Six senior forwards make Mavericks tough

I don't get much of a chance to listen to Minnesota State Mankato coach Troy Jutting.

In fact, the last time I heard him was during a preseason teleconference. So I'll share some of those comments and mix in updates on what the Mavericks have done a third of the way through the regular season.

"It's the first time in a long time we have a veteran hockey team," he said. "it's a refreshing group of kids to be around."

The Mavericks have seven seniors, six are forwards, and one, Nick Canzanello, is a defenseman. The seniors have been scoring most of the goals as MSU has gone 3-1-0 the past two weekends.

"Our big loss was Mike Zacharias and Dan Tormey," Jutting said, referring to two senior goalies. "We have three kids with not a second of game experience at the college level. I like those kids so far, we'll see how it shakes out.

"In this league, at this level, goalie is the most position in hockey."

It has shaken out this way, Sophomore Austin Lee, a former netminder at Bloomington Jefferson, has taken over. He has played in five of the last six games and shined. In those games he is 3-2 with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.

Overall, he is 5-4-0 with a 2.54 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Freshman Kevin Murdock from Bradenton, Fla. -- they don't play hockey there? -- via Lincoln of the USHL is 1-3-1 with a 3.46 GAA and a .896 save mark.

"It [goalie] is a postion a freshman can be successful at," Jutting said. "It has been proven. Physically you don't have to go man-on-man and win a battle against a 24-year-old man on the ice. The key is mentality. ... At a young age, kids have to have that demeanor to be successful.

"They have to believe in themselves and feel they can be successful at this level."

Colorado College has probably has the most success with freshmen netminders. Richard Bachman was the WCHA's MVP and Rookie of the League two seasons ago. Now Joe Howe, of Wayzata, is a big reason the Tigers are tied for first place with DU.

Jutting got a new contract in the offseason. "I feel great about it," he said. "The people know me. I love the city of Mankato and all the relationships we have built up over the years.

Jutting was a Mavericks' assistant for 10 years and now is in his 10th season as the head coach.

He signed a four-year contract extension in July which runs through the 2012-13 season and reportedly pays him $153,000 annually.

He was especially looking forward to working with the forwards this season . "We have six senior forwards," he said. "I don't know if I ever had that many [seniors] in my 20 years of coachign. It is a group that has grown together and they all bring a little something different to the table.

"Every one has played special teams since they were freshmen. They understand what it takes at this level."

THE BIG SIX

* Zach Harrison, Flint, Mich., has played in 109 consecutive games. He had one of his best last Friday when the Mavs beat Michigan Tech. Harrison had one goal and three assists that night. It was his second four-point night of his career. He has four goals and eight assists so he also had 12 points.

* Geoff Irwin, Victoria, B.C., is the Mavs captain and had two goals and two assists in their sweep of Tech last weekend by 5-2, 3-2 scores. Those stats doubles his season totals to four goals and four assists for eight points.

* Kael Mouillierat, Edmonton, Alberta, had two goals in the Mavs' 3-2 win over Tech. He has three goals and three assists this season after a 17-goal season in 2008-09.

* Jason Wiley, Bloomington, has one goal in nine games, so he is off to a slow start. He had eight goals, including three game-winners last season. If his name sounds familiar, he is the player who injured the Gophers Tom Pohl two seasons ago.

* James Gaulrapp has only one point but it came on an assist on the winning goal in the Mavs' 3-2 win over Wisconsin on Oct. 24. He is from Owatonna.