Previewing North Dakota

For the first time this season, the Mavericks will get to play both games of a weekend series in the same venue, as they host the University of North Dakota.

Here's the Western College Hockey preview of the Fighting Sioux.

The big story for North Dakota this weekend is who won't be making the trip to Mankato. North Dakota will be without the services of starting goalie Phillippe Lamoureux, and perhaps the best forward in college hockey, Jonathan Toews.

Lamoureux suffered an undisclosed injury in practice this week, meaning the Sioux will have to choose between freshmen Anthony Grieco and walk-on sophomore Aaron Walski. Neither has seen any official game time in their short careers. Sioux coaches have yet to make an official decision, but word in Grand Forks is that Grieco will more than likely be the starter on Friday night. He played 15 minutes in North Dakota exhibition victory over Manitoba, and after being scored on on the first shot he saw, he went on to make 9 saves and looked decent. He should definitely be a wildcard in goal.

Even without Toews, the Sioux are talented offensively. They'll be led by sophomore T.J. Oshie, who only has one goal so far this season, but is an extremely dynamic and dangerous player. Joining him on the first line is linemate Ryan Duncan, who quietly scored 16 goals last year as a freshman. Taking over Toews spot is another sophomore, Andrew Kozek.

The Sioux second line is led by veteran Chris Porter, one of only four Sioux making the trip this weekend to have played at the Midwest Wireless Center before. Playing with him will be sophomore Matt Watkins, and part-time defenseman Chay Genoway. Chay Genoway is the younger brother of former North Dakota forward Colby Genoway.

The third line is another mix of young and old, with senior Erik Fabian, sophomore Ryan Martens, and talented freshmen Mike Forney, who makes his return to the lineup after missing two weekends with a shoulder injury. Forney was a high school star for Thief River Falls High School last year, and was projected as a first round NHL draft pick, before a string of untimely injuries dropped his stock.

The fourth line will likely feature junior Rylan Kaip and freshmen Darcy Zajac, brother of Travis, and a third linemate.

The defense will be a huge strength for the Sioux. They have one of the best sets of defense in the country.

Sophomores Taylor Chorney and Brian Lee make up one defensive pairing for the Sioux. Both are very fast, skilled puck movers. Lee is especially dangerous from the point while running the top powerplay line.

The next pairing also features two sophomores. 6'7" Joe Finley is paired with the smaller, but very feisty Zach Jones.

The final pairing is Robbie Bina and Kyle Radke. Bina made his return to the ice last year after a gruesome neck injury that he suffered in the 2005 Final Five.

This is a big rebound weekend for the Sioux who come to Mankato on a three game losing streak, including last weekend, where they were swept at home by Maine. They will certainly look to get back on the winning track this weekend.

For Mankato, not too much has changed. Mike Zacharias is still injured so Dan Tormey will definitely start both games. Jason Wiley suffered an injury last Friday and did not play on Saturday. The injury didn't sound serious, so hopefully Wiley will return to the lineup. If not, former Southern Minnesota teammate James Gaulrapp will likely take his place again.

After drawing just over 4000 fans to last Friday's game, there should be another large crowd at the Midwest Wireless Center this weekend. The Sioux are responsible for some of the biggest crowds in arena history. These will be the first games of the student ticket package. As of Tuesday, there were still 150 student ticket packages left.

Keys to the Game

1. Get off to a fast start. Through four games, the Mavericks have yet to score a goal in the first period of a game, and consequently, have fallen behind in each game this season. An early goal would go a long in shaking the young goalie's confidence. The Mavericks failed to do this last weekend, which helped freshmen Jase Weslosky settle in and gain confidence.

2. Shut down the Sioux first line. Losing Jonathan Toews is a huge hit to North Dakota's depth. This isn't the usual Sioux lineup with snipers throughout the roster. Players like Genoway, Fabian, and Zajac are more grinder types.

3. Win the special teams battle. Aside from one bad period in South Bend, the Mavericks have been fairly equal with people 5-on-5. They don't give up many chances 5-on-5, but also don't create many. The difference last weekend was the ability to finish on the powerplay. On Friday night, St. Cloud did a better job, on Saturday, Mankato did a better job. If the Mavericks can get their powerplay units clicking, they could be tough to beat.