[미네소타 주립대학교 만카토]Mavericks Make Trek to the Last Frontier for WCHA Series vs. the Seawolves_MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO

[미네소타 주립대학교 만카토]Mavericks Make Trek to the Last Frontier for WCHA Series vs. the Seawolves_

MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO

Minnesota State (15-9-4 overall, 11-7-4 WCHA) continues league play with a two-game road series at Alaska Anchorage (5-16-5 overall, 8-9-3 WCHA) slated for this weekend. The Mavericks and the Seawolves are scheduled to play at Sullivan Arena (6,251) in downtown Anchorage Friday (10:07 p.m. CST) and Saturday (10:07 p.m. CST).

About the Minnesota State-Alaska Anchorage Series:  Minnesota State stands 46-24-9 all-time vs. the Seawolves. Minnesota State has won the last six meetings between the two schools and the two games this weekend mark the only regular-season contests the Mavericks will have with the Seawolves this year.  The first game in the series between the two schools was played back in 1982-83.

Minnesota State Most Recently:  The Mavericks, who have gone 6-3-2 in the last 11 games, are coming off a weekend home league series in which they claimed a 4-2 win and a 2-2 overtime tie (and 3x3 overtime win) with Lake Superior State.

About Alaska Anchorage:  The Seawolves stand 5-16-5 overall and are in ninth  place in the WCHA standings with a 4-11-5 conference record mark. UAA dropped a pair of league contests at Northern Michigan last weekend in its most-recent action, falling to the Wildcats by scores of 6-1 and 4-0.

UAA, which enters the series with Minnesota State having gone 4-5-3 its last 12 games, is paced offensively by junior forward Matt Anholt (5-10--15) and junior forward Tad Kozun (4-8--12). Junior goaltender Olivier Mantha (5-14-3, 2.77, .913 sv%) has started 22 of UAA's 26 games this year.  

The Seawolves are led head coach Matt Thomas (RIT '98), who stands 42-74-16 as a college head coach (this is his fourth year with Alaska Anchorage).  

Minnesota State On the Web:  Tickets, Releases, statistics, player and staff biographies, etc. on all of Minnesota State's 20 sports are available at the official website of MSU Athletics located at www.msumavericks.com

Minnesota State All-Time:  The Minnesota State men's hockey program, begun in 1969-70, completed its 47th year of competition last year.  The Mavericks are in their 21st year as members of NCAA Division I and in their 18th season as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.   The Mavericks are 851-631-152 (.567) all-time and stand 222-215-61 (.507) in regular-season games vs. WCHA opponents.

Sean Flanagan Notes: In first season serving as an alternate captain...Three-time letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16) is a two-time WCHA All-Academic honoree and WCHA Scholar-Athlete honoree (at least 3.50 grade point average)...Had a goal and an assist in last Friday's 4-2 win over Lake Superior State...Has 3-7--10 on the year, owns 11-37--48 with 162 shots on goal, is +17 and has 126 blocked shots in 129 career games.

Carter Foguth Notes: In second season serving as team captain...Three-time letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16) was a WCHA All-Academic honoree last year... At 133 games played stands as Minnesota State's active career games played leader...Has 60 blocked shots this year, which stands tied for seventh in the nation...Has 276 blocked shots and is +23 in four seasons with the Mavericks.

Cole Huggins Notes: Three-year letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16) is a two-time WCHA All-Academic pick...Owns school record for shut-outs with 11...Named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week (third time in career) after backstopping Mavericks to 3-1 an 4-0 wins over #17 Michigan Tech Oct. 7-8...Stands 8-4-1 with a 2.34 goals against average and a .903 save percentage for the year and ranks fifth at Minnesota State for career wins with 46 victories....Stopped 47 of 51 shots (.922 sv%, .1.92 GAA) as Minnesota State picked up five of six points in the two games vs. Lake Superior State last weekend. 

Michael Huntebrinker Notes: Three-year letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16) is in first year as an alternate captain...Two-time WCHA All-Academic honoree and WCHA Scholar-Athlete honoree (at least 3.50 grade point average)...Had three assists in Minnesota State's 7-3 win over Alaska Dec. 2...Scored his third goal of the season in Minnesota State's 5-4 win at Princeton Dec. 17. The goal is the first career game-winning tally ...Assisted on two Minnesota State goals in 3-2 victory at Alabama Huntsville (Jan. 7)...Has 14-33--47 in 113 career games with the Mavericks.

