Mavericks 6, Huskies 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. O brother, where art thou: Senior defenseman Josh Nelson missed Saturday night's game with a lower-body injury, but his kid brother, Casey, stepped right in. The freshman had a goal and an assist in the romp and looked as calm, cool and collected as his big bro. "You know, he's been thrown into the deep end with ankle weights," MSU coach Mike Hastings said of Casey. "He runs one of our power plays, he's playing top-four minutes, and he's asked to kill penalties. He's handled it real well." Casey Nelson finished the game +4, as did his D partner Zach Palmquist.

2. Finally, some scoring: After scoring just three goals in their first three games, the Mavericks exploded for six in their fourth. Six different players scored: Nelson, Jean-Paul LaFontaine (who came flying out of Hastings' doghouse -- he was benched for a long stretch of the second period on Friday -- with a beautiful goal to open the scoring), Bryce Gervais, Dylan Margonari, Chase Grant and Jordan Nelson. Matt Leitner had two assists, and the Mavericks outshot the Huskies 48-17.

3. Just play: With Josh Nelson out of the lineup, redshirt sophomore Mat Knoll took his spot on defense as well as on one of the power plays. Knoll played as a forward on Friday night. Taking Knoll's place up front? Not one of the forward scratches (Taylor Herndon and Michael Huntebrinker) but another defenseman, Sean Flanagan. Flanagan saw his first college action and had an assist on the game's final goal. Big deal to move a D up front? "The way I look at it, they're hockey players," Hastings said. As for Flanagan, Hastings said, "He deserved an opportunity to play tonight because of his work ethic, his attitude, his discipline and his abilities. You have to reward that. He earned the right to play tonight."

Around the WCHA: Lake Superior 3, Union 2 ... Bowling Green 7, Colgate 0 ... Ferris State 5, St. Lawrence 3 ... Northern Michigan 6, Nebraska Omaha 3. ... Minnesota State 5, Bemidji State 1 ... Alaska Anchorage 3, Denver 2 (OT) ... Western Michigan at Alaska (late)