions, Colorado College owns a winning percentage of.706 (212-84-14) CC doesn t play at home again, however, until Wisconsin visits the CSWA for a two-game series on Nov. 18 and 19 Between now and then, the Tigers play five consecutive games on NHL sheets at Rensselaer (Oct. 28-29), Nebraska Omaha (Nov. 4-5) and Denver (Nov. 12) after taking this weekend off Jaden Schwartz, who led the team with four points altogether (2g,2a) in last week s sweep, has compiled 18 (6g, 12a) during an eight-game streak that includes the team s final six outings of his freshman season He has seven points (3g, 4a) in four appearances against Bemidji State. Pioneers University of Denver The Pioneers (1-1) open regular-season home and WCHA play against Minnesota State (1-3) during Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 21-22 DU owns a 24-13-6 record against Minnesota State in the series that began in 1997 The Pioneers are unbeaten at 10-0-2 in their last 12 meetings against the Mavericks including a 3-0-1 mark last season Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, NV) leads Denver in point scoring with three points on one goal and two assists after two games Drew Shore (Denver, CO) leads DU with two goals, while Luke Salazar (Thornton, CO), Nick Shore (Denver, CO), Paul Phillips (Darien, IL) and Joey LaLeggia (Burnaby, BC) have added two points each Drew Shore netted his sixth career game-winning goal in the road win over Boston College last Friday Adam Murray (Anchorage, AK) leads DU with a 1-1 record, 3.10 goals-against average and.900 saves percentage Murray stopped 21 shots in the win at Boston College and added 33 saves in the loss at Boston University last Saturday DU charted a 4-2 win at then-no. 1 Boston College and 4-3 loss at then-no. 7/8 Boston University on Oct. 14-15 DU has started the season 0-for-10 on the power-play and allowed two shorthanded goals against Boston University The Pioneers are 10-for-12 (83.3%) on the penalty-kill DU head coach George Gwozdecky needs one win to reach the 400-win mark at Denver and 550 for his 26-year career. Huskies Michigan Technological University Michigan Tech is 4-0-0 for the first time since its national championship season of 1974-75 Senior right wing Jordan Baker (Chesteremere, AB) leads the team in points with 2-3=5 in four games this season Both of his goals on the year are game-winners including the overtime tally in Tech s 2-1 victory over Wisconsin last Friday (Oct. 14) The Huskies have played in three one-goal games this season and are undefeated Tech played in three one-goal contests a year ago and were 2-1 in those games Freshman Tanner Kero (Hancock, MI) recorded his first two collegiate goals last weekend vs Wisconsin The 5-11, 175-pound center had the game s first goal in both contest both on deflections near the net The Huskies last four-game winning streak came Oct. 14-26, 2007 a fourgame home stretch that encompassed a win over Lake Superior State, two vs. Minnesota State and another vs. North Dakota Sophomore Jacob Johnstone (Grand Ledge, MI) has scored a team-high three goals this season One of the three was a power-play tally in a 3-2 win over Wisconsin last Saturday (Oct. 15) The last time Tech swept two straight series was in 2006, when they won two at Vermont (Oct. 20-21) and two more at home vs. Alaska Anchorage (Oct. 27-28) Senior Brett Olson (Superior, WI) had the game-winning goal in last Saturday s (Oct. 15) 3-2 overtime win over Wisconsin and the assist on the game-winning goal in Friday s (Oct. 14) 2-1 overtime victory against the Badgers Olson has 2-2=4 on the season and is currently on a four-game point streak Rookie defenseman Riley Sweeney (Delta, BC) has registered an assist in each of the team s last three games He has 0-3=3 in four games this year Mel Pearson is the first of Michigan Tech s 21 head hockey coaches all-time to win his first four games behind the bench Ten of the team s 32 points on the season have been scored by freshmen 2-2=4 from left wing Blake Pietila (Brighton, MI), 0-3=3 from Riley Sweeney (Delta, BC), 2-0=2 from Tanner Kero (Hancock, MI) and 0-1=1 from David Johnstone (Grande Ledge, MI) Tech, at 4-0-0, has already matched its win total from 2010-11 (4-30-4). Golden Gophers University of Minnesota The Gophers welcome Vermont to Mariucci Arena this weekend for the first-ever meeting between the two schools Vermont is the lone team from Hockey East that Minnesota has never played, but