Jordan Nelson Notes: Three-year letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16) is a two-time WCHA All-Academic honoree and WCHA Scholar-Athlete honoree (at least 3.50 grade point average)...Ranks second on the Mavericks with 204 face-off wins. The Williston, N.D., native has 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 125 career games played.

Zach Stepan Notes:  Three-time letterwinner (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16) is a 2012 Nashville Predators draft pick (4th round, 112 overall)...Including the game-winning goal, scored a pair of power play goals in Minnesota State's 3-2 win at Alabama Huntsville Jan. 7...Heads into the Alaska Anchorage series having scored four times and assisted on three others for seven points in the last seven games The Shattuck product, who scored his fourth goal of the season in last Friday's 4-2 win over Lake Superior State, has 22-33--55 in 126 career games played.

C.J. Franklin Notes: Two-year letterwinner is in first season as team captain...2014 Winnipeg Jets draftee (5th round, 129th overall)... Finished third on team in scoring and second in goals with 14-11--25 in sophomore season and saw action in all 41 games...Assisted on Zach Stepan's goal in last Friday's 4-2 win over Lake Superior State and stands tied for second on Minnesota State's scoring charts with 10-14--24...Has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in the last 16 games and leads Minnesota State with 280 face-off wins (19th in the country).  With 33-44--77 in 106 career games, the Forest Lake, Minn., product stands as Minnesota State's active career scoring leader and ranks 31st on the school's career scoring list (for DI-era).

Zeb Knutson Notes: Two-year letterwinner (2014-15, 2015-16) finished sixth on school's point-scoring charts in 2015-16 with six goals and 11 assists for 17 points...Registered his fifth goal of the year 3-2 win at Ferris State Dec. 5....Assisted on Zach Stepan's goal in last Friday's 4-2 home win over Lake Superior State now has 8-9--17 for the season.  Knutson, who ranks fourth in the team in goals (8) and is fifth in shots on goal (62), has posted a career-high for goals in a season this year and matched his career-high for points. He heads into the series at UAA with 3-3--6 in the last seven games.

Clint Lewis Notes: Lettered as a freshman in 2015-16...Missed most of season due to injury (saw action in six games)...Ranks third on the Mavericks in plus/minus with a +7 on the year, has 33 blocked shots and 27 shots on goal in 2016-17.

Brad McClure Notes: Two-time letterwinner (2014-15, 2015-16) is in first  year as an alternate captain...Posted 5-8--13 numbers while playing in all 41 games as a sophomore... Racked up three assists in 7-3 win over Alaska (Dec. 2), then scored his eighth goal of the season the next night and added an assist on C.J. Franklin's game-tying goal...Scored twice in 3-0 win at Alabama Huntsville (Jan. 6)...Had a goal and an assist in 4-4 tie at Michigan Tech (Jan. 20)...Scored Minnesota State's fourth goal in last Friday's 4-2 win over Lake Superior State, has racked up 7-9--16 in the last 16 games. The Stratford, Ont., native  leads Minnesota State with 104 shots on goal (tied for first in the WCHA and tied for seventh in the nation), leads the team in goals (12) and is tied for second in points with 12-12--24.

Aaron Nelson Notes: Two-year letterwinner was a WCHA All-Academic selection last year...Named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week following two wins at Alabama Huntsville (Jan. 6-7), started six games for the Mavericks Jan. 6-Jan. 21... The Bismarck, N.D., stands 3-2-1 on the year with a 2.44 goals against average and a .911 saves percentage...Career-high 35 saves in 4-4 overtime tie at Michigan Tech last Friday.

Daniel Brickley Notes: Lettered in first season with Mavericks (2015-16)....Named to 2015-16 WCHA All-Rookie Team...Collected 2-9--11 in 36 games played as a freshman...Named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week following Minnesota State's two games with Lake Superior State last weekend...Had a goal and an assist and six blocked shots in last Saturday's 2-2 overtime tie with Lake Superior State and with 6-16--22 on the season, stands fourth on Minnesota State's scoring charts. He leads all WCHA defensemen in scoring (and is tied for eighth in the nation) despite missing a month of playing time due to an upper body injury. He ranks second on the Mavericks at +11 and leads Minnesota defensemen with 43 shots on goal.

