1. Good start, rough second and repeat: We've heard this story before, it seems. In a call after the game, coach Mike Hastings said the Mavericks played their best 18+ minutes on the road, getting off to a 2-0 lead in the first period. But everything was back to even after the second. The game turned on Chase Grant's checking-from-behind penalty late in the first period. Bowing Green scored a power-play goal early in the second and had some momentum from there, eventually tying the game with an even-strength goal.
2. Power play problems: The good news for MSU was it scored a power play goal, and the return of Zach Lehrke helped that as he set up Jean-Paul LaFontaine in the first period. The bad news for the Mavericks was they had a seven-minute power play to work with in the second period and couldn't get much going. On another power play in the third, they allowed yet another short-handed goal, the fourth given up this season. The Mavericks remain +1 on their power play this year and are -6 on special teams.
3. Cole in goal: That might not be what we see tomorrow night. Cole Huggins allowed four goals on 25 shots in the loss. In the ol' probably-like-to-have-that-one-back category, he allowed two, the short-handed goal that put the Falcons up 3-2 and the overtime winner scored by Mark Cooper for the hat trick with 31.5 seconds to play. Cooper walked out of a scrum in the corner along the goal line and put the puck over Huggins' shoulder short-side. The Mavs had problems getting the puck out of their own end in the sequence leading up to that.
Deep thought: I wasn't at Bowling Green tonight but back in Mankato. Took in the MSU women's hockey game against Ohio State. The Mavericks won their first WCHA game of the season after starting 0-8-0 in league play. Mankato native Savannah Quandt scored her first collegiate goal in the win, making life pretty easy for a sportswriter.
Around the WCHA: Ferris State 5 Alaska 3 ... Northern Michigan 3, Alabama Huntsville 0 ... Lake Superior State 3, Bemidji State 2 ... Alaska Anchorage 3, Michigan Tech 1
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