the Gophers are 80-47-7 all-time against Hockey East opponents Minnesota plays Vermont at 6 pm this Friday and at 1 pm on Sunday The 6 pm start is because of the Homecoming parade on Friday evening and the second game is on Sunday so it does not conflict with the home Gopher football game on Saturday The Gophers swept in-state rival Minnesota Duluth for the first time since Nov. 3-4, 2006 when they beat the Bulldogs in Duluth on Oct. 14-15 Those games had a similar outcome to the games this past weekend In 2006, Minnesota beat the Bulldogs 3-2 on both nights and won the second game in overtime Last weekend, the games were both one-goal games as well (5-4 outcomes) and Minnesota won in overtime on Friday Minnesota is 4-0-0 for the first time since 2001-02, when it won its first six games and started 11-0-2 Minnesota was 7-4-3 on the road last year and is now 2-0-0 away from Mariucci this season The
Weekly Team Notebooks con t Gophers scored 50 goals on the road a season ago for an average of 3.57 goals per game This year, after two games, the Gophers are averaging 5.00 goals a game on the road Minnesota Duluth brings out the best in senior goaltender Kent Patterson In his last six games against the Bulldogs, Patterson has a 2-1-2 record and has made 37, 41, 40, 36, 46 and 46 saves Patterson made a career-high 46 saves in each game this past weekend and in eight career games against Minnesota Duluth, he is 3-2-3 and has a.931 save percentage Like Patterson, sophomores Nate Condon and Nick Bjugstad have played very well against Minnesota Duluth In six career games, Bjugstad has eight points (1g, 7a) against the Bulldogs, while Condon has seven points (4g, 3a) Kent Patterson is one of eight goaltenders in the nation to play in four games this year He joins Michigan s Shawn Hunwick and Lake Superior s Kevin Kapalka as the only goalies with a 4-0-0 record this year Patterson is 13th in the nation (11th among goalies who have played at least two games) with a.943 save percentage and leads the nation with two shutouts Kent Patterson began his senior season with a shutout streak of 145:12 seconds After winning his first two games by shutout, he did not allow a goal in the first period against Minnesota Duluth The first goal he yielded all year was to the Bulldogs Caleb Herbert who scored on a great individual effort at the 5:12 mark of the second period on Friday Minnesota has the most potent offense in the nation, as the Gophers are averaging 6.25 goals a game through four games Minnesota also has the No. 1 power-play in the country, which is clicking at 39.13% (9- of-23) Nine Gophers are averaging at least one point per game Erik Haula (2.25 points/game) leads the way and is followed by Jake Hansen (2.00), Nick Bjugstad (1.75), Nate Condon (1.50), Nate Schmidt (1.50), Kyle Rau (1.25), Sam Warning (1.00), Taylor Matson (1.00) and Mark Alt (1.00) Five Gophers Erik Haula, Jake Hansen, Nate Condon, Taylor Matson and Nate Schmidt have scored at least one point in all four games this year Nate Schmidt leads all defensemen in the nation with six assists and ranks tied for second overall nationally Schmidt had one assist in 13 games last year Minnesota has scored a goal in all 13 periods this year (including overtime last Friday) The Gophers have seven firstperiod goals, nine second-period goals and eight third-period goals Minnesota s sophomore class has been leading the way for the Gophers this year In four games, the sophomore class has combined for 38 points (13g, 25a) Four of the Gophers top five scorers are sophomores, while Erik Haula leads the team with nine points (5g, 4a) The Gophers are well represented in the national scoring race Sophomore Erik Haula is tied for first in the nation with nine points with two other players, while senior Jake Hansen is tied for fourth in the nation with eight points with two other players Sophomore Nick Bjugstad is tied for seventh in the nation with seven points with seven other players. Bulldogs University of Minnesota Duluth The defending NCAA champion Bulldogs head to Providence College this weekend for its first road assignments of the 2011-12 season The two teams last butted heads in Rhode Island on Nov. 13-14, 1998 UMD is 14-7-1 lifetime against the Friars, which includes a pair of wins (5-3 and 7-1) one year ago at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center The Bulldogs posted a 14-5-4 mark away from home last winter The 14 victories