Mavericks 3, Gophers 3, OT final

There was yet another overtime between Minnesota State and Minnesota as they played to a 3-3 tie Friday.

Goalie Mike Zacharias made 47 saves for the 12th-ranked Mavericks (3-1-1, 1-1-1 in WCHA), and freshman defenseman Cameron Cooper knotted the game at 10:27 of the third period.

When the two teams last met last March, they battled through a three-game conference playoff series that featured two double-overtime games and a single-overtime contest. The Gophers won that series to advance to the WCHA Final Five and end the Mavericks' season.

Jay Barriball and Ryan Stoa had a goal and an assist, and freshman Jordan Schroeder had three assists for the fifth-ranked Gophers (3-0-2, 3-0-2), who remained unbeaten on the season..

Barriball broke a scoreless tie at 4:54 of the second period. Mavericks defenseman Kurt Davis tied the game at 9:13 with a long shot from just inside the blue line that deflected off the ice and beat goalie Alex Kangas (26 saves).

Cade Fairchild and Stoa gave Minnesota leads of 2-1 and 3-2, but the Mavericks answered each time, first with Jason Wiley early in the third period, then with Cooper's first career goal.

The two teams will play again today at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul in the WCHA Minnesota College Hockey Showcase. The game will be the nightcap of a doubleheader, with St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth playing in the opener.

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Minnesota opened the scoring at 4:54 with a goal by Jay Barriball. The Mavericks tied the game on defenseman Kurt Davis' long shot from just inside the blue line that deflected off the ice and past goalie Alex Kangas. The Gophers took back the lead with the game's first power-play goal. Defenseman Cade Fairchild shot the puck in through traffic from the point. The Mavericks are getting outshot 29-14 through two periods. The Gophers will start the third period wtih 1:16 of power-play time.

There's no band here tonight. Which is weird. And disappointing.

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Picking up where they left off last March, Alex Kangas made seven saves and Mike Zacharias made 15 in a scoreless first period. There was plenty for the box score though, as the two teams were called for 11 penalties. MSU's Jerad Stewart got a five-minute major for "grabbing the facemask."

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Greetings from Mariucci Arena. One item of note, Minnesota has suspended freshman forwards Jake Hansen and Nico Sacchetti for violation of team rules. They had played in all of the Gophers' games so far.

Check back regularly for updates.

Here are the lines (starters in bold):

MINNESOTA STATE
Mouillierat-Bruess-Berge
Gaulrapp-Harrison-Stewart
Irwin-Sackrison-Wiley
Thompson-Galiardi-Jokinen

Davis-Kilburg
Cooper-Boe
Friesen-Canzanello

Zacharias
Tormey

MINNESOTA
Stoa-Schroeder-Barriball
Lucia-Carman-Flynn
Hoeffel-White-Dorr
Miller-Matson-Bostrom

Fairchild-Fischer
Ness-Anderson
Wehrs-Lofquist

Kangas
Patterson
Kremer