Men’s hockey to play homestand against Lake Superior State
Women’s hockey battles Minnesota Golden Gophers in Hall of Fame Classic
Andrew Neururer
Sports Editor
Coming off an impressive sweep over the then No. 8 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, the No. 1 Minnesota State Mavericks men’s hockey team waits for the Lake Superior State Lakers in a two-game home series.
The Mavericks are 12-1-1 and will be competing against a struggling Lakers team, who are 5-12-1. On the road, Lake Superior State is just 1-7 and went 3-6-1 in the month of November.
Minnesota State has had the upper hand in the series, coming into the weekend 20-3-1 and are victorious in their last two games against Lake Superior State.
The Lakers are averaging 2.39 goals per game, whereas the Mavericks are getting up 3.8. MSU spent a lot of time attempting to kill the powerplay against the Bulldogs and throughout the season they’ve had success shutting that down.
The Mavericks are 4-for-50 when they are shorthanded, which should fair well against the Lakers. Lake Superior State is scoring on 9.8% of their powerplay opportunities.
Senior Marc Michaelis has provided a big uplift on offense for MSU, sitting at 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists). Senior Charlie Gerard is tied with Michaelis in a team-high seven goals.
Senior Park Toumie and freshman Nathan Smith are tied for second in points with 13. Smith has four goals and Toumie has six.
Sophomore goalie Dryden McKay has arguably been the best goalie in Division I hockey. He’s currently second in save percentage, stopping 95.4 percent and has 314 saves to his name. The leading goaltender has played 10 less games than McKay, however.
MSU will play its home games this Friday and Saturday against the Lakers, looking to improve their record to 14-1-1.
The women’s team will be playing one game this weekend in Prior Lake, Minnesota, against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This game will be played as the Hall of Fame Classic and will be the third time these two teams have met this season.
The first two games didn’t go the way the Mavericks would have liked, losing both games by a combined score of 13-1. The Gophers on the other hand are the No. 2-ranked team in women’s hockey and will be entering play 14-1-3.
The Mavericks are 7-9-2 and are 0-6-2 versus ranked opponents this season.
Minnesota State has three players in double figures for points. Junior Mariah Gardner and freshman Kelsey King are tied for 12 points and sophomore Anna Wilgren is right behind them with 11.
Senior Emily Antony and sophomore Claire Butorac are knocking on the door with nine points and will be looking to join the double figures club this Saturday.
Freshman Calla Frank and sophomore Abigail Levy have split time at the goaltender’s position. Frank has a better record of 4-3-1, but Levy has a better save percentage, stopping 91.1% of the shots.
This game will be played on Saturday as a part of the 2019 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Game.
Header photo: Minnesota State forward Parker Toumie (6) shoots the puck against Alaska Anchorage at the Mankato Civic Center Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019 in Mankato, Minn. (Mansoor Ahmad/MSU Reporter)