Mavericks 6, Bulldogs 2

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Big matchup, big win: The most-anticipated weekend on the Minnesota State schedule delivered in a big way on Friday night. Minnesota State vs. No. 2-ranked Ferris State. The best two teams in the WCHA. It was a good one, and the two teams battled all over the ice. The difference was the Mavericks' ability to finish -- something they couldn't do a week ago in Anchorage -- and they scored five of their six goals against the best goalie in the league and handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the season. MSU coach Mike Hastings talked about how it wasn't really a 6-2 hockey game, that it was closer than that. And it was until a late second-period goal by Matt Leitner and an early third-period goal by Johnny McInnis broke it open for the Mavericks.

2. The fans came out: OK, so it wasn't a sold-out, 5,000-plus crowd, but there was some pretty good atmosphere at the Verizon Wireless Center on Friday. The student section was mostly full and into the game, and the attendance was announced at 3,635. The energy in the building certainly was fueled by the Mavericks scoring a pair of goals just 17 seconds apart in the game's first four minutes. Leitner scored the first on, and Zach Lehrke (power play) had the second. Both game on nice set-up assists by Bryce Gervais and J.P. LaFontaine, respectively. "I thought there was a lot of energy in the building," Leitner said. "We got that early start and had the energy to build off."

3. Playmakers and finishers: The promising thing about Friday's game for MSU was that the goals came on  hard-working plays -- lots of set-ups and finishes. Dylan Margoinari twice got passes to Johnny McInnis for goals, one on a no-frills, power-rush 2-on-1 and the other on a soft pass up the middle of the ice that got McInnis on a partial breakaway. Teddy Blueger won a race against two Bulldogs to a puck deep in MSU's offensive zone and zipped it across the ice for Leitner to finish. Goalie C.J. Motte actually stopped Leitner's first shot, but the puck came right back to the stick for an easy rebound finish. Eleven MSU players had at least a point; five had multiple points.

Read more in the game story here.

Around the WCHA: Northern Michigan 5, Alaska 4 ... Alaska Anchorage 1, Alabama Huntsville 1 (OT) ... Bemidji State 1, North Dakota 1 (OT) ... Notre Dame 6, Lake Superior 3