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Some vacation for the Mavericks.
While most of us were enjoying our long winter break, the MSU men's hockey team was hard at work. The team played four series matches, three of them on the road.
The Mavericks played their last home series Dec. 14 and 15 as they hosted the Denver Pioneers. Denver, riding hot goaltenders, swept MSU with game scores of 6-1 and 5-2. MSU put 69 shots on goal in the series, but DU's goalkeeper tandem of Wade Dubielewicz and Adam Berkhoel stopped 66 of the shots to record the road victories. Denver was ranked No. 3 at the time and is now standing at the top position in the college hockey polls.
MSU then took to the road for three consecutive series. The first came in unfriendly territory as MSU faced St. Cloud State. The Huskies were ranked No. 1 in the country at the time. The Mavericks also had been swept at home earlier by the Huskies and had never beaten SCSU since becoming Division I. Things didn't improve for the Mavericks as they lost 1-3 and 1-8.
After St. Cloud, the team took a much needed two-week break from action. But by Jan. 4, the Mavericks found themselves playing Alabama-Huntsville on the road in a non-conference series. The Chargers, considered the underdogs in the series, pulled a 2-0 upset Friday night. Goalie Mark Byrne made 37 saves to record the shutout.
Last weekend the Mavericks played their final away series until Feb. 8 they traveled to Colorado College. MSU faced yet another ranked opponent as the Tigers were listed No. 12 in both national polls. CC lived up to its ranking Friday night as they shut down MSU and won 2-0. Curtis McElhinney made 22 saves to get the victory, while MSU goaltender Jason Jensen stopped 36 shots in the loss.
Jensen kept up his exceptional play Saturday night as the Mavericks surprised the Tigers with a 2-1 victory. Sophomore Tim Jackman got MSU on the board early as he scored only 19 seconds into the game, and junior Jerry Cunningham tallied the game-winning goal 2:23 into the second stanza. Jensen stopped 43 of the 44 shots he faced to power MSU in the victory. Jensen's performance against CC earned him WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Jensen has been the story for MSU as of late. The sophomore from Apple Valley, Minn., wasn't even expected to play more than five games this year. But early in the season senior Eric Pateman went down with a season-ending shoulder injury, bumping Jensen up to the backup for freshman Jon Volp. Volp suffered a hamstring injury against North Dakota in November and has been out ever since, putting Jensen in the driver's seat. Jensen has been sensational for MSU. Despite his 6-8-1 record, Jensen's 2.81 goals-against average and .913 save percentage are both tops for the Mavericks. He has posted both Mavericks shutouts, one coming on the road against the strong North Dakota Fighting Sioux. In Jensen's last four games he has allowed two or less goals.
Offensively, MSU is lead by assistant captain Abel. A junior, Abel has recorded three goals and 18 assists in 24 games. In the goal-scoring department, the Mavericks are led by Jackman with 13. Joseph is a close second with 11 goals.
This weekend the Mavericks return home and will host the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin is 9-11-2 overall, 7-6-1 in the WCHA, making them tied for fifth in the WCHA standings. The Badgers also have extra incentive for their players to perform. Last week, head coach Jeff Sauer announced he will retire after this season. Sauer has been with the team since 1982 and has recorded two national championships, five WCHA playoff titles, and 12 NCAA tournament appearances.
On the other side of the ice, the Mavericks sit at seventh in the WCHA standings with 13 points. They own a 10-13-1 overall record and a 6-11-1 in the WCHA. This series is extremely important for MSU because of their standings in the WCHA. To host a first round playoff series in the WCHA, a team needs to finish among the top five out of the 10 teams. MSU is two points behind Wisconsin and Alaska-Anchorage for the fifth spot. The Mavericks desperately need a sweep of the Badgers to gain the upper hand in the standings.
Looking down the road, MSU has a lot to look forward to. The team now heads into the softer part of their schedule as they will probably face only one more ranked team in their final six series. The Mavericks will host seven of their final 12 games, and six of their final 10 conference games will be against Minnesota Duluth and Michigan Tech, the two worst teams in the WCHA. If MSU wants to host a WCHA playoff series, they need to be dominant from here on out.
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