Slapshot - Celebrating 50 Years of Maverick Men's Hockey

2018-19 season in review

2 • MSU Reporter

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Thursday, March 28, 2019

The team’s had a benchmark season; winning 30+ games for the first time since 1979

KEVIN KORBEL SPORTS EDITOR The Maverick men’s hockey team is having the best season in the history of the program, as they’re winners of both the MacNaughton Cup and the WCHA title, the second time in team history the team has won both the same year. Now, the team looks to add a NCAA title to their trophy case this season.

For the Mavericks this season, it all started from the very beginning, in the team’s first game of the regular season at home against the Boston Terriers, when Maverick sophomore forward Parker Tuomie slapped in the first goal of the season past the Terriers’ netminder to put the Mavericks up early on in that game, 1-0. They went on to win in this game, 4-3, over

one of the best goalies in the league in senior goalie Connor LaCouvee, who had an outstanding season for the Mavericks last season, sporting a 23-6-1 record for the club, with the 23 wins tying for fourth in the nation, along with Suess, Zeb Knutson and three other seniors who departed from the team this season.

The Mavericks started out the season winning 14 of their first 16 games of the season, losing only to North Dakota and Bemidji State on the road during that period.

Out of the gate, the team had a new identity going into this season as a hockey club, and that’s spreading out the puck to all of their players without focusing specifically on one person to score, and also playing a hard-nosed defense that is ready at the point of attack to stop opponents from scoring.

It helps also to have a brick wall as your netminder, and that’s exactly what freshman goalie Dryden McKay has been all season long for the

Kjerstin Hall | MSU Reporter

Junior captain Marc Michaelis (20) leads the team this season with 19 goals on the season.

From that series on, head coach Mike Hastings knew he had some work to do to get this team back on the right track, especially for him being away from the team for a series of games to help coach the USA hockey team. The team had big games coming their way against Ferris State and Lake Superior State at home to test them.

Hastings said it best during a press conference after their overtime win against Ferris

State in January saying, “We have to be better tomorrow, because we know (our opponents) will be as well.”

From that moment forward, to go along with their matchups with Michigan Tech and Ferris State, the team went on another run this season, going 13-2-1 to end the season, losing only one home game the whole entire regular season in Arizona to the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in December.

The team claimed their fourth MacNaughton Cup in five years on February 22nd, after defeating the Alaska Nanooks, and were undefeated at the Verizon Center once the WCHA playoffs came around.

After defeating Alabama Huntsville and Lake Superior State at home in the first

REVIEW page 11

CONGRATULATIONS ON 50 YEARS OF MAVERICK HOCKEY!

Kjerstin Hall | MSU Reporter

Sophomore forward Jake Jaremko (5) the Terriers in front of their home fans.

From that game alone, you could sense that this would be a special season for the team, even after the team had lost two of their best players senior forward C.J. Suess and junior defenseman Daniel Brickley to the NHL draft.

To go along with that, the team had to replace

team, going 24-6-2 in the games in which he’s played, which is almost identical to the season LaCouvee had last season.

As any season does, there were some bumps in the road for the team this season, as they went 0-3-1 in their four-game road trip against the liking of Bowling Green, Minnesota Duluth, and Arizona State University.

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Thursday, March 28, 2019

Celebrating 50 Years of Maverick Men’s Hockey

MSU Reporter • 3

U T L A A TIONS R G N O C

MAVERICK

MEN’S HOCKEY

THANK YOU FOR 50 GREAT YEARS!

PRESIDENT RICHARD DAVENPORT

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Behind the mic: the voices of MSU hockey

Allan and Sullivan have a combined 50+ years experience at the helm between the two

ANDREW NEURURER STAFF WRITER Throughout the successful history of Maverick hockey, there would be many moments made special by the two men behind the mic calling the games for the team, Paul Allan and Mike Sullivan. These are the voices behind Minnesota State Mavericks hockey.

