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March 11, 2010

College hockey notebook: Mavericks Davis, Cook earn WCHA honors

By Shane Frederick Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — Two Minnesota State men’s hockey players were named Western Collegiate Hockey Association players of the week this week for their play in last week’s regular-season finale.

Junior defenseman Kurt Davis was named the conference’s defensive player of the week, while freshman goaltender Phil Cook was named rookie of the week.

Davis had a four-point series in the win and tie against St. Cloud State, including Friday’s game-winning goal. He also assisted on Rylan Galiardi’s game-tying goal on Saturday.

Cook, meanwhile, played in both games of the series, stopping 51 of 55 shots, including six shots in overtime on Saturday.

Offensive player of the week honors went to Alaska-Anchorage’s Kevin Clark, who scored four goals in a series split against Minnesota Duluth. That performance trumped Galiardi’s four-point weekend for the Mavericks.

For both Davis and Cook, it was the second time they have been honored by the WCHA this season.

Playoff coverage

Charter Communications announced Wednesday that it will show this weekend’s playoff games between Minnesota State and St. Cloud State on basic cable channel 21 and digital channel 980. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary), with the winner advancing to the WCHA Final Five March 18-20 in St. Paul.

Tickets are available for the first-round playoff series at the National Hockey Center. Cost is $12 apiece. Call 877-SCSUTIX for more information.

D-man commits

The Mavericks got a commitment this week from recruit Josh Nelson of the Fairbanks Ice Dogs of the North American Hockey League.

The 6-foot-0, 185-pound Nelson, 20, is tied for seventh in scoring among NAHL defensemen with 29 points.

“Josh is a smooth-skating defenseman with incredible puck skills,” Ice Dogs coach Josh Hauge said in a press release. “He has great poise with the puck, and we’re excited for him to be moving on to college hockey.”

A Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., native, Nelson was teammates with MSU goalie Phil Cook last season in Fairbanks.

Streaking in

The Gustavus Adolphus and Wisconsin-River Falls women’s hockey teams will go into Saturday’s NCAA quarterfinal game on a combined 30-game unbeaten streak.

The Gusties have won 12 games in a row, while the Falcons have gone 13-0-5 in their last 18 games.

Gustavus’ last loss came on Jan. 29 against St. Catherine. It was the Gusties’ only non-win over their last 20 games. River Falls’ last loss came on Jan. 12 at Gustavus, which won 2-1 that night.

The Falcons’ Alyssa Black, who played for Mankato West High School last season, has six goals and five assists during her freshman season.

Saturday’s game begins at 2 p.m. at the Don Roberts Ice Rink.

Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students. The winner of the game will host the NCAA Division III Frozen Four on March 19-20.

One-timers

Ex-MSU defenseman Steve Wagner was traded from the St. Louis Blues organization to the Pittsburgh Penguins last month. Wagner played six games with the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate before getting his jaw broken by a deflected shot. ... Denver forward Rhett Rakhshani won the WCHA scoring title with 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in league play. The Pioneers’ Marc Cheverie won the goaltending crown with a 2.03 goals-against average against conference teams.

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