Mavericks Series against Huskies Postponed due to COVID-19
Daniel McElroy ® Staff Writer |
Photo by Mansoor Ahmad ® Photo Editor |
The Minnesota State University, Mankato (5-1-1) men’s hockey series against Michigan Tech University (6-3-1) has been postponed this weekend due to positive test results within the Huskies hockey program.
The second meeting of the 2020-2021 season between the two WCHA teams was set to play Friday, January 8, and Saturday, January 9 in the second series of inner conference games for each squad.
The Mavericks are coming off of a series sweep against the Northern Michigan University Wildcats, outscoring their opponent 9-0, improving their overall record to 5-1-1, and conference record to 2-0-0.
The Huskies have had a great start to their season, coming off of their fifth straight win, and more recently, a series sweep against University of Alabama, Huntsville.
In a media availability on Wednesday, head coach Mike Hastings expressed he was looking forward to playing at home this weekend, “it seems like it’s been an awfully long time since we’ve played in our own building, so we’re excited about being at home. We’re excited about playing back-to-back series, knock on wood, that we can play through the week.”
Unfortunately, knocking on wood wasn’t enough.
Senior defenseman Jack McNeely noted that wearing an A in a COVID-19 riddled year means to stay calm and be there for your team. “I’m just trying to be myself, be there for the new guys, and be a calming presence for them.”
He attributes his leadership to the players that he learned from himself. “I think a lot of it is just learning from the guys that have come before me, whether that’s C.J. Suess, Max Coatta, Nick Rivera, Marc Michaelis, Edwin Hookenson, those kinds of guys those are unbelievable leaders and teammates to learn from.”
McNeely holds the second spot on the team in blocked shots with 12.
The Mavericks lead the WCHA in in goals against per game, allowing only 7 goals in 8 games, averaging 1.14 goals/game. The avericks also lead the conference in the powerplay scoring 7 goals on 22 opportunities, good enough for a 31.8%.
As of now, the Mavericks next series is at Lake Superior State (4-1-3) on Friday, January 15, and Saturday, January 16, where they will faceoff against the Lakers for the first time this year.