Allan calls the away game duties, on top of tag teaming the play-by-play at the Verizon Center with Sullivan.

These two have seen and gone through it all throughout the years of hockey in Mankato. The hockey team has not always been playing Division I, but rather they went from Division II, to III and are now officially D-I. The Mavericks have never won a championship in recent history, but they did however win one in 1980 when they were in DII. Mankato has had some successful teams over the years, but the one playing this 2018-19 year, has now

a group of forwards, a group of defenseman, goaltending, special teams, we’re pretty good in almost every category. You can check the boxes in all of them.”

Sullivan has been doing football and hockey since the 2000’s. He’s noticed that this team has a great sense of accountability and responsibility and that has allowed them to lock in and take care of business.

The WCHA recently had a conference realignment in 2013-14. This meant teams like Minnesota, North Dakota, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State and among others to leave the conference.

However, Mankato still plays these teams regularly over the years.

Allan credits the coaching staff for this major change, saying, “one of the keys for us to be able to adjust to what happened with the breakup of the old WCHA, was our coaching staff has done a great job with scheduling.

They’ve insured, worked extremely hard with our nonconference opponents.”

It appears that this change has had a poor outcome for the in-state rival Gophers, but Minnesota State has made it out doing well. Allan

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Paul Allan (left) and Mike Sullivan (right) have been calling games for many seasons, as they they each embark on an unprecedented amount of years calling Mav hockey. memories of the hockey program. Allan couldn’t pinpoint one specific thing, but things like going Division I in 1995-96, making the NCAA tournament for the first time in 2002-03 with Shane Joseph and Grant Stevenson, along with the team that’s playing right now, highlight some great times in Maverick

gone on to have really good careers. Ryan Carter winning a Stanley cup, playing for a couple of cups. David Backes in the success that he’s had here,” said Sullivan.

Former Mavericks players Ryan Carter, David Backes and Teddy Blueger were just a few players Sullivan mentioned that have gone on to have successful careers.

While the team has had success this season, both Allan and Sullivan are excited for the future of the team.

Allan says, “we lose three seniors, and we’ve got a kid who’s been drafted coming in next year and another kid who’s captain of his team. We got six really good recruits coming in, six or seven really good recruits.”

There’s been a lot of success over the 50 years of Maverick hockey, but the future looks just as promising.

Allan and Sullivan have been around for a long time and are a major part of Minnesota State hockey.

Good Luck Mavericks!

CONGRATULATIONS ON 50 YEARS!

Photo courtesy of the Mankato Free Press

“The man with the golden voice” Mike Sullivan has been calling games at the Verizon Center for 19 seasons. broken the school record with 31 wins.

Allan has been with the team since 1985 and said, “One of the things I’ve noticed about this particular team, is that if you look at everything that goes into a hockey team,

notes that he believes it was a good move because it’s allowed the Mavericks to stay competitive, keep fans and continue to win the WCHA conference.

Over the years, Sullivan and Allan have many fond

hockey.

Sullivan says the players success have been his fondest memory.

“Seeing some of the individual players that have come through here that have

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MSU Reporter • 5

Celebrating 50 Years of Maverick Men’s Hockey

50 years, four head coaches for the Mavericks

Brose and Hastings highlight a short-list of coaching pioneers for the program

JOHN LAFOREST STAFF WRITER Over the past 50 seasons, the Mavericks’ hockey head coaches have continued a history of striving for greatness within the program, with the program holding a club record of 919 wins, 652 losses, and 155 ties (.622% win percentage), a very impressive record for this program.

The Mavericks have had a total of four head coaches throughout the team’s history: Don Brose (536-335-79), who coached the team for 30 years, Brad Reeves (16-14-0), who coached for one season in 1983-84 while Brose was on sabbatical, Troy Jutting (184-224-55), who coached the team from 2000-12, and Mike Hastings (183-79-21), who’s been the coach of the team since 2012.

