Mavericks 4, Bulldogs 4 (OT)

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Call it a comeback: For the second night in a row against fourth-ranked Minnesota Duluth, the Mavericks trailed by two goals late in the game. But on Saturday, they found a way to tie the game. And they did it in dramatic fashion, as Michael Dorr and Eli Zuck scored goals 10 seconds apart in the final 2:14 to make it a 4-4 game. Dorr scored on the power play with assists from Zuck and Joe Schiller. MSU scored on a pretty play off the ensuing faceoff. Zuck won the draw, Justin Jokinen made a pass to Evan Mosey, and the defenseman took the puck deep before dishing over to Zuck, who popped the puck over goalie Kenny Reiter's blocker-side shoulder.

2. Lehrke power: Zach Lehrke scored a pair of power-play goals for the Mavericks, and he now has 13 goals total for his sophomore season, which ties him for the team lead with Jean-Paul LaFontaine and Eriah Hayes. Lehrke put back a deflected puck and a rebound — both off Matt Leitner shots. The first gave MSU a 1-0 lead at 1:35 of the first period. The second tied the game at 2-all with 2:21 left in the second. Leitner, with two assists, leads MSU with 18 helpers. The second goal was a 5x3 power play goal. The Mavericks went 3 for 7 on the power play after going three straight games with a power-play goal.

3. Up and down night for seniors: The game was the final one in Mankato for seven seniors: forwards Michael Dorr, Joe Schiller, Adam Mueller, Mike Louwerse and Justin Jokinen; defenseman Cameron Cooper; and goalie Austin Lee. Dorr got the big power-play goal, and Schiller played outstanding defense the entire weekend while matched up against Hobey-favorite Jack Connolly. Lee stopped 38 shots, including 17 in the first period. But Louwerse got an early exit when he got a five-minute major and game misconduct for contact to the head at the end of the first period. MSU killed off the penalty to start the second period.

Deep thought: MSU is tied for 10th place in the WCHA with Wisconsin. However, the Badgers have two games in hand. The Mavericks are idle next week and close the regular season at North Dakota. Wisconsin goes to Bemidji State and Minnesota over the final two weeks. Where will the Mavs end up? Tenth? Eleventh? More importantly, where will they go for the first round of the playoffs? Right now, it's looking like Duluth or Denver.

Quote of the night: "The building was going nuts. It was huge for us to hear our crowd finally get into it. We had to give them some life." — Eli Zuck on what remained of the crowd of 4,562 that saw MSU's comeback

Around the WCHA: St. Cloud State 8, Alaska Anchorage 3 ... Minnesota 4, Bemidji State 1 ... Wisconsin 5, Denver 2 ... Michigan Tech 1, North Dakota 1 (OT) ... Nebraska Omaha 5, Colorado College 3