Photo By: Melanie Ronquillo | Photographer
On Friday, Jan. 17, they get to revisit the state in which they found themselves stuck for long hours before boarding their flight home from the Mariucci Classic.
The Minnesota State Mavericks hold the distinction of being the only team in the new WCHA to have made it to the national tournament last spring.
The nationally ranked #3 Ferris State Bulldogs are fresh off a home sweep of the Michigan Tech Huskies and will travel to Mankato to take on the Mavs, who have fallen back to six points behind them in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings.
“Next weekend should be a really difficult series,” head coach Bob Daniels said. “They’ve got a great team. We don’t really chase the points, what we’re trying to do is chase performance and so that’s what we’ll talk during the course of this week as we get ready for Mankato.”
The Mavs had begun to heat up following their mediocre start, but were swept by Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 10-11 in Anchorage.
“It’s going to be another really competitive series,” sophomore defensemen Zach Dorer said. “I have not seen them play yet. But any Minnesota team is going to be a good team.”
Nevertheless, Ferris is dealing with the injury bug at an inopportune time. They will only see Minnesota State once in the regular season, and its this weekend in their building. It’s a critically timed series and this may be Ferris’ most important opportunity for WCHA points this season.
“It’s critical because they’re right behind us in the standings,” Dorer said. “Its going to be big to get a sweep at least if not a split.”
While being “Right behind” Ferris is relative (They have 26 of a possible 28 WCHA points this season), that gap can close to just two points if the Bulldogs fail to register any points this weekend.
Juniors Travis White (defense) and Dominic Panetta (forward) were injured during the Michigan Tech series. Sophomore forward Matt Robertson took a vicious puck to the wrist in the second period of game two, but was able to finish the game and confirm that there was no broken bone despite some post game pain.
Senior forward Cory Kane who hasn’t played since Dec. 11 at the University of Michigan due to a shoulder injury is expected to return for the series, which will likely be a big offensive lift for the Dawgs.
Senior captain and defensemen Scott Czarnowczan missed the Mariucci Classic due to an injury as well, but returned to the line up against Michigan Tech and while he didn’t stand out, it appears that he is going to be ready to play next weekend as well.
“I know they’ve been real hot lately,” Robertson said. “I’ve never played them, I don’t know what to expect, I don’t know what their rink is like or anything. There are a lot of unknowns.”
The puck drops in Mankato on Jan. 17 at 8:37 p.m. eastern time.