Mavericks 5, Chargers 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Mr. French: Most of my gamer (link below) focuses on Josh French, the sophomore center, who finally scored his first collegiate goal after going 55 games without one. That tells you something. He played in every game from the start of his freshman year because he did other things so well, namely defensive-zone play, penalty killing, faceoffs. It was almost bizarre, though, that he did not yet have a goal. He had one taken away due to review last season and avoided that on Friday when officials went to the monitor to look at his. It stood this time, and French was grinning from ear to ear after the game.

2. Figuring it out: Coach Mike Hastings wasn't too happy with is team's play in the scoreless first period, although a lot of credit has to go to Chargers goalie Jordan Uhelski, too, who made 14 saves. "I thought our first wasn’t very good," Hastings said. "I didn’t think we were real crisp. I think at times we tried to slow the game down instead of speed it up. And our second period we started to play with more pace and cause more problems." The Mavericks were dominant in the second period, outshooting the Chargers 22-3 and taking a 3-0 lead on French's goal and two more by C.J. Suess.

3. Fourth-line shines: French centered the fourth line, and the group accounted for two goals, with Nick Rivera scoring the other. Max Coatta, who has been strong all year, also had an assist. Hastings said that trio has been used to match up with opponents' top lines over the last three games, but is getting things done at both ends of the rink. "For them to contribute offensively with a couple of goals, there’s karma in this game," Hastings said. "When you do things the right way and you play from your end to the other end, the game usually pays you back. And it did tonight. Because they’ve been putting a lot in the bank as far as playing the game from our end."

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 3, Lake Superior State 0 ... Northern Michigan 6, Ferris State 1 ... Bemidji State 5, Alaska Anchorage 1