Max Coatta Notes: Lettered in first season with Mavericks (2015-16)...Named to 2015-16 WCHA All-Rookie Team.....Tied for third in the WCHA in rookie scoring with 5-6--11 in 28 league games...Collected 5-8--13 in 36 games played as a freshman...Has 8-13--21 in 64 career games,  assisted on Parker Tuomie's goal in Minnesota State's 3-0 win at Alabama Huntsville (Jan. 7).

Steen Cooper Notes: Lettered in first season with Mavericks (2015-16)...Collected 1-0--1 in 10 games played as a freshman... Scored first career goal in 2-2 overtime tie in WCHA road game at Northern Michigan (Nov. 21)...Enters weekend with 1-0--1 in 15 career games.

Chandler Madry Notes: Lettered in first season at Minnesota State (2015-16)...Had 2-1--3 in nine games played in debut season with Mavericks...Registered first career goal in 2-0 home win over Alaska Anchorage (Nov. 27, 2015)...Also scored in a game at Michigan Tech (Jan. 16, 2016)... Scored his first career game-winning goal in 6-4 victory over St. Cloud State (Oct. 15, 2016), has 3-1--4 in 12 career games.

Jason Pawloski Notes:  Lettered in first season with Mavericks (2015-16)....8-2-5 won-loss record with .901 save percentage and 1.85 goals against average in first year of college hockey...Named WCHA Rookie of the Week after backstopping Mavericks to a two-game home league sweep over Alaska Anchorage with a 2-0-0 record, a 1.00 goals against average and a .947 save percentage (Nov. 27-28)...Got his first win of 2016-17 when he stopped 18 shots in Minnesota State's 2-1 win at Lake Superior State, Nov. 5...Owns a 12-5-7 career record with a 2.08 GAA and .905 sv%, stands 4-3-2 for the year with a 2.49 GAA and a .909 sv%.

Ryan Schwalbe Notes:  Lettered in first year with Minnesota State (2015-16)...Had 0-3--3 in 28 games in debut season with Mavericks while playing both forward and defense...Had 24 shots on goal and blocked eight shots...First career point came in 3-2 win at Ferris State (Nov. 7) when he assisted on a goal by Casey Nelson...Picked up his first point of 2016-17 when he drew an assist on Ian Scheid's goal in last Saturday's 2-2 overtime tie with Lake Superior State. Schwalbe has 0-4--4 in 53 games played, 38 shots on goal and 23 blocked shots for his two-year Minnesota State career.

Alec Vanko Notes: Lettered in freshman season (2015-16)...Registered 0-4--4 and was +3 in 12 games played in debut season with Minnesota State...Scored first career goal in 7-1 win at Alaska (Oct. 21, 2016)...Oregon, Wis., native has 2-1--3 in 12 games played this year.

Michael Bigelbach Notes: Played two seasons with Omaha (USHL) where he served as an alternate captain for the Lancers in 2015-16...Had 2-10--12, along with 105 PIMS with Omaha in 2015-16...Toiled in the North American Hockey League in 2013-14, playing 44 games with Minot (4-10--14) and 18 games with Janesville (0-2--2)...Assisted on Jordan Nelson's game-winning goal in Minnesota State's 2-1 victory at Lake Superior State, Nov. 5...Has 0-2--2 and is +1 in seven games played on  the year.

Josh French Notes:  Spent two campaigns with Omaha (USHL) where he had 16-32--48 and served as an alternate captain for the Lancers in 2015-16...Led Omaha in points and assists and was named team MVP and Forward of the Year in 2015-16...Made debut for Minnesota State he played in season-opening games with Michigan Tech, Oct. 7 and has played in every game this year...Registered first career point with an assist on Charlie Gerard's goal vs. Bemidji State Nov. 11...Had two assists in last Friday's 4-2 victory over Lake Superior State and owns 0-4--4 numbers in his debut season with the Mavericks.