Two coaches that highlight the optimal goal of success the program strives to achieve are Don Brose and Mike Hastings through his short tenure already, making quite a name for himself. These two have accomplished enough through this program to forever cement their names in the history of Maverick

hockey.

Don Brose may as well be considered the godfather of Maverick’s hockey. He was the first coach of the Mavericks and spent 30 seasons as the head man.

Brose started coaching in 1969 and with his first stint ending in 1983 before coming back to coach the Mavs from 1984-2000 season.

Brose brought the program from the ground up. Under Brose, the team underwent many different changes, from being in Division II, to dropping down to Division III before becoming Division I participants before the 199697 season under Brose.

Notable achievements during the career of Brose include being named AHCA Coach in the Year in 1979.

Mavericks made 11 NCAA postseason tournament finishes under his coaching reign and finished third in NCAA Division II in 197778, second in DII in 197879 and led MSU to NCAA Division II title in 1980, as he guided the Mavericks to a second-place finish in NCAA Division III in 1990-91. He was also named WCHA Coach of the Year in 1999-2000 after navigating the Mavericks to 21-14-1 mark and a fourthplace finish in inaugural year in Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

As for Mike Hastings, he arrived at Minnesota State following a three-year stint

Photos courtesy of Maverick Athletics

Don Brose (top left), Brad Reeves (top right), Troy Jutting (bottom left) and Mike Hastings (bottom right). as the associate head coach at Nebraska-Omaha. He also served as an assistant coach with the men’s hockey program at the University of Minnesota for one season and before that had a 14-year run as head coach of Omaha of the United States Hockey League. He left the USHL as the league’s all-time

winningest coach, compiling a 529-210-56 record with the Lancers, never had a losing season and led Omaha to three Clark Cup titles as the USHL’s play-off champions.

He was named USHL Coach of the Year three times and as the team’s general manager, earned league GM of the Year honors five times.

In his first year as head coach of the Mavericks in 2012-13, Hastings was named WCHA Coach of the Year after leading MSU to a 24-14-3 mark. The Crookston, Minn., native guided MSU to its first

COACHES page 13

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From college to the pros: 11 NHL players from MSU

The team has had an illustrious history of former players going to the next level

JOHN LAFOREST STAFF WRITER Putting on the purple & gold Maverick jersey comes with more than just an opportunity to be a part of a long history of hockey, but having great play rewarded for a chance to play at the next level in the NHL. The Mavericks have great representation on the next level. There are currently 26 players in the NHL who played for the Mavericks.

David Backes is the most notable MSU alumni player that has had a long career at the next level. Backes played for the Mavs for three seasons going from the 2003-04 season to the 2005-06 season before he was eventually drafted by the St Louis Blues in the second round going #62 overall.

David Backes may have not had these opportunities if players such as Tim Jackman hadn’t done it first. Although Jackman’s path to the league was much differently than most.

Former Maverick hockey players David Backes (left) and Daniel Brickley (right). the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Jackman made his NHL debut during the 2003–04 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and then played for Coyotes, Kings, Islanders, Flames, and Ducks over his long 14-year career.

Jackman also came back and developed and coached young players from 20162018.

Ryan Carter is also a

with the Ducks AHL affiliate at the time, the Portland Pirates where he had 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 76 games.

Although he played much of his rookie season with the affiliate, Carter was called up to the Anaheim Ducks from the Portland Pirates for the 2007 playoff run and played four games. The Ducks would defeat the Ottawa Senators

career Stanley Cup Playoff matches.

The eight other former hockey players from MSU to move on and play in the pro ranks are Eriah Hayes (played for MSU from 200913), John Kalinski (2005-08), Travis Morin (2003-07), Kael Mouillierat (2006-10), Casey Nelson (2013-16), Tyler Pitlick (2009-10), Grant Stevenson (2001-04), Steve Wagner (2004-07), and the most recent pro to come out of the Maverick program Daniel Brickley, who concluded his

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career with the Mavericks last season.

