Freddy's three thoughts of the game:
1. Stay in your seats: Minnesota State didn't give fans much to cheer about for 2 1/2 periods but then made a crazy comeback over the final 10 minutes to tie the game only to give up the game-winner with 1:01 to play. Alec Vanko, Michael Huntebrinker and Brad McClure scored MSU's goals to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 3-3 game. Huntebrinker's goal came with 3:18 remaining after coach Mike Hastings opted to pull goalie Cole Huggins for an extra attacker with about 4 minutes to go. Some call that the Dean Blais Rules, but it's become the Mike Hastings Rules. It worked and it looked like overtime was inevitable, maybe even 3-on-3 or a shootout, but the WCHA's preseason player of the year, Gerald Mayhew showed why he deserved those accolades as he got his team its first (non-shootout) win of the season.
2. Welcome to college hockey: Minnesota State's freshmen have been the talk of the WCHA over the first month of the season, but this weekend's tough, physical, grind-it-out series might have been an eye-opener to the rookies. It's not always going to be so easy. As a group, they didn't do much against Ferris State. Marc Michaelis did assist on Huntebrinker's goal and had two helpers in the series. Nicholas Rivera appeared to score a goal, but it was waved off as the Bulldogs wen to the other end and scored (the call on the ice stood upon review, giving Ferris, and not MSU, the 1-0 lead). Rivera, who had five shots on goal, is a tough kid, though, and seemed to fit in with the style of play.
3. Power outage: The Mavericks went 0 for 6 on the power play and were 1 for 8 on Friday night. After clicking at nearly 30 percent over their first five games, they are 1 for 20 in the last three games, two of which they didn't have defenseman Daniel Brickley available (upper body injury). Trailing 3-1 with 6 1/2 minutes left, the Mavericks had a 5-on-3 power play for 80 seconds, but they couldn't find a way to score. Goalie Justin Kapelmaster did make one point-blank save during that stretch. The Mavericks also missed the net plenty of times during the game. Of their 70 shot attempts, 21 missed the net. They finished with 31 on goal.
Read my game story here.
Around the WCHA: Bowling Green 4, Miami 1 ... Alaska 4, Lake Superior State 3 ... Michigan Tech 5, Northern Michigan 1 ... Bemidji State 4, Alaska Anchorage 0 ... St. Cloud State 5, Alabama Huntsville 2
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