Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...
1. A tale of two majors: Both Minnesota State and Bemidji State were assessed major penalties for checking from behind during the second period. So what did they do with them? The Mavericks scored two goals — one each from Johnny McInnis and Jean-Paul LaFontaine (who else?). The Beavers were shut out by a darn-good penalty kill by the Mavericks. MSU actually had to kill off 7:32 of penalty time, including 63 seconds of 5x3 time at the front end and 31 seconds of 5x3 at the back end. Matt Leitner was outstanding on the PK, taking "a couple of bullets," coach Mike Hastings said, blocking Matt Prapavessis' shots. Leitner played so many minutes of special-teams time in the second period that he went to the locker room early and had his shifts limited in the third period.
2. Flanagan finds his form: I think the Mavericks have a good one in freshman defenseman Sean Flanagan. You can read more about him in my game story (link below), but the kid who scored the game-winning goal seems to be improving week by week. He's played in just 21 of the Mavericks' 30 games and was on the third set of defensemen this weekend, but he could be in a more prominent role in years to come. Considering his limited time this season, he now has four goals and seven assists for 11 points, which ranks second behind Zach Palmquist in scoring among MSU's defensemen. And the Mavericks needed someone to step up and eat some minutes after Carter Foguth (another freshman D who's playing well) went out with the checking-from-behind major in the second.
3. Home sweet home: The Mavericks improved their home record to 11-1-0 and have won nine consecutive games at the Verizon Wireless Center. For all of their struggles on the road, they've been pretty darn good in Mankato. Saturday's crowd of 4,089 was a good to see, too. It was the second-largest home crowd of the season. Minnesota State plays four of its final six regular-season games at home, starting next weekend against Alabama Huntsville. With the sweep, the Mavericks remain two points behind first-place Ferris State, although the Bulldogs have two games in hand. MSU has a six-point lead on third-place Michigan Tech.
Read the game story here.
Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 10, Alabama Huntsville 4 ... Ferris State 2, Northern Michigan 1, Alaska Anchorage 5, Lake Superior 2
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