Friday, November 10, 2017

Mavericks 5, Beavers 2

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Friday night's all right: Minnesota State stayed perfect in series openers (5-0-0) with the victory over the Beavers. Marc Michaelis' second career hat trick (read more about him in the game story linked below), along with Connor LaCouvee's 30-save effort in goal made the difference against the tough-at-home Beavers. "We've got to be ready for their push tomorrow night," Michaelis said as MSU will seek its first road sweep since taking two games from Boston University a month ago. They lost their last two Saturday night games on the road, last weekend at Northern Michigan and Oct. 21 at Bowling Green.

2. The Hook brings you back: Sophomore defenseman Edwin Hookenson scored his first career goal to give MSU a 1-0 lead. Hookenson has played in six of 10 games this season and even got the nod over senior Clint Lewis on Friday with the return of freshman Riese Zmolek to the lineup. "Hook’s been playing well for us; it was good to see him get rewarded," coach Mike Hastings said. He was plus-2 in the game and also helped the Mavericks kill off three Bemidji State power plays. "I've been playing some penalty kill more," Hookenson said. "Our penalty kill's been getting better. I'm happy to be playing this much; I hope they keep letting me."

3. Welcome to Bemidji: The Mavericks had seven freshmen in the lineup, including three defensemen (Zmolek, Connor Mackey and Jack McNeely). Up front, Jake Jaremko had an assist, his fifth of the season, and Reggie Lutz, Jared Spooner and Walker Duehr also played. “We had some young defensemen back there learning what it’s like to have to play in this building," Hastings said. "At times they were good and at times they struggled a little bit. Hopefully we can look at that and learn from it and be better tomorrow." Mackey had an assist, making up for a couple tough plays early. Zmolek, who took a late penalty, ended up plus-3. McNeely was minus-1.

Read my gamer here.

Around the WCHA: Ferris State 3, Alaska 1 ... Michigan Tech 4, Northern Michigan 1 ... Bowling Green 2, Lake Superior State 2 (BG wins shootout) ... Alabama Huntsville 5, Alaska Anchorage 1

No comments: