CC 1, MSU 0

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game.

1. Mankato native makes good: Here's some good college-hockey trivia: Colorado College goaltender Joe Howe was born in Mankato. "I lived here only a year," he said. "I don't really remember it." But he seems to play well here, scoring his third win and second 1-0 shutout at the Verizon Wireless Center. Howe made 35 saves, bouncing back from a rough night on Friday when he allowed five goals on 34 shots. Howe, who grew up in Plymouth and was the WCHA's all-rookie team goaltender last year, stopped 16 shots in the first period for the second night in a row. All the help he needed was a Stephen Schultz power-play goal.

2. And at the other end ... Mavericks goaltender Phil Cook was pretty good on Saturday, too, equalling a career-high with 40 saves, including 16 in the third period. It was the first time he had played back-to-back nights and seemed grateful for the opportunity. "My main goal is to get in a grove and help the team win," he said. "Playing back to back really helps." Cook went into the series with a .842 save percentage but stopped 94 percent of the shots he faced against the Tigers. Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said he gave Cook the start after a solid game and, especially, a brilliant late third period on Friday. "It was kind of a gut feeling," he said.

3. Hitting the road: The Mavericks couldn't leave their fans with memories of a win to last more than a month. Minnesota State will travel to Alaska-Anchorage next weekend and follow that with road trips to Nebraska-Omaha, Denver and Massachusetts-Lowell. Their next home games will take place Dec. 3-4 against Minnesota. "It was a pretty good hockey game," Jutting said. "I thought the kids did a good job putting forth the effort," Jutting said. "We just didn't make the play we need to make."