Mavericks 4, Bulldogs 2

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Are you not entertained? Friday's game was an impressive, dominant performance, a 7-1 blowout. But when it was 6-1 after two periods, many in the crowd left. That wasn't the case Saturday. The game was tied 2-2 after two periods, and the third period was like a playoff game with good chances, good goaltending and, finally, a couple of big goals by the home team to give the nervous crowd of 4,579 (second-biggest of the season) a reason to cheer. Coach Mike Hastings noted the energy in the building and it was definitely there. The Mavericks now have a five-point lead atop the WCHA standings and can clinch the MacNaughton Cup with a win on Friday night against Bemidji State.

2. More on McClure: Some good details about Brad McClure in my gamer (link below), so no spoilers here, but he was the man of the hour on Saturday, scoring twice including the game-winner with 2:38 to play. McClure had eight shots on goal in the game and 14 for the weekend. His senior year hasn't had the point production of his freshman or junior seasons (29 and 28 points sandwiched around a 13-point sophomore year), but he's now up to 18 on nine goals and nine assists. "Honestly, I’ve been really positive in the whole situation," he said. "The biggest thing, you look at our team and our depth, how big it is for our 1-2 (lines) to produce, and when we get our 3-4 to produce, too, we can be pretty dangerous."

3. Number nine:  The Mavericks have the nation's longest winning streak at nine in a row now, the longest of the Mike Hastings era. Everything has to be in place to go on such a run. The scoring certainly has been there with C.J. Suess scoring big goals (he, like McClure, had two on Saturday), and Marc Michaelis had two assists. The defense has to be solid, and it was again this weekend, holding Ferris State to 20 shots on goal each night, two below MSU's best-in-the-nation average going into the weekend. And you have to have goaltending, too. Connor LaCouvee made some outstanding saves when the D loosened up a bit. He now has 19 wins, including all of them on the current streak.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 5, Arizona State 2