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December 31, 2010

College hockey gameday: Minnesota State at Shillelagh Tournament

By Shane Frederick Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — The Mavericks (6-8-4) kick off the second half of the season by playing in Notre Dame’s holiday tournament. This is the third year the tournament will be in suburban Chicago after being played twice in Florida. Minnesota State will play the 12th-ranked Irish (12-6-2) today, following the tournament opener between No. 10 Boston University (8-4-5) and Brown (3-4-4). Today’s winners and losers will meet on Sunday. Win or lose, MSU will play the early game that day.

The 5-hole

Five things to know about the tournament:

1. Going home: For three Minnesota State players, the tournament gives them a chance to play hockey near their hometowns. Goaltender Phil Cook (.911, 3.11) and defensemen Evan Mosey (0-2—2) and Tyler Elbrecht (1-1—2) — all Chicago-area natives — will have family in the stands this weekend. Elbrecht grew up in the St. Louis area but was born in the Chicago burb of Ottawa, Ill., where he still has relatives. Cook is from Wheaton, Ill., and Mosey is from Downers Grove, Ill.

2. Here’s to your health: In MSU’s last game on Dec. 12, Cook and forwards Andrew Sackrison (3-5—8) and Chase Grant (4-7—11) all sat out with injuries. The two-week break was enough to get them back into the lineup this weekend. Grant skated on a line with Rylan Galiardi (4-4—8) and Zach Lehrke (1-3—4) in practice this week, while Sackrison centered Michael Dorr (4-7—11) and Eriah Hayes (5-3—8).

3. Scouting the Irish: Notre Dame had a strong first half of the season, thanks to a pair of freshman forwards — T.J. Tynan (13-14—27) and Anders Lee (11-9—20). Senior forward Ryan Guentzel (6-17—23) is the son of longtime WCHA assistant coach Mike Guentzel, who is now at Nebraska-Omaha. Sophomore Mike Johnson (.903, 2.60) has seen most of the action in goal for coach Jeff Jackson’s team. The Irish are 6-3-0 all-time against MSU. They defeated Canisius 10-2 on Wednesday.

4. Meet the Terriers: Boston University is led by legendary coach Jack Parker, who is now in his 38th season with the Terriers. He has more than 840 wins and three national titles — the last coming in 2009. This year’s team is led by sophomore forward Alex Chiasson (6-12—18), junior defenseman David Warsofsky (5-12—17) and freshman Sahir Gill (4-12—16). Junior Kieran Millan (.912, 2.85) is BU’s No. 1 goaltender. The Mavericks have never faced the Terriers.

5. About the Bears: Brown got off to a good start this season but is winless in its last five games. Second-year coach Brendan Whittet’s team is led by junior forward Jack Maclellan (9-11—20), who ranks second in the nation in points per game, and senior forward Harry Zolnierczyk (7-6—13). Junior Mike Clemente (.879, 4.01) has played the majority of the minutes in goal. The Bears are 2-0-0 all-time against the Mavericks but haven’t played them since 1999.

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