NMU Opponent Preview: Minnesota State Mavericks
The Northern Michigan Wildcats Men’s Hockey team have had a weekend to recover after their two week trip to Alaska and now they must prepare for a two week home stand against the top two teams in the conference. Their opponent this weekend is the WCHA leader, and nationally ranked #7 Minnesota State University-Mankato Mavericks. The Wildcats have been playing well lately, but they will have to be at their best to earn any points and gain some ground in the league standings.
Team Overview:
Head Coach: Mike Hastings
Record Last Season: 29–10–1 (22–5–1 WCHA); WCHA Regular Season Champions; NCAA Tournament appearance.
Current Record: 19–6–1 (14–4–0 WCHA)
The Mavericks are one of the only WCHA teams with decent non-conference results this season, earning sweeps against Boston University and Minnesota, and splitting with North Dakota in Grand Forks. They faltered a bit in their recent holiday tournament in Arizona, losing to Minnesota-Duluth and tying Arizona State, but that was only a slight hiccup in an otherwise stellar season for Mankato, and one that can be forgiven considering that head coach Mike Hastings was absent with Team USA at the World Junior Championships. Their four WCHA losses have come at the hands of Bemidji State, Bowling Green (who swept them back in December), and Lake Superior State this past Saturday night. At 42 points, the Mavericks are currently five points ahead of Bowling Green, and six points ahead of Northern Michigan in the league standings.
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Key Departures:
- C.J. Suess- The 2017–18 WCHA Player of the Year and Hobey Baker finalist had an excellent career and an excellent senior season in Mankato. He scored 22 goals and 21 assists last season, leading the team in goals and points. The 5th round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets has eight goals so far this season with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.
- Zeb Knutson- His 43 points (15–28–43) tied for the team lead last season and accounted for nearly half of his 88 career points. He has scored six goals and four assists in 26 games played for the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL this season.
- Brad McClure- named a Captain during his final year in Mankato, McClure was a consistent offensive presence for the Mavericks. His eleven goals and ten assists last season weren’t the most on the team, but he was definitely reliable. He offensive production has jumped in the pros, scoring 16 goals and 17 assists through 37 games with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL.
- Connor LaCouvee- A transfer from Boston University, LaCouvee performed admirably in net during his lone season in Mankato. He played in 31 games last season, winning 23 of them, all while posting a very respectable 1.80 GAA and .914 SV%. He has played sparingly for three different teams this season in the ECHL and AHL, and is currently with Montreal’s farm club, Laval Rocket.
Key Veterans:
- Marc Michaelis-The junior forward from Mannheim, Germany leads the Mavericks with 26 points from 12 goals and 14 assists. Through 26 games played, he’s averaging a point per game. He’s had five multi-point nights and only nine games in which his name hasn’t appeared on the box score. Keeping Michaelis in check will be the number one priority for the Wildcats this weekend.
- Parker Tuomie- At 24 points, Tuomie is only two goals behind his countryman Michaelis for the team lead in both goals and points. The junior forward from Bremerhaven is scoring in nearly every game, and is on pace to have the best statistical season of his collegiate career.
- Jared Spooner- The sophomore from Bismarck has already surpassed his scoring totals from his rookie season, and his 5 goals and 17 assists are good enough for third on the team in total points. He had a two goal, three point night against Ferris State back in November. He should continue to develop into an offensive force over the next couple of seasons in Mankato.
- Charlie Gerard- The junior from Rocky River, Ohio has already outscored his previous two season totals combined in both goals and assists (7–11–18) this season. His growth in production is a pleasant surprise for an already deep Mavericks team.
Freshmen to watch:
- Dryden McKay- The young netminder has been given the majority of starts for the Mavericks over senior Northern Michigan transfer Mathias Israelsson. McKay has played in 19 games and earned 12 wins, most among freshman nationwide. His 2.05 GAA is just outside of top ten nationally, and his .916 SV% is very respectable as well.
- Julian Napravnik- Yet another German player to watch out for this weekend, Napravnik is the only freshman on Minnesota State’s roster who is in the top third in team scoring. He has four goals and nine assists so far this season, and he scored the game winner in the second period this past Friday night against Lake Superior. Napravnik had an eight game scoring streak earlier this season, before going quite until last weekend. If he finds his groove again, he could be very dangerous as the season heads toward it’s conclusion.
Series Expectations:
This series has huge conference implications for both teams. The Wildcats will be excited to try to make up some ground in the league standings in front of their home fans, while the Mavericks will want to both protect and pad their WCHA lead. If NMU can steal a win or two, they might be climbing into the top 20 of Monday’s USCHO.com poll. The goaltending matchup between Tolvanen and McKay is very intriguing, as both goalies are statistically very similar and are probably the two best goalies in the conference. However, don’t be surprised if Mike Hastings gives Israelsson the nod on one of the nights against his former team. The Mavericks are a deep and well rounded team who can get scoring contributions from deep down their roster, so if Northern Michigan hopes to best them, they will need their young bottom six forwards to step up in the scoring department. Give the goaltending edge to NMU, but only slightly. This will be a must-watch series for any WCHA fan.
Prediction:
Northern Michigan comes home well rested and plays big in front of Tolvanen on Friday. NMU wins 3–1.
Israelsson plays on Saturday for Minnesota State, giving the Mavericks an overtime victory against his former team, 2–1.
