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| John Cross/The Free Press |
1. Call it a comeback: There were some shades of that crazy come-from-behind win over Denver back in 2003-04 on Saturday night. The four unanswered goals, the power-play goals, the goalie change (and going to the rookie third-stringer, to boot, with Evan Karambelas getting his first collegiate action) and the sheer craziness of the game. But I wouldn't rank it above that 8-7 win. Really, Saturday's game should have been a victory, with MSU outshooting Anchorage (not a future national champion, like that DU team) 46-13 and pretty much dominating all phases of the game.
2. Cook's confidence: Not sure what to make of goalie Phil Cook after this one. Not only did he give up five goals on seven shots before being pulled 7 1/2 minutes into the second period, but if you go back to the second period of last Saturday's game in Duluth, he has given up nine goals on the last 11 shots he's faced. "I think probably a lack of confidence," MSU coach Troy Jutting said. "We've got to get him back to where he's capable of being. He's a very good goaltender who's kind of fighting the puck right now." Among the goals he allowed were two power play goals and a breakaway out of the penalty box.
3. Young guns: Senior defenseman Joe Schiller scored the game-tying goal at 10:24 of the third period. Just a blast on a deflected puck that ended up in open ice above the slot. And Eriah Hayes also had a goal — the power play goal that sparked the comeback. But the young Mavericks really stole the show. Jean-Paul LaFontaine scored twice and had several chances to complete a hat trick. Matt Leitner had a goal and two assists. Max Gaede showed great improvement as part of that all-rookie line. Sophomores Johnny McInnis and Zach Lehrke each had two assists.
Deep thought: Will the Mavericks ever get healthy? While Tyler Elbrecht tweeted this week that he's been cleared for contact and should practice in full starting Monday, Brett Stern left Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury, and Adam Mueller sat out the game after taking hard hit along the boards on Friday.
Quote of the night: "I thought we played pretty dang good defensively all night. We gave up 13 shots on goal to a WCHA hockey team. I don't know if you can do it much better than that." — Troy Jutting
Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 3, St. Lawrence 1 ... Minnesota 4, Michigan State 4 - OT ... North Dakota 4, Colorado College 3 ... Nebraska-Omaha 4, St. Cloud State 3 ... Miami 4, Denver 2 ... Wisconsin 5, Mercyhurst 2
Up next: The Mavericks (3-10-1, 2-7-1 in WCHA) will travel to Minneapolis next weekend to take on the Gophers.
Read Sunday morning's Free Press game story here.
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