The Mavericks have a great history of having some of the best players in the nation playing for the team with so many of the team’s players getting drafted. And the Mavericks don’t seem to be slowing down on future alumni representing themselves well in the NHL. Players like Jake Jaremko and Ian Scheid attending camps for NHL teams this past team.

CONGRATS ON

50 YEARS OF MAVERICK MEN’S HOCKEY! FROM YOUR FANS AT Photo courtesy of the Mankato Free Press

Former Maverick star Ryan Carter (holding trophy) brought the Stanley Cup trophy back to Mankato in 2007 after winning it with the Anaheim Ducks.

Before entering the league, Jackman then attended Minnesota State University, Mankato for two seasons between 2000 and 2002.

He was the first player from Minnesota State University, Mankato to be drafted after becoming the Columbus Blue Jackets’ second round selection, 38th overall, at

notable former Maverick who played nearly 500 games in the league for the Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks and the New Jersey Devils, hanging up the skates after the 201617 season.

In 2006, Carter signed a professional contract with the Anaheim Ducks. In his first season he mostly played

in the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, and Carter’s name was engraved on the Stanley Cup. The White Bear Lake, Minn., native totaled 93 points and 691 hits in 473 career NHL games during nine seasons. In two seasons he recorded 25 points in 113 contests with the Wild (201416). Carter appeared in 46

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Celebrating 50 Years of Maverick Men’s Hockey

MSU Reporter • 7

Biggest games in MSU hockey history

A look back at past games that have shaped the organization over the years

BRADY OLSON STAFF WRITER With the 50th year of MSU hockey winding down, it is important to reflect on some of the milestone moments that have occurred throughout the program’s history. Here are six of some of the biggest games in MSU history.

The Inaugural series, 1970 While it may not be a great performance by the hockey team, the inaugural series provides spiritual importance, as it would lay the groundwork for the future of hockey in Mankato. Nevertheless, the 1970 Mankato hockey team played very much like an expansion team.

Then known as the Mankato State Indians, the inaugural two-game series was played on Jan. 16 and 17, 1970 against St. Cloud State. Not only was the name and mascot of the school different, but the games were played outdoors. If that wasn’t weird enough, the inaugural game wasn’t even in Mankato. It was moved to Faribault due to bad weather.

They would fall to the

Photo courtesy of Maverick Athletics

Team co-captain Steve Loomis (#7) accepts the 1979-80 national championship trophy. The Mavericks defeated Elmira, 5-2, in claiming the NCAA Division II crown.

Huskies 8-2 in the first game, allowing five goals on power plays. When they got back to Mankato for the second game, it was played in -20 degree weather and in front on just 20 spectators. They would lose that game as well by a 7-0 margin.

1991 D-III Championship You may be surprised to find out that MSU hockey spent eight seasons at the Division III level. The high point of that stretch came in 1991, when the Mankato State Mavericks went 23-76 en route to a NCHA title

and a trip to the Division III Championship Game. After defeating Elmira College 7-3 in the semifinals, hopes were high that MSU could win their second national title, while also doing it in a second division.

They would run into a problem with their opponents.

The University of WisconsinStevens Point was very familiar with the Mavericks, having gone 3-3 against them in thee regular season.

And early on, it looked as if this game could go down to the wire. Through the first

25 minutes, things were tied 1-1. Unfortunately, that would be the closest the Mavs would get to a title, as WSP would score four unanswered goals as they defeated the Mavericks 6-2.

Inaugural D-I game, 1996 Starting with the 1996-97 season, the Mavericks would official have a Division I sport in men’s hockey. And, luckily for the fans, the start for D1 play would be much friendlier that the beginnings of the program as a whole. On Oct. 11, 1996, the Mavericks would fall 5-4 on the road

against Ferris State.