and.652 winning percentage were team records while the five losses were the fewest in program history (NCAA I era) UMD launched its WCHA schedule last weekend by falling twice to the University of Minnesota (5-4 ot on Friday, 5-4 on Saturday) The Bulldogs outshot their long-time intrastate rivals 100-60 on the weekend and 86-38 in evenstrength situations The Gophers not only made the most of their shots, but also their power-play chances, going 6-for-9 while UMD cashed in on 2 of its 11 man-advantage opportunities The Bulldogs held Minnesota to just 16 total shots in the Saturday setback and generated 50 of their own for the second straight evening Prior to last weekend, the Bulldogs had gone over two full season since being swept at home (March 6-7, 2009 vs Alaska Anchorage) and hadn t lost two straight games anywhere since February 2010 last Friday s 5-4 loss was just the Bulldogs fourth in their last 32 overtime games Since the start of the 2008-09 season, UMD has gone 13-4-15 (.640 winning percentage) in games which have required an extra session with a school-record seven of those wins coming one year ago Senior center Travis Oleksuk picked up one goal in both ends of the Minnesota series and is the only Bulldog to score in all four games to date (and all five outings counting the Oct. 2 exhibition victory over Lakehead University) The last person to piece together a fourgame goal-scoring streak to start a new season was Darren Nauss (five games in 1989-90) With a goal and an assist over the weekend against Minnesota, senior team captain Jack Connolly upped his career scoring harvest to a nation-leading 141 points (47g, 95a) That ties the two-time All-American and 2010-11 Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist for 25th place on team s all-time scoring charts with Rusty Fitzgerald (1991-95) A pair of former All-Americans Mark Pavelich (142 points, 1976-79) and Junior Lessard (142 points, 2000-04) share the No. 23 slot Connolly, a 2010-11 Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist and the country s top returning scorer from a year ago (he finished third among NCAA skaters with a career-high 59 points), has been a model off consistency when it comes to offensive contributions Consider this: since the start of the 2009-10 season, Connolly has been held pointless for more than one game only once (Jan. 23 and Jan. 29, 2010) Sophomore right winger J.T. Brown, a 2010-11 WCHA All-Rookie League team pick and the reigning Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player, currently shares the UMD scoring lead with Travis Oleksuk (five points) and has put a team-leading 25 shots on goal One year ago during UMD s weekend sweep of Providence College, Brown scored twice and assisted on three other goals while going a plus-5 en route to landing WCHA Rookie of the Week honors When rookie defenseman Derik Johnson took his first shift last Saturday, it completed the ninth father-son combination to play for the Bulldogs Derik s father, Jim Johnson, also patrolled the UMD blueline and, during his senior season in 1984-85, served as team captain before going on to enjoy a 13-year National Hockey League career Caleb Herbert scored a goal each night against Minnesota including a highlight-reel tally on Friday while fellow freshman forward Justin Crandall closed out the weekend with a goal and two assists The standing-room only crowd of 6,784 which took in Saturday s clash with Minnesota at AMSOIL Arena was the largest ever to witness a Bulldog home game UMD opponents have cashed in on 8 of their 18 power-plays (44.4%) At 1-3-0, UMD is below the.500 mark for the first time since the 2007-08 season finale. Mavericks Minnesota State University Minnesota State opened its 2011-12 home schedule with a pair of nonconference contests with UMass-Lowell last weekend The visiting River Hawks claimed 4-2 and 4-1 wins over the host Mavericks MSU begins WCHA action this week with road games at the University of Denver The Mavericks, who went 0-5-1 vs. the Pioneers last year, are 13-24-6 alltime in the series vs. DU Freshman defenseman Zach Palmquist and freshman forward Jean-Paul Lafontaine scored for Minnesota State in last Friday s home opener and senior netminder Austin Lee, the reigning WCHA Defensive Player of the Week after he backstopped MSU to a 1-0 win at #18 RPI last Friday, took the loss with 33 saves Head coach Troy Jutting (MSU 87) is in his 12th year at the Maverick men s hockey helm and owns an all-time record of 173-201-53 (.467) MSU s all-time record in 1,407 games played is 725-550-132 (.562) Senior forward Justin Jokinen recorded his first point of 2011-12 when he drew an assist on Jean-Paul Lafontaine s goal last Friday vs. UMass-Lowell The Cloquet, Minn., native then scored his first goal of the year when he tallied a thirdperiod marker in Saturday s game His 1-1=2 on the year places him at the top of MSU s scoring charts Jokinen has 15-12=27 in 89 career games with the Mavericks Freshman defenseman Zach Palmquist, who is tied for fourth on the team with eight shots on goal, tallied his
