Mavericks men and women’s hockey travels east
Andrew Neururer
Sports Editor
After splitting the weekend series and taking their first loss of the season, the Minnesota State Mavericks men’s hockey team will go on the road to take on Michigan Tech.
The Huskies are sitting at 3-4 and have stumbled over the last handful of games. After sweeping Robert Morris in the first two games, Michigan Tech has won one of their last five matchups. One of those wins coming against Bowling Green.
MSU holds the edge over the huskies, sitting at a good record of 41-22-10. Last season the Mavericks almost completed a four-game sweep, going 3-0-1 in 2019.
The No. 3 ranked Mavericks took a step back in the rankings after their series against Bowling Green.
Leading the way for Minnesota State is senior Marc Michaelis and freshmen Lucas Sowder and Nathan Smith.
Michaelis has nine points, five of which are goals. He and senior Charlie Gerard are leading the team with five goals.
Sowder, recently named WCHA Rookie of the Month, enters the weekend with two goals and seven assists. His seven assists are a team high, with Smith coming in right behind him with six. Smith is third in points, adding two goals to his assist total.
Sophomore Dryden McKay was named WCHA Goaltender of the Month and will be looking to pick up his sixth win of the year. He has saved 163 shots and is holding a save percentage of .937.
They will travel to Houghton, Michigan for games on Friday and Saturday night.
The women’s hockey team will also be traveling east, for them it’s a date against the Wisconsin Badgers. The 6-4-2 Mavericks will have a tough matchup against the Badgers, who are 10-1-1 and the No. 2 ranked team.
The history between the two teams is lopsided. The Mavericks have only come away with two wins and three ties, whereas the Badgers have a 25-game win streak and 86 wins.
MSU will be looking to put an end to that and will need to be done so through big games from freshman Kelsey King and junior Mariah Gardner. Between the two, they have accounted for 21 points, seven goals and 14 assists.
Goaltenders Calla Frank and Abigail Levy will need big games against a high scoring Badger team. On the season, Wisconsin has seen as many as 12 and 10 goals. Levy and Frank both have a 3-2-1 record, but Levy has a higher save percentage at .928.
The Mavericks have a tough game on hand, but they have faced high ranked teams before this season and will be looking use that valuable experience this weekend.
Header photo: Minnesota State forward Julian Napravnik (11) shoots the puck against Bowling Green at the Mankato Civic Center Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 in Mankato Minn. (Mansoor Ahmad/MSU Reporter)