Men's Ice Hockey

Preview: CCHA starts December play

Week 10 begins as seven CCHA schools open up December play this Friday and Saturday. No. 2 Minnesota State will host Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State is at Ferris State, No. 1 Minnesota Duluth travels to Northern Michigan and St Thomas will host Bemidji State. Bowling Green is the lone CCHA team with the weekend off.

Notable Links:

Michigan Tech (8-5-0) at #2 Minnesota State (12-4-0) 
Video Stream: FloHockey
Radio: MTU 93.5 FM | MSU 1420 AM 
Live Stats: Click Here
Game Notes: MTU | MSU 

Minnesota State enters the weekend against Michigan Tech as the nationally ranked second team, leading the CCHA standings with an 8-2-0 league mark and winning six of their last seven games. MSU goaltender Dryden McKay registered his third-straight shutout last Saturday and owns the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey record for career shutouts (30). MSU's Nathan Smith leads the CCHA with 22 points (9G, 13A) in 16 games and is fourth best in the nation.

MTU has won four of their last five games and are led by Brian Halonen who is on a six game point-streak and is seventh in the nation with 1.46 points-per-game. Goaltender Blake Pietila is sixth in the nation with two shutouts ont he season. The Huskies have the fifth-best penalty kill operating at 90.2% and the ninth-best power-play (26.3%).

In a series that dates back to the 1996-97 season, Minnesota State stands 46-23-10 in the all-time series vs. Michigan Tech. The Mavericks have won the last three meetings with the Huskies and own an all-time mark of 27-6-4 vs. MTU in games played at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.  

Lake Superior State (8-9-1) at Ferris State (4-12-0)
Video Stream: FloHockey
Radio: LSSU 99.5 FM | FSU 97.3 FM
Live Stats: Friday | Saturday
Game Notes: LSSU | FSU 

In one of the longest running all-time series in college hockey, the Lakers and the Bulldogs will meet for the 154th & 155th times in program history this weekend. In the all-time series between the two teams, the Lakers hold the advantage in the series against Ferris State with a 78-60-15 record. Last season, the Lakers and Bulldogs faced off twice with the Lakers winning both games. The Lakers are led up front by Louis Boudon who has 21 points (8G, 13A) in 18 games, tied for third in the CCHA.

 

#1 Minnesota Duluth (10-3-1) at Northern Michigan (8-6-1)
Video Stream: FloHockey
Radio: NMU 100.3 FM
Live Stats: Click Here
Game Notes: NMU

Northern Michigan will host number-one nationally ranked Minnesota Duluth for a pair of games in Marquette this weekend. Despite being the nation's top-ranked team, UMD does not have a player in the top-50 skaters in points. They are led by Blake Biondi who has 11 points (6G, 5A) in 14 games. Minnesota Duluth has the third-best goaltender in the nation in both goals against average (1.25) and save percentage (.946).

Northern Michigan posted a 6-1-1 record through eight games in the month of November. NMU is led by Hank Crone who is seventh in the nation with 21 points (6G, 15A) in 15 games.

The last time these two teams faced off was in January of 2016. In total the Bulldogs hold the slim edge over NMU, with the Wildcats trailing the all-time series 34-36-4. In Marquette, the home team has won 25 times against 12 losses and two ties to the visiting UMD team.

 

Bemidji State (8-6-0) at St. Thomas (1-15-0)
Video Stream: FloHockey
Radio: BSU 92.1 FM | UST 1500 AM
Live Stats: Click Here
Game Notes: BSU | UST

Bemidji State's Owen Sillinger is the reigning CCHA Player of the Month and Hockey Commissioners Association's (HCA) National Player of the Month after recording 14 points in six games during November. It is the first time Bemidji State will square off at the Division I level against St. Thomas.
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