Troy Werk moved to town about seven years ago. That same year, he attended his very first hockey game in person.

“I went to my first (Minnesota State) game, and I was addicted,” Werk said. “Very much so.”

Nowadays, Werk isn’t just a hockey fan. He’s the president of the Maverick Blue Line Club, the program’s official booster organization.

Despite being a relative newcomer to the sport, Werk believes he can speak for all MSU hockey fans when he says this year might be the most-anticipated season in the Mavericks’ Division I era.

Minnesota State had its first three official practices of the 2008-09 season Saturday and Sunday and will play its first game Friday night against Bemidji State at the Alltel Center.

“I think there’s excitement there that hasn’t been there in a long time,” Werk said.

Like many people, Werk said that enthusiasm stems from the end of last season when the Mavericks fell to rival Minnesota in a three-game, five-overtime Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoff series in downtown Mankato.

“People remember those last games,” Werk said. “We spent so many hours in that stadium those three days, standing and watching how hard (the Mavericks) played and the drive that they had.”

Minnesota State won the series opener 1-0 on Trevor Bruess’ short-handed goal near the end of the second overtime on March 14. The next two nights, Minnesota won 2-1 in overtime and 3-2 in another double-overtime.

“We basically played five games in three nights against Minnesota,” this year’s captain, Mick Berge, said after practice Saturday. “We found out what it takes to get there. We were one goal and one win away.”

The Mavericks’ season abruptly ended a week after the marathon series when they were left out of the NCAA tournament.

“I think people were disappointed that we didn’t get into the tournament,” Werk said. “But what overshadowed that was how good we think they’re going to be this year.”

The Mavericks, who went 19-16-6 and finished in a tie for fourth place in the WCHA, return all but three regular skaters from last year’s team. The returners include No. 1 goalie and team most valuable player Mike Zacharias, top scorer Trevor Bruess and top goal scorer Berge.

“I think we showed some people how good we actually are,” Berge said. “We showed the community and everybody around that we can play some good hockey. I think there are higher expectations for us around the community. That’s great. We need that.”

The WCHA coaches and media both picked Minnesota State, which is beginning its 10th season in the conference, to finish in seventh place this year. But Berge said there is no greater motivator than the “bitter taste” of getting left out of national tournament 6 1/2 months ago.