The Minnesota State Mavericks (4-2-2, 1-1-0) have cemented themselves as consistently one of the best teams in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and have been the most successful program in the CCHA since the conference’s return during the 2021-22 season.
In the four seasons of the newly reinstated CCHA, the Mavericks have claimed three of the four Mascon Cup Championships, including the 2025 championship after defeating St. Thomas (3-5-1, 1-1-0) 4-2 in the championship game. The only season that didn’t see MSU hoisting the Mason Cup was in 2024, when Michigan Tech (5-3-0, 2-0-0) defeated Bemidji State (5-4-1, 3-0-1) for the championship.
This season, MSU has once again cemented itself as one of the best teams in college hockey, as Minnesota State was voted the No. 16 team in the country in the most recent USCHO poll.
Bowling Green (2-3-1, 2-1-1) is the next team to face the daunting Maverick team as the Falcons travel to Mankato to face Minnesota State on Nov. 7 and 8 at MSU’s Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center for the first of two weekend series between the two teams.
The Falcons have historically struggled against MSU, with a record of 11-29-3 and 5-15-0 on the road in Mankato.
During their lone series against MSU last season, Bowling Green suffered a sweep with Minnesota State claiming a 4-1 victory and a 3-2 overtime win.
Goal scorers over the weekend included current Falcons, sophomore forward Ben Doran, senior forward and alternate captain Jaden Grant and sophomore forward Adam Zlnka, who actually scored his first career collegiate goal during the weekend. Junior netminder Cole Moore started both games and finished the weekend having made 53 saves and recorded a .883 save percentage over the weekend.
This season, Bowling Green has a rotation of three goaltenders who have all started two games this season with Moore sporting a .842 save percentage through five periods of play, sophomore Tyler Palmer appearing in three games and starting in two while making 55 saves and recording a .917 save percentage and freshman Jacob Steinman making 57 saves and recording a .919 save percentage over his two starts.
For Minnesota State, senior netminder Alex Tracy has started all eight of the Mavericks’ games this season. Tracy is widely considered to be one of the best netminders in all of college hockey and won the CCHA Goaltender of the Year award, CCHA Player of the Year award, was a finalist for the Mike Richter Award (award given to the most outstanding goalie in the NCAA), was a Hobey Baker Award (given to the best NCAA hockey player in the country) top-10 finalist and was First Team All-CCHA all last season. This season, Tracy has started his campaign by making 202 saves and recording a .922 save percentage.
Some of the Mavericks’ offensive leaders include junior forward and alternate captain Luigi Benincasa, sophomore forward Liam Watkins, sophomore forward Charlie Lurie, and senior forward Tristan Lemyre.
Benincasa leads the Mavericks in points (nine) and is tied for the team lead in goals (three) and assists (six). Benincasa’s nine points tie him for seventh most in the CCHA, and his six assists tie him for eighth in the CCHA.
Watkins is tied with Benincasa for the team lead in assists and is second on the team in points with eight compared to Benincasa’s nine. This is the Okotoks, Alberta native’s first season playing in Mankato after spending his freshman season with the University of Nebraska Omaha (4-2-0, 2-0-0) of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). Watkins also has the best +/- rating on the team as he has recorded a +6 so far this season.
Another Maverick playing in his first season in the Purple and Gold after transferring from the University of Nebraska Omaha is Charlie Lurie, who spent two seasons in Omaha before coming to Mankato. Lurie’s three power-play goals give him the team lead in the category while tying him for the team lead in goals.
They also tie him for first in the CCHA for power-play goals scored and tie him for 10th in the NCAA as a whole in the category. Lurie is also tied for the team lead in shots as he has taken 24 so far this season.
Lemyre is yet another standout transfer player for the Mavericks from the NCHC, as the Mirabel, Quebec native spent two seasons playing for the University of Denver and one season playing for the Western Michigan Broncos before coming to Mankato. Lemyre has been a member of the last two National Championship teams, as he helped the University of Denver claim the 2024 title and helped Western Michigan claim the school’s first national championship in 2025. With MSU, Lemyre has scored three goals and three assists through eight games while taking 20 shots.
Defensively, the Mavericks have a strong core that includes junior defenseman and alternate captain Evan Murr, senior and team captain Mason Wheeler, and senior and alternate captain Campbell Cichosz.
Murr provides solid offensive upside to the Mavericks’ blue line as the 2025 CCHA Defenseman of the Year award winner has started the new campaign scoring three goals and two assists for five points while tying Lurie for the team lead in shots with 24. This season, Murr has won a CCHA Defenseman of the Week award and is fresh off being named the CCHA Defenseman of the Month for October.
Wheeler and Cichosz provide strong defensive play as they have blocked 13 and 10 shots, respectively. Wheeler’s 13 blocked shots are currently tied for 11th best in the CCHA, while Cichosz is currently tied for 21st most.
For the Falcons, Tyler Hotson’s six points currently sit at the best on the roster with Emerson (five) and Breck McKinley (four) following close behind.
McKinley also leads the Bowling Green roster in +/- rating as the junior defenseman has recorded a +5 so far this season.
Defensively, sophomore defenseman Ivan Korodiuk has impressed with a team-leading 12 blocked shots so far this season.
Other Falcons who have impressed early this season include freshman defenseman Brayden Crampton, who has scored two goals and an assist while leading the team in shots with 19, and forward Dominik Rymon, who has been able to use his speed and high skill level to score a goal and two assists while taking 17 shots.
Minnesota State will pose an extremely tough challenge for head coach Dennis Williams and the Falcon hockey team as they travel to Mankato to face the reigning champion team that has skilled players throughout its lineup.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak will have the call on Nov. 7 and 8 on WBGU 88.1 FM.
FALCON FOUR PLAYERS TO WATCH
Junior Forward – Luigi Benincasa, Minnesota State
On top of leading the Mavericks in points and being tied for the team lead in assists and goals, Benincasa is also on a seven-game point streak and shows no signs of slowing down.
Junior Defenseman – Evan Murr, Minnesota State
Fresh off being named the CCHA Defenseman of the Month for October, Murr has been a consistent offensive contributor from the Minnesota State blue line and has scored three goals and two assists so far this campaign.
Junior Forward – Tyler Hotson, Bowling Green
In his first season with the Orange and Brown since transferring from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Hotson has impressed early by leading the Falcons in points and being BG’s only point per game player through the first six games of the season. Hotson is also on a five-game point streak and scored assists in both of BG’s games against Bemidji.
Senior Forward – Jaden Grant, Bowling Green
Grant has scored two goals this season, both of which were scored in BG’s 4-1 victory over LSSU on Oct. 24 and both from the slot. If BG wants to beat Tracy, they’ll need dirty goals off rebounds and/or from the slot/blue paint.
