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February 4, 2011

College hockey gameday: MSU vs. Bemidji State

By Shane Frederick Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — The Mavericks (11-11-6, 5-11-4 in WCHA) will host the Beavers (9-13-2, 5-11-2) for the first time as conference foes, but the rivalry dates back to the 1974-75 season. Minnesota State has won the last six meetings with the Beavers, including wins of 5-1 and 3-2 last season at Bemidji. BSU leads the all-time series 44-35-13.

The 5-hole

Five things to know about the matchup:

1. Home stretch: After being on the road the last two weeks, Minnesota State returns to its home digs. The Mavericks will play six of the regular season’s final eight games in Mankato, where they are 5-4-3 this year. MSU has not finished a season with a losing record at the Verizon Wireless Center since 2006-07. Average attendance has been 3,649 this season, down more than 200 from a year ago.

2. Movin’ on up: MSU captain Rylan Galiardi (7-11—18) recently scored his 80th collegiate point, which put him in a tie for 18th place on the Mavericks’ Division I-era scoring list. Galiardi, who is tied with Steven Johns and Joel Hanson, has 29 goals and 51 assists in 131 games. This season, he is tied for third on the team in scoring and leads the Mavericks with four power-play goals.

3. Impact player: Tyler Pitlick had an outstanding freshman season last year for the Mavericks, scoring 11 goals and 19 points before departing to play at the major junior level in Canada. But this year, rookie Chase Grant (8-10—18) is on the verge of eclipsing those numbers. He is tied for third on the team’s scoring chart and ranks in a tie for sixth in scoring among WCHA freshman.

4. Welcome to the WCHA: Bemidji State has not been welcomed to its new league very nicely. The Beavers have five wins in league play, with three coming against the conference’s other newcomer, Nebraska-Omaha. Bemidji was idle last weekend and was swept at home by St. Cloud State in its last action. One-time MSU player Tom Serratore is in his 11th season as the Beavers’ coach.

5. Scouting the Beavers: Bemidji State is led by a pair of forwards in senior Jordan George (9-15—24) and junior Matt Read (15-8—23). Junior goaltender Dan Bakula (.918, 2.32) has seen most of the action this season. He ranks fourth in the WCHA in save percentage. He also has two shutouts. BSU is the least-penalized team in the conference (12.2 PIM per game).

Around the rinks

MSU women: The Mavericks (7-18-3, 6-15-1 in WCHA) will try to build off their first win since mid-November when they host No. 6 Minnesota Duluth (14-7-3, 12-7-3). Games are at 7:07 p.m. today and 3:07 p.m. Saturday at All Seasons Arena. The Bulldogs swept MSU in October, winning 5-2 and 6-0. The Mavericks are 4-40-3 in the all-time series.

Gustavus: The eighth-ranked women (11-3-2, 7-2-1 in MIAC) will try to snap a rare two-game winless streak in conference play when they host Concordia today and Saturday. Meanwhile the men’s team (11-6-2, 5-3-2) will travel to Moorhead to play two games against the Cobbers. Concordia is in second place in the MIAC, two points ahead of the Gusties.

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