Weekly Team Notebooks con t first career goal when he scored the game s first goal in last Friday s nonconference home game vs. UMass-Lowell Junior forward Eriah Hayes, who has now played in 78 consecutive games, is tied for fourth on the team in shots on goal with eight through the teams first four games Freshman forward Jean-Paul Lafontaine registered his first goal as a collegian when he scored for Minnesota State last Friday vs. UMass-Lowell Lafontaine, who has played in all four MSU games to date, has six shots on goal to rank eighth on the team Freshman defenseman Mat Knoll, a three-year veteran of the Alberta Junior Hockey League prior to joining Minnesota State, played in his first college game when he suited up for the Mavericks last Friday in the non-conference home contest vs. UMass-Lowell Freshman forward Matt Leitner, who redshirted with Minnesota State last season after spending two campaigns with Fargo of the USHL, leads the Mavericks with 11shots on goal Leitner picked up his first career point when he was credited with an assist on Jokinen s goal Saturday Senior forward Michael Dorr, MSU s top-returning scorer from a year ago who has played in 54 consecutive games, has ten shots on goal through three games Sophomore defenseman Josh Nelson, who had 0-1=1 in 16 games in his first season with the Mavericks last year, recorded an assist on Zach Palmquist s goal Friday vs. UMass-Lowell Junior forward Eli Zuck assisted on Zach Palmquist s goal last Friday vs. UMass-Lowell for his first point of 2011-12 Zuck, who had 1-0=1 as a freshman in 2009-10, has totalled 5-14=19 in his last 39 games played Freshman forward Charlie Thauwald played in his first game as a Maverick in last Saturday s tilt vs. UMass-Lowell The Rochester, Minn., native, who had one shot on goal and was +1 in the game, earned his first career point as a collegian when he drew an assist on Justin Jokinen s goal MSU has scored the first goal in three of its four games this year The Mavericks have yet to scored a power-play goal of their own MSU is 0-for-17 in power-play chances this year Opponents have connected on five-of-29 (.172) chances with the man-advantage. Mavericks University of Nebraska Omaha UNO dropped both games at the Brice Alaska Goal Rush last weekend, losing to Alaska Anchorage, 3-0, and to Alaska Fairbanks, 4-1 The shutout loss to Anchorage was the first of the season for the Mavericks They were shutout just once last season Terry Broadhurst had UNO s only goal of the weekend and is now tied with Brock Montpetit, Matt White and Bryce Aneloski for the team scoring lead with four points each Broadhurst s three goals lead the team Aneloski and Matt White are tied for the team lead with four assists Josh Archibald leads all UNO freshmen with two points and is tied for second on the team with two goals Goaltender Ryan Massa made his collegiate debut last Friday, stopping 14 shots in just over 24 minutes of relief action against Alaska Anchorage He made his first collegiate start the following night, stopping 25 shots and allowing four goals against Alaska Fairbanks John Faulkner made his school record 43rd consecutive start against Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 14 That string stretched back to the end of the 2009-10 season Last Friday against Alaska Anchorage, the Mavericks played in the first penalty-free game in school history The closest they had come to that occurrence before then was Oct. 30, 2003 when they were whistled for one minor in a game at Notre Dame The Mavericks return home to open the WCHA schedule against Alaska Anchorage on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 21 and 22 This Friday s game against UAA will be the first meeting between the two schools outside the state of Alaska The first three games of the all-time