Mavericks 4, Falcons 0

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Call him 'Greasy': Coach Mike Hastings revealed Bryce Gervais' nickname afterward, and the sophomore forward certainly was a little slippery. He finished with a goal and two assists, remaining red-hot. He now has seven goals and four assists in his last six games.  Going back over his last 14 games, he has 11 goals and seven assists. His short-handed goal was huge, giving the Mavericks a 2-0 lead at 12:47 of the second period. He beat a defenseman to a puck left along the wall behind the net by goalie Tommy Burke. Definitely some miscommunication there on the Falcons' part. Burke didn't see Gervais, and "Greasy" was able to wrap the puck into an open net.

2. Huggins sets record: Goaltender Cole Huggins set Minnesota State's team record for shutouts in a season by recording the sixth of his rookie year. He had work to do, stopping 36 shots, including 13 in the first period. The Mavericks took a few too many penalties but held Bowling Green scoreless on six power plays. He needed to stop just five shots while short-handed, though, as the Mavericks blocked 21 shots for the game. "I was seeing the puck really well," he said. "Compared to Saturday against Northern Michigan, I was seeing it a lot better."

3. Great goals: Burke was very good for the Falcons, stopping 31 shots, including all 14 he faced in the first period and all 10 he saw on MSU power plays. The Mavericks needed playmakers to to beat him. The first goal came on a beautiful 3-on-2 rush by the top line. Gervais to Matt Leitner to Chase Grant for the goal at 3:52 of the first period. Johnny McInnis gave the Mavs a little breathing room with his goal at 10:47 of the third period. Blueger made a nice cross-ice pass to McInnis, who, in one motion, caught and shot the puck over the goalie's glove. Leitner sealed the victory with an empty-net goal.

Deep thoughts: The Mavericks won their team-record 25th game of the season as well as their first-ever WCHA Final Five game (they were 0-4 in the event). ... They will play Ferris State or Alaska Anchorage in the Broadmoor Trophy championship game at 6 p.m. (CDT) Saturday. ... The crowd was generously announced at 2,700, but it was, sadly, a smattering of ticket holders, hardly the packed houses we've been used to seeing in previous years.

Pairwise report: The Mavericks moved up to a tie for 11th in the Pairwise Rankings after the victory. It's certainly a more comfortable spot but not necessarily one that guarantees anything for the NCAA tournament. Suffice to say that MSU is looking at getting in the old-fashioned way: by winning the Broadmoor Trophy.