Saturday, March 10, 2018

Huskies 4, Mavericks 2

Freddy's three thought of the game ...

1. Sunday hockey, anyone? Minnesota State and Michigan Tech will be playing a decisive game on Sunday night for a spot in the WCHA championship game after the Huskies snapped the Mavericks' 14-game unbeaten streak on Saturday. The two teams played a three-game series in the semifinals last year in Houghton, with the home team winning the first and third to advance. MSU won the middle game but saw its season end the next night. There will be Sunday hockey in Marquette, too, as Bowling Green defeated Northern Michigan 1-0 to force a third game. The two winners will meet for the Jeff Sauer Trophy next Saturday. If the Mavericks win, they will host.

2. Tech's tough D: The Huskies had a different goaltender on Saturday as Patrick Munson played and Friday's starter, Devin Kero, was listed as an injury scratch. Munson stopped 31 shots, but his defense kept his net front pretty clean. Mavericks coach Mike Hastings said his team needs to do a better job of getting inside of the Huskies defense. "It’s kind of the line of scrimmage in hockey," he said. "If you control the line of scrimmage in front of your net and their net, you’re probably going to have a good night."

3. Empty boxes: On Friday, each team had just one penalty. Saturday's game was similar. With the exception of some matching minors, the Mavericks had two power plays and the Huskies had one. Minnesota State scored on one of its man-advantage opportunities as Dallas Gerads showed that he can be one of those players who can get inside the defense. His goal was his seventh of the season. There were no penalties called in the scoreless third period when the Mavericks outshot the Huskies 10-9.

Read my game story here.

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