{"id":28494,"date":"2006-10-04T14:09:18","date_gmt":"2006-10-04T19:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2006\/10\/04\/200607-minnesota-state-season-preview\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:56:38","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:56:38","slug":"200607-minnesota-state-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2006\/10\/04\/200607-minnesota-state-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2006-07 Minnesota State Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"
If Troy Jutting’s Minnesota State team has shown anything over the past few years, it is that the Mavericks have a knack for playing their hearts out and using that energy to grab league points.<\/p>\n
It has to be a good sign for him, then, that despite the fact that his team is like most — full of youngsters — that the underclassmen are continuing to bring that mentality to the rink.<\/p>\n
“The one thing that I’ve been impressed so far with this group, is the overall speed and competitiveness,” Jutting said. “I think one of the things that we’ve been able to do is play pretty hard as a team, and I think this group of freshmen exemplifies that.”<\/p>\n
The Mavericks are going to need some help from those young players up front after losing key players from last season in David Backes, Ryan Carter and Rob Rankin. <\/p>\n
Then again, in Jutting’s mind, the forward position is the best place to have young players.<\/p>\n
“There’s a lot of new stuff going on and a lot of learning that needs to take place,” Jutting said. “While we’re very young … most of those kids are up front. And I guess if you’re going to be young, up front is the place to be.”<\/p>\n
While those young players adapt to the college level, sophomore goalie Dan Tormey will be called upon to take his game to the next level.<\/p>\n
Tormey was the All-Rookie Goaltender last year and posted respectable numbers, going 14-13-4 with a .902 save percentage and 2.83 GAA.<\/p>\n
“With Dan Tormey back and (Mike) Zacharias back in net I feel fairly comfortable with our goaltending situation,” Jutting said. “It will be a matter of how fast those young forwards really adjust to the pace and the speed of the WCHA.”<\/p>\n
The Mavericks return their leading scorer in Travis Morin (20-22-42), but as the only player coming back with more than eight goals, you can expect opposing teams to clamp down on him.<\/p>\n
Juniors Joel Hanson and Austin Sutter are prime candidates to use their experience to step up their games, along with Mick Berge and Jon Kalinski. Jutting has also brought in a couple of freshmen whom he says can contribute right away.<\/p>\n