MANKATO, Minn. -- Two minutes, 25 seconds.
That's the amount of time that kept the Minnesota State men's hockey team from advancing to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Five last season and might serve as some motivation for this season.
"Seeing that stat last year was a punch in the stomach," junior defenseman Tyler Elbrecht said last week, "especially when your season's over. You see that and say, 'Wow, that's not a very long time.'"
Those 145 seconds were the total amount of time Denver led the Mavericks in its two-game sweep in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The Pioneers came from behind twice, scoring four goals in the third period of the first game and two in the third period and another in overtime the next night.
With that fairly fresh in their minds, the Mavericks had their first three practices of the regular season on Saturday and Sunday. Tonight, they will host an exhibition game against the University of British Columbia at Verizon Wireless Center.
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"That was an amazing stat," senior forward Michael Dorr, the team's top returning scorer, said of the 2:25. "And I think we are that close to breaking through. I think that's why in the offseason and the preseason, we've take taken things to another level. We're paying attention to every detail."
The WCHA coaches and media don't share Dorr's optimism for this season.
In separate preseason polls released last week, both groups picked the Mavericks to finish 11th in the 12-team conference. That's the same place in which they finished last season, when they went 8-16-4 in league play. Eight of their losses were by just one goal.
"We weren't happy with the way last year played out," coach Troy Jutting said. "While we were close almost all the time, close doesn't cut it."
The Mavericks lost their top three defensemen to graduation but return their top three forwards -- Dorr, Eriah Hayes and Chase Grant -- and both of their goaltenders -- Phil Cook and Austin Lee.
Elbrecht, the team's top returning defenseman and co-captain with Dorr, said the close games often come down to one or two mistakes that need to be eliminated, especially at the end of games -- like the ones against Denver.
"I think that woke us up," he said. "You realize that every day in practice, if you miss that one pass or you make a mistake, you've got to make sure you don't make it again because it could be the reason that those two minutes happen in a game."
The Mavericks will begin regular-season play Friday when they begin a two-game, nonconference series against 18th-ranked Rensselaer in Troy, N.Y. Minnesota State's home-opening series is Oct. 14-15 against Massachusetts-Lowell.
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They will open the WCHA season on Oct. 21-22 where last year ended -- in Denver.
Distributed by MCT Information Services