However, the following day, the Mavericks would pull off the upset as they stunned Ferris State 5-4 in overtime, giving them their first win in their new division. While the beginning of the season was not ideal for the Mavericks, they rallied hard.. Winning 10 of their last 13 games, they would end their season with a record of 17-14-3.

2019 WCHA Championship This is the most exciting game in recent memory for the organization. While they’ve won the WCHA championship in years past, this game was unlike any other game the Mavericks had played in.

Down by two goals late in the third period against Bowling Green, the Mavericks were able to score two goals to tie it late within a minute span, and just seconds left in the period.

The game then went into overtime, and just seconds into OT the Mavericks got past the netminder for the game ending goal, to win the WCHA championship in dramatic fashion. The jampacked crowd was treated to one of the most thrilling finishes in team history.

GAMES page 14

GOOD LUCK MAVERICKS!

Centennial Student Union Room 167

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The Blue Line Club: a staple for MSU Hockey

Throughout the last 20 years, this organization has been the backbone of the team

BOBBI PATRICK STAFF WRITER While everyone knows the importance of Minnesota State’s hockey team, many don’t know the many members of the Blue Line Club that support the ongoing tradition of Maverick hockey.

The Blue Line Club has been around since 1996 to engage members and local Maverick fans by supporting the men and women’s hockey programs. Some of the bigger ways they show their support is through fundraisers to support scholarships and team necessities.

“We are a resource that the coaches know that if they need something that we will try to help them in any way that we can,” said Jason Beal, the Blue Line Club’s president.

The Blue Line Club is also an advocacy group for the

members and the fans. When the hockey teams needed a new video scoreboard, the Blue Line Club went to the city to ask for the current 4-sided video scoreboard right now to increase the fan experience and generate more money for the programs.

The scoreboard has been operating since 2015 and continues to be a huge part of the hockey game tradition, and has offered many fans the better experience the Blue Line Club advocated for.

While also supporting the teams and advocating for changes, the club hosts many events, including five pregame gatherings at the Verizon Wireless Center. The club also hosts a hockey night and works with the MSU athletic department to put this event on.

“Anybody can join the club, you just have to purchase the Blue Line Club season tickets for hockey games. They are more expensive due to a portion being designated for scholarships,” said Beal.

The club is always looking for new ways to get their members involved and every year continuously brings new

Photo courtesy of Minnesota State University, Mankato

Blue Line Club members sign located inside of the Verizon Center. partnerships and membership benefits while supporting the MSU hockey teams.

“We have some great partnership with Barnes and Noble, the Verizon Wireless Center, and coming next year we have established a partnership with Rounders

to have pregame gatherings before every home game. We are trying to think of new ways to engage our members thank them for their support,” said Beal.

The club has about 240 different memberships, which adds up to the club having

about 800 total members to support the MSU hockey teams.

The club in the future looks to support the team financially, and to keep the tradition of Maverick hockey alive and well in the state of hockey.

Thursday, March 28, 2019

MSU Reporter • 9

Celebrating 50 Years of Maverick Men’s Hockey

From all-black to throwback: history of MSU jerseys The team has seen an abundance of changes throughout the team’s history

JENNA PETERSON STAFF WRITER There’s an old saying in sports that if you look, you feel and play good, and as years have gone by, the Mavericks hockey sweaters have seen an abundance of change in their uniforms ever since it was recognized as a small club hockey team way back in 1940, before the team was an actual collegiate sport.

With this first team, the jerseys were made of wool and didn’t include any logos or nameplates, it just included the player’s numbers.

The first set of changes came to the jerseys in the 1956-1957 season, where they went from wool to durene. Durene is a fabric made of knitted cotton, occasionally mixed with wool, that is used in many different styles of clothing.

This allowed for a more

Photo courtesy of Vintage MN Hockey

Throwback white jerseys (left) from 1977-79, and all-black jerseys (right) from the 2012-13 season. comfortable and enjoyable uniform for the players to perform in at the time.

