The postgame theme was that the Mavericks and the Sioux have both had success by playing hard, physical, aggressive and wearing down their opponents. It was just a matter of who could wear down whom first.
“(The Mavericks) are one of the toughest ones in the league to wear down because they’re so much like us,” Sioux senior defenseman Brad Miller said.
The Sioux found a way, though, outshooting MSU 40-26. In the second period, they outshot the Mavericks 21-4 and outchanced them 30-9. They only got one goal in that period, but that made it 3-0 and MSU's goose was cooked.
“They got us back on our heels, no question about it,” MSU coach Troy Jutting said. “I don’t think we every got it back in the second period.”
The Mavericks had to kill off seven power plays, but that included back-to-back kills at the end of the first and the beginning of the second. North Dakota's Brad Miller scored two power-play goals in the final five minutes of the first period, including one with 20 seconds to go.
“What happens is you’re out there with the same four-five guys,” Jutting said. “That wore us out a little bit. It’s tough when you go to the box like that.”
As for the WCHA standings, the Mavericks remained in eighth place but with a one-point lead over Alaska-Anchorage, which tied at Minnesota. MSU is two points behind the Gophers (who have two games in hand) and three behind St. Cloud State, a 3-2 winner over Michigan Tech, and Minnesota Duluth, which was idle.
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