{"id":149606,"date":"2024-11-07T10:00:53","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T16:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=149606"},"modified":"2024-11-06T20:43:54","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T02:43:54","slug":"this-week-in-ccha-hockey-minnesota-state-st-thomas-weekend-series-part-of-iron-sharpens-iron-piece-every-week-in-conference-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2024\/11\/07\/this-week-in-ccha-hockey-minnesota-state-st-thomas-weekend-series-part-of-iron-sharpens-iron-piece-every-week-in-conference-play\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in CCHA Hockey: Minnesota State-St. Thomas weekend series part of ‘iron sharpens iron piece every week’ in conference play"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Minnesota State and St. Thomas meet this weekend in a home-and-home series (photo: Minnesota State Athletics).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nobody can accuse Minnesota State of taking the easy way out to start the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n

In their first five weeks of play, the Mavericks have skated every weekend without a bye, and their opponents have included: two top-10-ranked nonconference opponents (Michigan and North Dakota), one team that was ranked before the series (Omaha), one Hockey East team (Merrimack) and a CCHA matchup against your biggest league rival and defending conference champ (Bemidji State).<\/p>\n

The fact that MSU has gone 6-4-0 in that grueling 10-game start to the season is impressive, but Mavericks head coach Luke Strand knows things won\u2019t get any easier now, especially in week six. Minnesota State has a home-and-home series with yet another instate rival, St. Thomas. The Tommies finished tied for second in the CCHA and were picked to finish first in the preseason polls.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur conference is tight just out of our familiarity with one another, the coaches do a great job preparing for each other, the players, the way our league plays is very hard. It\u2019s kind of that iron sharpens iron piece every week. You better be ready, the other group can come out and make a difference,\u201d Strand said during his weekly press conference. \u201cWe\u2019ve been on a roll on the schedule, where there\u2019s been no off nights, so when we\u2019ve decided to not be so hot, we\u2019ve felt it, and the other times when we\u2019ve been on top of our game, we\u2019ve taken advantage of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tommies have, so far, had a more mixed start to the season, going 2-4-1 with a similarly rough schedule that has included St. Cloud State, Minnesota, Vermont and CCHA newcomer Augustana. But Strand knows how dangerous St. Thomas can be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey get up and go offensively, and they make plays in all three zones. You look at how they scored a week ago, from an empty netter to shortys to power plays to on the attack. They\u2019re a dangerous team that I think if you take your foot off the gas and start looking around, they can capitalize quickly, to their credit,\u201d Strand said.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks-Tommies rivalry isn\u2019t exactly new – they\u2019ve been playing since the 70s when both teams were in the lower divisions of the NCAA – but since 2021 when St. Thomas moved up to Division I, the programs have played at least four times every season. The Mavericks swept the season series in 2021-22 by lopsided margins but the games have gotten progressively better, including last season, when they split their season series in four incredibly close games.<\/p>\n

Tommies head coach Rico Blasi said in his press conference Monday that he likes where this rivalry is headed, and the home-and-home series adds another element to it. The teams will play at the Tommies\u2019 home rink in suburban Mendota Heights on Friday before traveling 80 miles to Mankato on Friday. A second home and home series is scheduled for the end of January.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s good for both programs and fanbases. Certainly, we\u2019re not capable of doing it with everyone in our conference, but when you can do it, it certainly adds to the rivalry,\u201d Blasi said. \u201cRight now, they\u2019re top of the nation in terms of creating scoring chances. They’re really good off transition and entering the zone. You’re going to have to play some really good team defense, track back and be aware of their forwards and D entering the rush, and their goaltender is playing well.\u201d<\/p>\n

That goaltender Blasi mentioned is junior Alex Tracy. The Chicago native has been a workhorse for the Mavericks, starting in every game this season with numbers that are among the best in the country. His .914 save percentage currently leads the NCAA, and he\u2019s given up just 14 goals through 10 games (a 1.41 goals-against average).<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he gives our team so much belief. Usually what happens when a goalie is so good you think you can go for it a little bit offensively because if you know you trip up and make a mistake, he\u2019s got your back. That doesn’t always lead to goals, but it does lead to improved posture on the rink,\u201d Strand said.<\/p>\n

Although it didn\u2019t lead to a glut of goals last weekend in Bemidji – the Mavericks lost 1-0 on Friday before beating the Beavers 2-1 on Saturday, in part because the Beavers have a rock-solid goalie of their own in Mattias Sholl – it has led to some goals in other games. In the season opener against Michigan, for example, Tracy made 32 saves and the Mavericks backed him up with five opportunistic goals to win 5-2 despite being outshot in the game.<\/p>\n

This weekend\u2019s series will feature another solid goaltending matchup\u2013albeit this one is more like a triple-threat match than a one-on-one. St. Thomas\u2019 goalie rotation of Aaron Trotter and Jake Sibell was outstanding last season; this year their numbers are not quite the same through a smaller sample size of seven games but they\u2019re still a dangerous tandem. Trotter started both games in last weekend\u2019s split against Augustana.<\/p>\n

Strand said the key to playing well against a good goaltender – as his team did last weekend in Bemidji and will this week against St. Thomas – is to make sure you don\u2019t get rattled because the netminder is taking goals off the scoreboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraffic is going to be a big piece of it,\u201d he said. \u201cAnything you can get after seconds and rebounds will be key. Not that they give up many, but you have to be a predictable group to each other. We have to give ourselves the best chance to create after pick recoveries and stay on the offense.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nobody can accuse Minnesota State of taking the easy way out to start the 2024-25 season. In their first five weeks of play, the Mavericks have skated every weekend without a bye, and their opponents have included: two top-10-ranked nonconference opponents (Michigan and North Dakota), one team that was ranked before the series (Omaha), one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":149607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[854],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis Week in CCHA Hockey: Minnesota State-St. Thomas weekend series part of 'iron sharpens iron piece every week' in conference play - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nobody can accuse Minnesota State of taking the easy way out to start the 2024-25 season. 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