Mavericks 7, Seawolves 1

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Total domination: When one team is vying for a conference championship and another has two wins, Friday's outcome is what's come to be expected. That doesn't always happen, of course, and the Mavericks still have another game in the series on Saturday night. But they definitely took care of business in the opener — and in pretty much all facets of the game. Thirteen players had points, including Zeb Knutson with four (2G, 2A) and Marc Michaelis with three (1G 2A). MSU was 2 for 3 on the power play and gave up one on its kill after it was already up by a touchdown and extra point. The Mavericks outshot the Seawolves 43-18.

2. Give the goalie some love: Connor LaCouvee had a shutout going until 7:33 remained in the game when the Seawolves' Alec Butcher scored a power-play goal. He won his 14th game of the season and, despite the lopsided nature of much of the game, came up big when he had to, making a huge pad save on a 2-on-1 when the game was still scoreless and withstanding a flurry midway through the second period. "There were a couple," coach Mike Hastings said of LaCouvee's saves. "Sometimes it's when, not how many."

3. The big five-oh: C.J. Suess scored MSU's seventh goal of the game, but it was a significant one. It was the 50th goal of his college career. "Fifty goals is a lot of goals," Hastings said. "That was pretty neat — a to see his teammates' reaction on the bench, just the genuine appreciation for him and being real happy for him. They were arguing on who was going to get the puck for him, which is pretty neat." Suess is the ninth player in Minnesota State's Division I era to hit the 50-goal mark.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Bowling Green 7, Michigan Tech 2 ... Lake Superior State 2, Bemidji State 0 ... Ferris State at Alaska (late)