Once the late 60’s, early 70’s rolled around, the team was finally recognized as a collegiate sport, and came out with new team jerseys

made, with their nickname at the time, the “Indians” put on the front of the jersey and had the player’s number on the back. Polyester mesh made an appearance this year as well when the team switch to this jersey material.

The home game jersey was white with yellow and purple stripes with purple lettering while the away game jersey was purple with yellow stripes and lettering.

Years later in 1977, Mankato changed their

mascot to the Mavericks due to the Native American groups who saw the previous mascot as untruthful of their

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Home of the Mavericks: history of the facilities

The team has called the Verizon Center home since 1995, but it all started outside on the rink

KEVIN KORBEL SPORTS EDITOR As the hockey team celebrates 50 years of Maverick hockey this season, the program has grown from a small market team that played on outdoor ice, to one of the best contenders for the NCAA championship at the D-I level this season.

In the early 1970’s when the program was beginning to get their skates off the ground, they didn’t have the luxury of playing in front of 5,000 fans per night. Instead, they played outside at a reserved rink at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, or at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault.

To say conditions to play hockey outside were not ideal would be an understatement, as there would days where it would be cold enough that players would begin to get frostbite, yet there would be other days where it was too hot and couldn’t keep the ice cold enough to play.

The Verizon Center has been the home of Maverick hockey since 1995.

1973-74 season, which would set up their D-II tournament runs beginning in the late 70’s.

Six years later after the 1973-74 season, the team won their first national championship.

As years went on for the team, the team would make appearances in the NCAA tournament in 11 seasons playing at the All Seasons Arena.

the team had weren’t held to NCAA standards in terms of what you need for a hockey arena, and also it would take an increase in taxes in order to build the facility.

Luckily enough for the organization, a new bill orchestrated and sent to the board was improved in 1992, with Mankato voters approving a 0.5% tax increment to support downtown renovations, including the new ice arena.

The construction for the new arena began in 1994, and the facility opened as the Mankato Civic Center

Photos courtesy of Maverick Athletics

in 1995. The men’s hockey team played their first hockey game at the new arena and defeated the eventual National Champions that season in Alabama Huntsville, 6-3.

The new arena has seen a lot of name changes since 1995, from the Midwest Wireless Civic Center in 1999, to the Alltel Center in 2007 after they acquired Midwest Wireless, to the Verizon Wireless Center in 2009, and then dropping “Wireless” from their name in 2017, and simply be called the Verizon Center.

On April 1st, 2019, Verizon’s naming rights contract will run out, and the facility’s name will then simply revert back to the Mankato Civic Center.

After almost 15 seasons at the new arena, the team has continued the long tradition of Minnesota hockey and hope to see their recent success be a blueprint for what’s to come of this team in the future. One thing that’s for sure is that if it weren’t for the brave players who braved out the cold in the early 70’s, none of this would’ve been possible.

89.7 'THE MAVERICK'

IS YOUR CAMPUS RADIO Photo courtesy of Maverick Athletics

Bill Techar (9) and Dave Kramer (12) playing in a game outside in 1970 for the Mavericks.

After their first couple of seasons playing outside, the team was finally able to worry less about the weather, and more about their opponents after moving indoors to the newly-constructed All Seasons Arena during the

Then began the push for the team to go D-I in 1992, after announcing their intention to move up, but the idea was shot down by the Minnesota State University Board. It was initially shot down because the facilities

AND WE'VE BEEN MAVERICK HOCKEY FANS SINCE DAY ONE!

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Celebrating 50 Years of Maverick Men’s Hockey

REVIEW Continued from page 2

Freshman goalie Dryden McKay two rounds of the WCHA tournament, the Mavericks faced off with the Bowling Green Falcons for the WCHA title.

