By Shane Frederick
Free Press Staff Writer
MANKATO —
Classes have started at Minnesota State University, and with them have come the first captains practices and preseason workouts for the Mavericks men’s hockey team.
The program’s official roster was released about a month ago, and 26 players currently are listed on the team’s official website. The group includes five seniors, eight juniors, five sophomores and eight freshmen.
But the Mavericks will be trying to avoid being defined by who they are not.
Seven seniors, including four of their top five scoring forwards graduated. Tyler Pitlick, who was drafted with the first pick of the second round in June’s NHL draft, opted to leave college for a Canadian major-junior team after one promising year in Mankato. Would-be sophomore goaltender Kevin Murdock returned to the United States Hockey League after falling to the third-string spot, and junior forward Tyler Thompson did not return to the team.
Another player not on the roster is freshman Matt Leitner, a highly touted recruit who was considered one of the top forwards in the United States Hockey League last year.
Leitner is academically ineligible to play this season and cannot practice with the team. However, he is enrolled at MSU and also took summer courses in order to begin getting himself on track to play hockey.
“He’s in school,” coach Troy Jutting said. “He needs to work on his academics, and he needs to look forward to competing and playing with us next season.”
What the Mavericks do have back include their top scorer from last season, senior defenseman Ben Youds, as well as five other veteran defensemen — seniors Kurt Davis and Channing Boe, junior Cameron Cooper and sophomores Tyler Elbrecht and Evan Mosey.
Sophomore goaltender Phil Cook, who won the No. 1 job late last season, is back, as is junior Austin Lee, who received the bulk of the playing time a year ago.
At forward, four double-digit point scorers will be back, including senior Rylan Galiardi, juniors Michael Dorr and Mike Louwerse and sophomore Eriah Hayes.
The freshman class includes forwards Corey Leivermann, Chase Grant, J.P. Burkemper, Zach Lehrke and John McInnis; defensemen Danny Heath and Josh Nelson; and goalie Evan Karambelas.
Leivermann is a Mankato native who graduated from West High School in 2008 before playing two seasons with the Fargo Force of the USHL where he was teammates with Leitner, Grant and Burkemper.
“I’m really excited,” Jutting said. “The guys, based on our testing, had really good summers. Their weights are all good. ... I’m excited to get started working with them in a few weeks.”
The official start date for men’s hockey is still more than a month away — Oct. 2, although coaches are allowed two hours of ice time per week with their teams starting Sept. 15.
The Mavericks will play an exhibition game at home against British Columbia on Oct. 4 and will start the regular season on Oct. 8 with a nonconference game against St. Lawrence.
