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Minnesota State University, Mankato
Minnesota State University, Mankato

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Page address: https://web.mnsu.edu/sports/bluelineclub/news/html/2007/mhockey_returns_home.html

Men's Hockey Returns Home, Looks to Keep Home Ice Hopes Alive

Playing their best hockey of the season so far, Mavericks trail this weekend's opponent - Michigan Tech - by two points in WCHA standings

by Dan Myers
Issue date: 2/1/07
Section: Mens Sports

Normally, a home series against traditional Western Collegiate Hockey Association bottom-feeder Michigan Tech would be a prime opportunity for the Minnesota State men's hockey team to take four easy points.

But not this season.

After a strong first half which saw the Huskies (12-13-3 overall, 7-10-3 WCHA) sweep perennial power North Dakota on the road and maintain a record near .500, Tech took three of four points from No. 15 Colorado College last weekend.

Tech comes to Mankato this weekend to take on a Mavericks bunch (9-15-4 overall, 6-11-3 WCHA) that is playing some solid puck of their own.

MSU is coming off a split last weekend at defending national champion Wisconsin, and has been playing their best hockey of the season over the last six weeks. A team that was young and inexperienced at the beginning of the season seems to have found their stride - just in time.

"We've played pretty well," said Mavericks head coach Troy Jutting. "We're definitely better, and getting better all of the time. We're getting to the point now, where we've got a crack at being successful every night."

The Huskies will present a different challenge for the Mavericks this weekend than they have faced in the last four weeks. Unlike Minnesota, St. Cloud State or Wisconsin, MTU lacks a superstar forward that will score a lion's share of the points.

Kyle Okposo, Andrew Gordon and Jack Skille are among the WCHA's best players. But have you heard of Peter Rouleau?

If you haven't, he is Tech's leading scorer. But with just 21 points (6-15-21), don't feel bad if Rouleau's name doesn't ring a bell. If he played at Minnesota, he'd be tied for seventh on the team in scoring.

"They don't have that one name that really sticks out," said Mavericks defenseman Brian Kilburg. "It's a little harder because you don't know what to expect."

So far this season, however, the lack of a premier scorer hasn't hurt the Huskies too much. Unlike many of their more talented counterparts, Michigan Tech has an experienced group of players that have played plenty of minutes. More importantly, its goaltending has been among the best in the conference. Rob Nolan has started six more games than Michael-Lee Teslak, but both have a goals against just a shade over two and a save percentage over 90 percent.

With consistent numbers like that, you don't need much offense.

"They play a little different style than most teams in our league," Jutting said. "They are a very defensive oriented team and we are going to have to do a good job of creating opportunities for ourselves."

With Tech leading the Mavericks by two points in the standings and just eight games to play, the time is now for a MSU team looking to stay in the home-ice race for the WCHA playoffs.

"Tech has had some huge wins this season, so we can't take them lightly," Kilburg said. "Every series from here on out is going to be huge."

The Mavericks and Huskies will play a Friday -Saturday series this weekend at Midwest Wireless Civic Center. Face off for Friday's game is scheduled for 7:37 p.m., with Saturday's match-up getting underway at 7:07 p.m.

Dan Myers is the Reporter Sports Editor

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