MANKATO — The Minnesota State men’s hockey team is en route to the Chicago area today for this weekend’s Shillelagh Tournament.

The Mavericks will play host to Notre Dame at 6 p.m. on Saturday and either Boston University or Brown at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

“I haven’t been in a tournament since I got here — since I was at Shattuck and we went overseas,” MSU senior Ben Youds said. “The tournament atmosphere is definitely fun. If you win, you go on and play for a trophy and bragging rights.”

Following their Dec. 10-12 series against North Dakota, the Mavericks took a two-week break and returned to Mankato for two practices on Monday.

They also practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday before leaving early today. The team will attend tonight’s Chicago Blackhawks game against the San Jose Sharks as part of the tournament festivities. All 26 players are on the trip.

“It’s going to be a good weekend,” sophomore Tyler Elbrecht said. “It will be like those tournaments when we were young players. The goal is to take home first place.”

New ‘DECC’ to open

Duluth’s $80 million Amsoil Arena will open tonight when Minnesota Duluth hosts North Dakota in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game.

Although the two teams are Western Collegiate Hockey Association rivals, it is a nonconference game.

For the Bulldogs, the game marks their move from the oldest arena in the WCHA (the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center) to the newest.

“When you add a new building,” UMD assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Brett Larson told the Duluth News-Tribune, “I believe we can compete with anyone on the ice and in recruiting.”

Now, Michigan Tech’s John MacInnes Student Ice Center is the oldest building in the conference. It was built in 1972 although it underwent upgrades, including a new team area and suites, in 2008 and 2009.

Mankato’s Verizon Wireless Center, completed in 1995, is the fifth-oldest arena in the WCHA, ranking behind Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena (1993), St. Cloud State’s National Hockey Center (1989) and Alaska-Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena (1983).

Suites were added to Mariucci in 2001, and plans are in place for major renovations at the NHC.

Wis-captain

For the second year in a row, a Wisconsin player was named captain of the U.S. World Junior Team. Badgers defenseman John Ramage is wearing the “C” for Team USA, which is 2-0 in the tournament taking place in Buffalo, N.Y.

Last year, forward Derek Stepan captained the U.S. to the Under-20 championship.

“That’s a great honor, man oh man,” Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves told the Wisconsin State Journal. Eaves coached the 2004 U.S. Junior Team to the gold medal.

Team USA will play Germany today. In its first game, Minnesota’s Nick Bjugstad scored the game-winning goal in overtime to beat Finland 3-2. The U.S. defeated Slovakia 6-1 on Tuesday.

Looking ahead

The MSU women’s hockey team returned to practice on Wednesday following its break. The Mavericks (6-11-3, 5-8-1 in WCHA) will play Jan. 7-8 at Minnesota.

As for Gustavus Adolphus, the men’s team (9-3-1, 3-2-1 in MIAC) hosts St. Olaf in a nonconference game on Jan. 7. The women (7-2-0, 5-1-0 in MIAC) won’t play again until Jan. 11 when they host Wisconsin-Superior.