In the last season of the WCHA as we knew it (2012-13), Minnesota, St. Cloud State, and North Dakota finished as the top three teams in the conference standings. There was a three-way tie for fourth, with the final three home-ice spots in the twelve-team league taken by Denver, Wisconsin, and…
Minnesota State.
Twelve seasons ago, the Mavericks were on the rise. That year (Mike Hastings’ first behind the bench), Minnesota State went 24-14-3 overall and advanced to the national tournament for the first time since 2003 and just the second time since the Mavericks went Division I in 1996.
Following that historic season, Minnesota State found most of its conference rivals bolting for the Big Ten (Minnesota, Wisconsin) or the newly-formed NCHC (Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota, Omaha, and St. Cloud State).
When Mike Hastings was the coach at Minnesota State, the Mavericks took full advantage of its new collection of league foes, winning the regular-season conference title (WCHA/CCHA) eight times in nine seasons and finishing third in 2016-17. Furthermore, the Mavs went to the Frozen Four in 2021 and played in the national championship game in 2022.
After leading the Mavericks to eleven consecutive twenty-win seasons (including a combined record of 152-34-6 record over his final five campaigns), Mike Hastings left Mankato for Madison, taking many of his players and recruits with him.
Left to pick up the purple pieces is second-year bench boss Luke Strand, whose Mavericks struggled to an overall record of 18-15-4 and a fourth-place finish (10-9-3-2) in the CCHA last year. Those results were not enough to Minnesota State a berth in the NCAA tournament a year ago.
As a side note, Mike Hastings found immediate success in Madtown, helping the Badgers to an overall record of 26-12-0 and the program’s second NCAA tourney bid in the last ten seasons. Hastings’ 26 victories were the most for Bucky since the 2009-10 squad went 28-11-4 under Mike Eaves and finished as the national runner-up.
For North Dakota, the goal is simple: take another step in the national tournament. There is reason for optimism in Grand Forks, with an experienced d-corps, plenty of returning grit and skill, and a crop of freshmen with a tremendous amount of upside.
This season, #20 Minnesota State has already played two full weekends of hockey, with an encouraging road split at #10 Michigan (5-2, 1-4) and a disappointing home split versus Merrimack (0-1, 4-1). In Saturday’s road loss to the Wolverines, the Mavericks only trailed by a single goal with sixteen minutes to play; Michigan scored two empty-net goals in the final 41 seconds of the game to make the result appear lopsided.
After laying an exhibition egg at home in a 4-1 loss to Augustana, #5 North Dakota played well in all phases during last Saturday’s U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ralph Engelstad Arena, dispatching #14 Providence by a final score of 5-2.
As was the case for UND last weekend, non-conference games are critical in determining the six teams for the NCAA tournament, and this weekend is North Dakota’s next opportunity to bolster their resume. After these two road games at Mankato, UND has eight non-conference games remaining this season:
October 25-26: vs. #3 Boston University (Hockey East)
November 1-2: at #8 Cornell (ECAC)
November 22-23: vs. Robert Morris (AHA)
November 29-30: at/vs. Bemidji State (CCHA)
The Fighting Hawks will not play a non-conference game over the final four months of the season, with only a January 4th exhibition game against Manitoba on the schedule.
