Nanooks 5, Mavericks 0

Freddy's three thoughts (from afar):

1. A stunner: I'm not sure I thought the Mavericks would sweep their four-game Alaska trip — according to a tweet by MSU's Paul Allan none of the previous seven teams who have done the back-to-back has swept — but I certainly didn't expect them to get blown out on Friday night by the Nanooks. The shots were even at 26 apiece, but Alaska made the most of its chances, blocked a lot of shots and disrupted passes. In short, the home team played hard and was rewarded for the effort.

2. Power play jinx: Of course on the day I write about how well MSU's power play is playing it gets blanked. The Mavericks had eight chances, including two lengthy 5-on-3s. Watching online, it was disconcerting to see the lack of urgency the Mavericks had on their first 5 on 3, trailing 2-0 at the time. Alaska went 2 for 5 on the power play, including a goal during Zeb Knutson's major penalty for barreling into goalie Anton Martinsson in the third period.

3. And the goalies? Mavericks starter Jason Pawloski didn't bail out his teammates, making for a lackluster performance throughout the lineup. He stopped 16 of 20 shots before being pulled. Connor LaCouvee came in and stopped 5 of 6 shots. Perhaps you can chalk this game up as one of those clunkers, but it will be interesting to see what Saturday night's lineup looks like — from the goal out.

Read more here.

Around the WCHA: Northern Michigan 5, Bowling Green 2 ... Ferris State 4, Lake Superior State 0 ... Alabama Huntsville 4, Alaska Anchorage 2 ... North Dakota 5, Bemidji State 1