A holiday wish list for Minnesota's Division I men's hockey teams

It's Dec. 13, and you know what that means? We're only 10 days away from Festivus, that "Seinfeld''-celebrated holiday that also doubles as the earliest day middle-aged men can legally begin their gift shopping.

With the gift-giving season in mind, Hockey Claus is feeling generous and will bestow two gifts on each of Minnesota's five Division I men's hockey programs. Here's a wish list for each:

Bemidji State

First gift: Some nonconference success. The Beavers opened the season with an 0-2-2 mark in series against St. Cloud State and North Dakota, then have fashioned an 8-3-1 mark in the WCHA. Their next chance to hang a nonconference pelt comes in the Mariucci Classic, in which they'll play the Gophers on Dec. 28 and either St. Cloud State or Minnesota State on Dec. 29.

Second gift: Continued penalty kill success. Bemidji State has been shorthanded 50 times and has allowed three goals for a nation's-best .940 kill percentage. Goalie Zach Driscoll (8-4-1, 1.70 goals-against average, .932 save percentage) leads the way.

St. Cloud State

First gift: A return to form for David Hrenak. Last season, the goalie from Slovakia posted a 23-5-2 record, 2.18 GAA and .906 save percentage for a team that was ranked No. 1 for most of the season. This year, he's 4-6-3, with a 2.79 GAA and .877 save percentage. Last week's sweep of Miami (Ohio) showed improvement.

Minnesota Duluth

First gift: A strong run in January. At 9-6-1 this season, the two-time defending national champion Bulldogs haven't been the dominant force many expected. They are, however, a spectacular tournament team. A four week stretch starting in January – vs. Western Michigan, at St. Cloud State, vs. North Dakota and at Denver – offers coach Scott Sandelin's team a chance to ramp up for the postseason.

Second gift: Good health. Standouts Nick Swaney, Dylan Samberg and Nick Wolff have missed time because of injuries, and All-America defenseman Scott Perunovich has played while battling bumps and bruises. Getting everybody completely healthy would go a long way in chasing a three-peat.

Minnesota State

First gift: Ability to peak at the right time. The top-ranked Mavericks are 14-1-1, with a win and tie against North Dakota and a road sweep of Minnesota Duluth. With a 75-19-4 mark since the start of the 2017-18, coach Mike Hastings' team has shown it can win big in the regular season. The deep, veteran and talented Mavericks need to make their NCAA tournament first-round game a mere speed bump rather than a mountain.

Gophers

Gift one: Coffee's for closers. Through a difficult first-half schedule that included top-10 teams such as UMD, Notre Dame, Penn State, North Dakota and Ohio State, the Gophers went 0-5-2 when losing leads, including an 0-2-1 mark when they had two-goal leads. That's led to a 5-9-4 overall record. Coach Bob Motzko needs his team to mature to finish those games.