Charlie Gerard Notes:  Played with three different teams in the USHL in 2015-16 - Collected 10 goals and five assists for 15 points in 26 games with Madison, 3-5--8 in 18 GP with Fargo and 6-4--10 with Muskegon...Totalled 17-16--33 with Madison in 2014-15....Notched first career goal with Minnesota State when his scored in a 1-1 home tie with Bemidji State (Nov. 11) and has 1-1--2 in 18 games played to date.

Edwin Hookenson Notes:  Spent three seasons with Nanaimo (BCHL) where he served as an alternate captain for the Clippers and earned team's Coaches Award in 2015-16...Had six goals and 17 assists for 23 points in 58 games in 2015-16...Registered 5-23--28 in 58 games and was named team's Most Improved Player in 2014-15 in helping lead Nanaimo to an Interior Division regular-season title and play-off series victories over Alberni Valley and Powell River and a place in the BCHL championship series....Made his college debut when he played in both games vs. the University of Alaska Dec. 0-2...Has 11 shots on goal and 11 blocked shots in eight games in debut season with Mavericks.

Marc Michaelis Notes:  Two-year USHL vet spent a pair of seasons with Green Bay where he had 10-41--51 in 59 games in 2015-16... A two-time WCHA Rookie of the Week award recipient this year, freshman forward Marc Michaelis who continues to lead Minnesota State in scoring with 31 points on 11 goals and 20 assists, assisted on Daniel Brickley's game-tying goal in Saturday's 2-2 overtime contest with Lake Superior State. Michaelis, who 31 points are the third-most ever by a Maverick freshman for the D-era, stands tied for 15th in the country in scoring and is first amongst all freshmen skaters in the nation in scoring. Michaelis has accrued at least one point in 19 of 28 games played in his debut season with the Mavericks.

Nick Rivera Notes:  Team captain for Omaha (USHL) in 2015-16...Had 23-18--41 with 132 PIMs and +5 in 48 games with Lancers in 2015-16...Had 14-14--28 and was +12 in 58 games with Omaha in 2014-15 and collected 18-9--27 with Wenatchee (NAHL) in 2013-14...Scored twice and had two assists in earning WCHA Rookie of the Week honors for his play in Minnesota State's two games at Alaska Oct. 21-22)...Enters Lake Superior State series with 4-3--7 in 28 games played.

Ian Scheid Notes:  Played the first five games of the 2015-16 season with Fargo (USHL) before being traded to Sioux City where he had 5 goals and 11 assists for 16 points in 47 games...Spent the 2014-15 campaign with Austin (NAHL) where he registered 12-23--35 in 55 games with the Bruins and was named NAHL All-Rookie First Team...Scored his first career game-winning goal in 4-2 victory over Ferris State (Oct. 28)...Has played every game for Minnesota State in debut season...Had a goal and assist in last Saturday's 2-2 overtime tie over Lake Superior State, has 4-8--12 in the last 17 games. Scheid as 7-11--18 on the year to rank first amongst all WCHA first-year blueliners in points (he is tied for fourth amongst all freshmen defensemen in the nation).

Parker Tuomie Notes:  Former Sioux Falls (USHL) captain...Had a goal and three assists, along with 10 shots on goal, in earning WCHA Rookie of the Week honors for his role in Minnesota State's two wins over St. Cloud State (Oct. 14-15)...Named WCHA Rookie of the Week following Minnesota State's two games vs. Lake Superior State last weekend...Tallied first career game-winning goal when he scored Minnesota State's third goal at 3:07 of the third period of last Friday's 4-2 victory over the Lakers.  He also scored at 3:52 of second overtime session in three-on-three action as the Mavericks claimed the WCHA point in Saturday's 2-2 overtime tilt. Tuomie, who ranks third on the team with 71 shots on goal, has 5-5--10 on the season and stands tied for eighth on Minnesota State's scoring charts.

Noteables: Minnesota's freshmen have racked up 28-46--74 in 28 contests so far this season to stand fifth in scoring in the nation as a group.

As a group, Minnesota State's defensemen are tied for 13th in the country amongst all defensive corps with 21-45--66.

Minnesota State has outshot its opponents in 19 out of 28 games this year and rank 12th in the nation in shots on goal margin at +155.

On Tap: Following this weekend's conference road series at Alaska Anchorage, the Mavericks are idle the Feb. 10-11 weekend prior to hosting Northern Michigan in the final regular season home games of the 2016-17 season.