In front of over 5,000 fans at the Verizon Center, the Mavericks were down by two with two minutes left in the game, and McKay was placed on the bench for the extra attackers. Within a minute of each other, the Mavericks were able to score two goals off the sticks of sophomores

Jake Jaremko and Connor Mackey to tie the game and send it into overtime.

From that point on, the Mavericks upset Bowling Green in overtime after junior forward Nick Rivera slapped home the goal to win the game, the WCHA title, and a top-seed in the NCAA tournament in a miracle finish.

For the team as of now, their current record stands at 32-7-2, which is the most wins in a season in program

MSU Reporter • 11

Kjerstin Hall | MSU Reporter

history and will face-off with their first-round opponent in the NCAA tournament, the Providence Friars, in Providence, Rhode Island this Saturday and Sunday, with the winners of this series moving on to face the winners of the Northeastern and Cornell series in the second round.

The team looks to be a team of destiny, and now are ready to face-off with opponents on the big stage.

Kjerstin Hall | MSU Reporter

Junior forward Charlie Gerard (9)

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MSU hockey having huge effects on local economy With the club’s move to D-I in the 90’s, the financial gain for the community has been abundant

BRADY OLSON STAFF WRITER As Mankato celebrates 50 years of MSU hockey, it is important to see just how far the program has come in that time. Along with the program’s growth has been the evolution of collegiate sports in America, with college sports having more and more of an impact on their respective communities.

Mankato is no exception to this, as MSU hockey’s growth has become a big part of downtown Mankato.

The hockey program is having a banner season, both on the ice and in terms of attendance. This season marks their fifth consecutive season of averaging 3,600 fans or more. It is also the first time the Mavericks averaged 4,000 fans in a season since the 2008-09 campaign.

With the crowds come some financial benefits for MSU. The hockey program generates enough revenue to cover most of its own expenses, such as game day operations and player scholarships. It also generates over 85% of the total ticket revenue in the athletic department, and also

Photo courtesy of the City of Mankato

The city of Mankato has profitted a lot from the success of the Maverick hockey team over the years. generates plenty of money from other avenues such as corporate sponsorships.

Along with the impact that hockey has on the school, the Mavs have had a profound impact on the entire Mankato community. Some of that can be contributed to the Verizon Center, which is located in the heart of downtown Mankato. The total economic impact of the Verizon Center is estimated to be worth over

$40 million annually.

With the Mavericks as the only full-time tenant of the arena, they are certainly a sizeable portion of that total.

Outside of the games, the large crowds will spend a lot of time and money at downtown establishments such as bars, restaurants and hotels, which energizes downtown Mankato on game nights.

Despite the success

of the hockey program at the top level, there are no plans to make MSU a fulltime athletic program. While bigger conferences such as the Summit League might be an intriguing fit for the Mavericks geographically, other factors such as higher operating costs would have a highly negative impact on students.

Regardless, there is no doubt that the hockey

program is a big part of both the university and the community. Maverick hockey has been able to consistently fill seats for years on end, which has in turn centered Verizon Center as an anchor for downtown Mankato. And with Mankato continuing to grow year after year, the importance of MSU hockey will continue to grow with it.

50 YEARS STRONG Congratulations to all players and coaches who have paved the way for such a successful program!

Go Mavs! from your fans at

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133 Zieske Road, Courtland, MN 56021

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Thursday, March 28, 2019

Celebrating 50 Years of Maverick Men’s Hockey

COACHES Continued from page 2

MSU Reporter • 13

Photo courtesy of Maverick Athletics

Head coach Mike Hastings at a postgame press conference following a game. top-half league finish since 2007-08 in that first season and the Mavericks made their second-ever NCAA postseason tournament appearance.

MSU had a seven-game winning streak from Nov 23-Dec. 14 and during the season, claimed wins over #2 Minnesota, #4 North Dakota and #15 Wisconsin. Hastings was named national coach of the year by College Hockey News and was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award as the AHCA National Coach

of the Year.