Minnesota State Team Profile
Head Coach: Luke Strand (2nd season at Minnesota State, 20-17-4, .537)
National Ranking: #20
This Season: 2-2-0 overall, 0-0-0 CCHA
Last Season: 18-5-4 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 10-9-3-2 CCHA (4th)
Team Offense: 2.50 goals scored/game – 38th of 58 teams
Team Defense: 2.00 goals allowed/game – 14th of 58 teams
Power Play: 8.3% (1 of 12) – 40th of 58 teams
Penalty Kill: 88.9% (8 of 9) – 23rd of 58 teams
Key Players: Senior F Brian Carrabes (2-1-3), Junior F Luigi Benincasa (2-0-0), Sophomore F Brett Moravec (1-1-2), Junior F Luc Wilson (0-2-2), Senior F Rhett Pitlick (2-0-2), Junior F Adam Eisele (1-0-1), Freshman D Luke Ashton (1-2-3), Senior D Jordan Power (0-2-2), Sophomore D Evan Murr (0-1-1), Junior G Alex Tracy (2-2-0, 1.52 GAA, .933 SV%)
North Dakota Team Profile
Head Coach: Brad Berry (10th season at UND, 207-104-33, .650)
National Ranking: #5
This Season: 1-0-0 overall, 0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 26-12-2 (NCAA tournament appearance), 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st)
Team Offense: 5.00 goals scored/game – 3rd of 58 teams
Team Defense: 2.00 goals allowed/game – 14th of 58 teams
Power Play: 50.0% (1 of 2) – 1st of 58 teams
Penalty Kill: 66.7% (2 of 3) – 53rd of 58 teams
Key Players: Junior F Owen McLaughlin (0-1-1), Senior F Cameron Berg (1-1-2), Junior F Dylan James (2-0-2), Sophomore F Jayden Perron (1-0-1), Graduate F Louis Jamernik V (0-0-0), Freshman F Sacha Boisvert (1-1-2), Freshman F Mac Swanson (0-0-0), Sophomore D Jake Livanavage (0-0-0), Sophomore D Abram Wiebe (0-2-2), Freshman D E.J. Emery (0-1-1), Freshman D Andrew Strathmann (0-1-1), Graduate G T.J. Semptimphelter (1-0-0. 2.00 GAA, .917 SV%)
By The Numbers
Last Meeting: October 28, 2023 (Grand Forks, ND). Minnesota State built a 2-1 lead over the first twenty minutes of the hockey game, and then the teams went scoreless for over thirty minutes of game action. North Dakota’s Hunter Johannes potted the equalizer with just over eight minutes in regulation, and the game went into the books as a 2-2 tie. One night earlier, the Fighting Hawks blitzed the Mavericks 6-2 behind a four-goal first period. Jackson Blake scored two of UND’s six goals on Friday night. Graduate forward Sam Morton scored two of MSUM’s four goals on the weekend; Morton had 24 goals for the Mavericks in his final collegiate season.
Last Meeting in Mankato: October 19, 2019. Marc Michaelis was the hero for the homestanding Mavericks, with the game-tying goal early in the middle frame and an assist on the third-period game-winner. North Dakota could manage only a first-period goal from Shane Pinto in the 2-1 road loss. In Friday’s opener, the teams skated to a wild 4-4 tie that left both teams unbeaten on the young season. On the weekend, Minnesota State won 83 of 132 faceoffs (62.9%).
All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series, 40-13-9 (.718), including a 15-6-5 (.673) record in games played in Mankato.
Last ten: North Dakota has a 5-3-2 (.600) record over the most recent stretch of games, outscoring the Mavericks 33-27 over those ten contests.
Game News and Notes
North Dakota is scoring on an incredible 16.1% of shots on goal, good for sixth in the country; Minnesota State clocks in at 10.1% (31st). UND has lost just six games in Mankato in program history (15-6-5). Next weekend, the Mavericks will host #12 Omaha, while the Fighting Hawks will welcome #3 Boston University to Grand Forks.
Broadcast Information
Both games this weekend will be available online via CCHA.TV. All UND men’s hockey games, home and away, can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app. Game times are 7:07 p.m. on Friday and 6:07 p.m. on Saturday.
The Prediction
Both teams are still finding their identity and hoping to build some momentum before conference play begins in early November. On the road, North Dakota will have to rely on their scoring depth to break though against the Mavericks. It’s too early in the year to call a sweep, but I’ve got a good feeling about this year’s version of the Green and White. UND 4-2, 3-3 tie.
As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions. Here’s to hockey!