ACHES, PAINS AND BLOOD: Denver goaltender Marc Cheverie will miss at least one series after he suffered a deep laceration on the left calf that reportedly required 25-30 stitches. Cheverie (4-0, 1.27 goals against average, 95.9 save ratio) was injured Friday night in a collision with Minnesota State-Mankato winger Justin Jokinen. Cheverie, a junior, left a pool of blood on the ice before being taken away on a stretcher.

Cheverie is the third Pioneers front-liner to be laid up through the first month of the season. Junior winger Dustin Jackson suffered a broken femur in September and will miss the rest of the season, while sophomore center Joe Colborne just returned to action after suffering a broken left index that required surgery.

Cheverie had company in the WCHA infirmary. Minnesota-Duluth junior winger Justin Fontaine suffered an apparent back injury Friday against Clarkson and sat out the series finale Saturday. It's not known when he'll return. Minnesota lost freshman defenseman Nick Leddy for up to six weeks with a broken jaw suffered Friday against Alaska-Anchorage.

Meanwhile, Colorado College senior center Andreas Vlassopoulos will undergo season-ending knee surgery that likely will end his college career.

LOTS OF WHISTLES: Seven of the top 11 most penalized teams in the country play in the WCHA. Duluth is second (22.9 minutes per game) while Wisconsin (21.2), Michigan Tech (21.0) and North Dakota (20.5) round out the top five. Minnesota (20.2) is eighth, Anchorage (19.6) is 10th and Mankato (18.9) is 11th.

Out of necessity, North Dakota and Wisconsin are 1-2 in penalty killing at 96.4 and 93.8, respectively.

LOOK WHO'S UNBEATEN: The WCHA has adopted Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha for the 2010-11 season, so it stands to reason both schools are trying to make an early impression.

Bemidji State, a NCAA Frozen Four entry last season, has started its final go-round in College Hockey America 5-0-1.

Omaha, meanwhile, has kicked off its final season in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association 4-0-2.

LOOKING AHEAD: Minnesota plays at Wisconsin, Duluth travels to Colorado College, North Dakota plays at Michigan Tech and Anchorage hosts Denver. St. Cloud State and Mankato have byes.

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