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November 3, 2009

Mavericks up and down in the early going

By Shane Frederick

The Minnesota State men’s hockey team is idle this weekend, getting its first break since starting the season with a nonconference sweep of Bowling Green on Oct. 9-10.

Since then, the Mavericks have experienced the ups and downs of an early season, getting swept in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association opener at Minnesota Duluth, playing Jekyll and Hyde (more like Hyde and Jekyll, actually) at home against Wisconsin and then putting together its best pair games of the season last weekend at Denver only to come home from Colorado with a loss and a tie.

One game short of the quarter pole, Minnesota State is 3-4-1 (1-4-1 in the WCHA).

“I think we got better this weekend again,” Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said after Saturday’s 4-4 overtime tie with the still-No. 2-ranked Pioneers. “I think we’ve played three pretty good hockey games in a row now, and I think we’re getting better as a hockey team.”

It’s probably not a bad time for a break.

The week off gives the Mavericks a chance to get healthy — seniors Geoff Irwin and Jason Wiley missed the Denver series — and prepare for a six-week stretch that includes Colorado College, Alaska-Anchorage, Michigan Tech, Minnesota, Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha before Christmas.

So, what to make of this MSU team one month into the season?

When the year began, the biggest question facing the Mavericks was goaltending.

So far, Austin Lee and Kevin Murdock have been solid, although neither has emerged as a clear-cut No. 1.

Jutting said that it might take four to six weekends before he decides on a full-time starter. However, he also said that if the rotation’s working, he might keep it going for awhile longer.

There have been a few surprises so far.

A pleasant surprise has been the play of a couple of freshmen amid a veteran lineup.

Tyler Pitlick showed why he’ll likely be a high draft pick next summer with his two goals on Saturday night, while La Crescent native Eriah Hayes turned heads with a top-shelf goal on Friday. Each rookie has five points so far and are tied for second on the team’s scoring charts.

On the flip side, the Mavericks are scratching their heads about the lack of production from senior forward Kael Mouillierat as well as their power play. Before breaking out with three goals, including the first of the year by Mouillierat, with the man advantage on Saturday, Minnesota State had just four power-play goals in seven games.

“We have played two of the best penalty-killing teams in the country the last two weeks,” Jutting said Friday, referring to Denver and Wisconsin. “That’s one thing. But we’re just not shooting the puck enough.”

That changed on Saturday, though, as the Mavericks went 3 for 6.

“We shot the puck a little more often,” Jutting said that night. “That’s something we stressed hard today. You have to shoot the puck to score.”

Said Mouillierat: “I’ve got the monkey off my back finally.”

Now that Mouillierat’s on a roll, perhaps he’d rather skip the break and just keep playing.

“Points are hard to come by in this league, especially on the road,” he said Saturday. “We’re definitely happy with the way we played. It was our first week with two solid efforts in a row.”



Shane Frederick is a Free Press staff writer. Click here to access his college hockey blog or e-mail him at sfrederick@mankatofreepress.com.

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