series were staged at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage before last Friday s meeting in Fairbanks UNO is 1-2-1 all-time against the Seawolves The Mavericks are 1-1-0 at home this season, beating Mercyhurst, 5-1, on Oct. 7 before losing to Colgate, 4-3, on Oct. 8 During the Dean Blais era, the Mavericks are 30-10-3 (.733) at home UNO was 10-3-1 at home in WCHA action last season. Fighting Sioux University of North Dakota North Dakota (2-1-1) opens WCHA play this week with a road trip to Wisconsin (1-3-0) UND was ranked No. 6 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls last week, while the Badgers were ranked No. 18 in the USCHO.com poll The Sioux trail the all-time series 62-84-11 (.430), but most recently earned a sweep in Madison last November, winning 1-0 and 4-2 UND has not been swept in Madison since the 2004-05 season Dave Hakstol s first behind the bench and have gone 6-3-0 at the Kohl Center since then The Sioux are 28-20-4 (.577) all-time in WCHA openers, including last season s 5-2 win at Bemidji State UND enters the series with just two losses (14-2-1) in its last 17 WCHA road games, dating back to a Feb. 13, 2010, win at St. Cloud State One of the two losses was a 1-0 defeat with :01 left at No. 4 Nebraska Omaha (11/20/10) and the other was a 4-2 loss at No. 20 Colorado College (1/28/11) UND is unbeaten (4-0-1) in its last five WCHA road games UND is coming off of a 3-1 win and a 3-3 tie against No. 17 Maine last weekend in Grand Forks In last Friday s 3-1 win, senior defenseman Ben Blood scored the game-winning goal with 5:25 remaining in regulation, then set up Corban Knight s insurance tally exactly four minutes later Senior goalie Brad Eidsness made his first home start in just over a year and stopped 30 of 31 shots for the win It was Eidsness first start since last season s regular season finale at Michigan Tech, and his first home start since Oct. 30, 2010 against Denver It was Eidsness 91st career appearance, moving him past Scott Brower (1984-88) for sole possession of fifth all-time at UND Eidsness also became the 10th goalie in UND history to eclipse the 2,000-save plateau for his career Freshman Michael Parks opened the scoring last Friday with his first career goal On Saturday, UND erased a 2-0 deficit with three straight power-play goals However Maine answered with a power-play goal of its own in the third period to salvage the tie Junior forward Danny Kristo scored his first two goals of the season and set up freshman defenseman Nick Mattson s first career goal Kristo leads the team with seven points (2g, 5a) and a plus-4 rating through four games Last season it took Kristo 21 games to score his second goal of the season Junior center Corban Knight (3g, 3a) has reached the scoresheet in every game this season Perhaps more impressively, Knight has won 71.9% of his face-offs this season after setting a UND single-season record of 59.9% last season Knight won 21 of 26 draws on Saturday (80.8%) and 37-for-48 (77.1%) on the weekend. Huskies St. Cloud State University The St. Cloud State University hockey team will open its 2011-12 home season on Oct. 21-22 with a pair of dates against nationally-ranked New Hampshire at the NHC The Huskies and Wildcats have only played once before, with the Huskies losing a 5-2 decision against UNH at the 2003 NCAA Division I Northeast Regional game in Worcester, Mass SCSU is 13-15-2 in games played against teams from Hockey East, and the last time the Huskies played a Hockey East school was a 3-3 (ot) decision against Maine on Dec. 29, 2008 the last time the Huskies hosted a Hockey East team at the NHC, the Huskies swept Providence by scores of 2-1 and 5-3 on Jan. 17-18, 2003 on Oct. 14-15, the Huskies dropped a pair of non-conference games at Northern Michigan On Oct. 14, SCSU lost a 5-2 match and on Oct. 15, the Huskies lost a 3-2 decision at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich. senior forward Jared Festler continued his hot hand this season with goals in both games at NMU Festler owns a four-game point streak and a three-game goal streak headed into the New Hampshire series He leads the club in scoring this year with three goals and six points to his credit In 111 career games at SCSU, Festler has scored 33 goals and 38 assists for 71 points He is +14 on the plus/minus during his career at SCSU senior forward and team captain Drew LeBlanc also owns a four-game point streak for the