Hastings holds the best winning percentage of a coach in the history of Mavericks coaching with a .684 win percentage. It’s evident he puts winning first as head coach and values the team’s success above all.

After winning his fourth WCHA championship as the Mavericks head coach, he looks to continue the tradition of years of success going for years to come. The Mavericks have a great future with Hastings at the helm.

Photo courtesy of Maverick Athletics

Former Mavericks head coach Don Brose (left) coaching up former Maverick player Tyler Deis (right).

CONGRATS ON 50 GREAT SEASONS FROM YOUR FANS AT

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507.625.9795

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JERSEYS Continued from page 9

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Kjerstin Hall | MSU Reporter

Photo courtesy of Maverick Athletics

Shane Joseph (14) sporting all black uniforms in 2000. culture and beliefs. The school chose the Mavericks to be the new mascot as a result of Professor Roy Cook; the symbolism of a maverick is that they are independent and think in their own ways instead of following the crowds. To this day, the Maverick is still the mascot of Minnesota State.

In 1979, the hockey team

included the Maverick logo on their jerseys and included the player’s nameplate for the first time. This allowed for the community and other students to know the mascot and players better and grow fond of the new changes.

Through the 80’s and 90’s, the jerseys started to include a fight strap in order to keep the jersey on the player’s

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Centennial Student Union Room 280

body if a fight were to occur.

The jersey logo also changed to a maverick on the front and stayed that way from 1998 to 2001 and was brought back later as an alternate jersey.

Minnesota State brought back the yellow jerseys in 2005 for throwback alternatives. For the majority of the upcoming seasons, the

Sophomore Jake Jaremko (5) sporting this year’s throwback uniforms in a game in February. jerseys were either white, gray, or black, until 2011 when the Mavericks had a special camo jersey to honor and celebrate those who have risked their lives to protect our country.

Fast forward to this season, the team went back in time and introduced new throwback jerseys that look almost identical to the ones introduced in the early 70’s.

Yellow, purple, and white jerseys are the three main jersey colors for this year. This allows the team to dedicate their season to those who started it all 50 years ago.

The team has had an outstanding season and has made the school, community, and students proud to be a Maverick.

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Celebrating 50 Years of Maverick Men’s Hockey

GAMES Continued from page 7

Photo of the team from their first hockey season.

1979 D-II Championship This marked the first of three appearances in a national championship game for the men’s hockey team. Having won the third-place game in last year’s tournament, hopes were high for this team coming in. The hype got even louder when Mankato State defeated Salem State 5-3 in the semifinals.

Led by a core group of seniors, the Mavericks went into the championship game in a great position. However, they failed to stop the potent offense of the University

MSU Reporter • 15

Photo courtesy of Maverick Athletics

of Lowell. Led by future Stanley Cup champion Craig MacTavish, Lowell had gotten into the final by putting 10 goals on the board in the semis, and they continued to wreak havoc on the offensive end. Mankato battled, but fell short in a 6-4 defeat.

1980 D-II National Championship In a rematch of the championship from the year before, MSU got matched up against Lowell in the 1980 semifinals. The Mavericks clobbered Lowell, dropping the hammer in an 8-1

victory. That win set up a championship game against Elmira College, who was hosting the championship game.

Continuing the scoring from the semifinal, MSU jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead as junior Larry Long scored two goals. MSU goaltender Steve Carroll kept Elmira at bay for most of the game, netting 42 saves in the contest. Elmira would come back and score a couple garbage-time goals, but the damage was done as the Mavs won the NCAA Championship 5-2.

Kjerstin Hall | MSU Reporter

Sophomore defenseman Riese Zmolek

CONGRATULATIONS MAVERICKS ON 50 YEARS OF MEN’S HOCKEY!

from MSU Fellowship of Christian Athletes

from your fans at

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Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your journey and for 50 Great Years of Hockey!

from your friends and fans at