Northern Michigan University’s Alex Frye looks for a pass in front of the Ferris State net in the third period of their CCHA game played on Feb. 25 at the Berry Events Center in Marquette. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University hockey team takes on the challenge of facing the CCHA’s top team at their home rink when the Wildcats play Minnesota State-Mankato at 7:07 p.m. EST today at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato, Minnesota.

The winner advances to the CCHA Championship game next Saturday to take on the winner of today’s other CCHA playoff semifinal when Bemidji State visits Michigan Tech. The playoff champion not earns the Mason Cup, but an automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Tournament.

Minnesota State has won 13 straight games, their last defeat coming at the hands of the Wildcats on Jan. 14 in Marquette.

The Mavericks are the top-ranked team in the country in the USCHO.com poll, boasting a 33-5-0 overall mark this season. The Wildcats enter at 20-15-1 and have received votes in the most recent rankings.

Including the Jan. 14 game, NMU (20-15-1) has beaten the No. 1 team in the country three times this season that also includes a home sweep of Minnesota-Duluth in early December.

But the Wildcats are only 7-21-3 all-time vs. Mankato dating back to 2013. The teams met in this same playoff semifinal game — just that it was the WCHA at the time — at the same location last year with Northern pulling off a stunning 5-1 victory.

In last year’s encounter, NMU’s Andre Ghantous scored two goals and Alex Frye and AJ Vanderbeck both had a goal and assist for two-point nights.

This season, Northern is 1-3 against Minnesota State, losing 4-2 and 7-0 in Mankato before their split in Marquette in January, NMU winning 4-2 Friday before the Mavs taking the second game 4-1. Mikey Colella has a goal and two assists against MSU in those four games.

Last weekend, the Wildcats went to Lake Superior State in the CCHA’s best-of-3 first round and needed three games to clinch, winning the opener 5-1 as Frye, Vanderbeck and Hampus Eriksson each had a goal and an assist, then losing 3-2 on Saturday as Frye and Vanderbeck scored again.

In the winner-take-all game Sunday, NMU scored four second-period goals to hold on for a 5-4 win. Frye opened Northern’s scoring for the third straight night and Vanderbeck added three assists.

Here are some national and CCHA rankings gleaned by NMU Sports Information:

• Vanderbeck is second in the nation and leads the CCHA with 24 goals and 0.69 goals per game.

• Hank Crone has 31 assists in 31 games, with his assists per game second in the nation and also atop the CCHA.

• Averaging 1.42 points per game, Crone is third in the nation and second in the CCHA. Vanderbeck follows in ninth in the nation and fifth in the CCHA at 1.23.

• With 106 blocks in 36 games, Ben Newhouse leads the nation in the category. Fellow blue liner Mike Van Unen sits is tied for 10th with 64.

• Vanderbeck’s eight power play goals tie him for eighth nationally and first in the CCHA.

• Crone’s 44 points on 13 goals and 31 assists rank him tied for fifth in the nation.

• Ghantous’ 25 assists are the 13th best in the nation.

• The Wildcats average 3.61 goals per game, good for the seventh-best mark in the country.

• With 348 points and 218 assists this season, the Green and Gold rank fifth in the country in each category.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.