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| The Associated Press |
1. Different feeling: Minnesota State lost in the first round of the national tournament for the second year in a row. While the Mavericks' bar has been raised to the point where the hope and expectation is to win at this level, the team seemed less disheartened than they did last year in Toledo against Miami. Not that there wasn't disappointment and frustration, but they truly felt like they laid it all on the line on Saturday in Worcester. The ran into a great goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, who was inexplicably left off the Hobey Baker top 10 list. Hellebuyck was nothing short of amazing at times, stopping 35 shots, and he had the help of relentless defense that was "hunting us down," according to the Mavs' Johnny McInnis. Minnesota State put 16 shots on goal in the second period and also hit two posts in that frame. Chase Grant will be seeing a couple of Hellebuyck saves in his sleep until next season arrives.
2. Don't forget Cole: Lurking in Hellebuyck's shadow this weekend was Cole Huggins, the Mavericks' freshman goaltender. He, too, had a great game, allowing only a short-handed breakaway goal to Lowell's leading scorer, Joe Pendenza at 12:54 of the first period. Huggins even joked about the play during the postgame press conference. "I've kinda had a problem with my 5-hole all year. The guys have scored on me there all year." That drew a chuckle from McInnis and Zach Stepan (who scored MSU's lone goal with 10 seconds left in the game). It actually was a pretty sweet move by Pendenza, nothing Huggins should be ashamed of. But the future seems pretty bright for Huggins. "Everybody was talking about the guy who won the game tonight, and well-deserved, well-deserved. He put up some scary numbers" MSU coach Mike Hastings said. "But if you go ahead and stack Cole's numbers over the last 14 games, they're comparable. I thought it was a great battle tonight."
3. Looking ahead: The future continues to look bright for Hastings' Mavericks. Huggins returns, as do all but four seniors, only two of whom played in Saturday's game (McInnis and Zach Lehrke) — barring any surprises, of course. Two 40-point scorers will be back, Matt Leitner and Jean-Paul LaFontaine (who went surprisingly cold down the stretch), along with another potential 40-pointer in Bryce Gervais. One defenseman graduates, and, on paper, there's a nice recruiting class coming in. The next step for this team, of course, is winning at the top level. They went 3-0 against WCHA-rival Ferris State, but their record against other NCAA qualifiers was 0-6. It also will be interesting to see what happens with McInnis, who, it appears, will have a chance to sign somewhere and keep playing this season. He became a darn-good college hockey player while at Minnesota State and deserved all the recognition and accolades he received this weekend in Massachusetts. It will be fun to follow what he does next.
Read my game story here. And, yes, there were a few MSU fans in the building.
Elsewhere in the NCAA tournament, North Dakota defeated the WCHA's other team, Ferris State, 2-1 in double overtime to get to the Frozen Four. Union is also in the final four after defeating Providence 3-1. On Sunday, Lowell will play Boston College (and the amazing Johnny Gaudreau), and St. Cloud State and Minnesota will play for the West Regional title. St. Cloud State defeated Notre Dame 4-3 in double overtime. The Gophers beat Robert Morris 7-3.
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