Mavericks 4, Terriers 3

Photo by Jackson Forderer

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Big night: After Minnesota State went to Boston early last season and swept, there was some fear that Boston University was going get some revenge on the Mavericks in this season's opener. BU got a goal in the final seconds of the first period and grabbed leads of 2-1 and 3-2 midway through the second, but the Mavericks gave up little from that point on, eventually tying the game late in the middle frame and going ahead again in the third on Dallas Gerads' second goal of the game. "Our leadership group, Nick Rivera, does a real good job in the locker room and on the bench of keeping things 20-20, focusing on the things we still have in front of us instead of things that have gone by," Hastings said. "I thought everybody just followed that lead. I thought he calmed us down a little bit, and we found a way to weather that storm and get it back to even."

2. Impressive debut: Freshman goaltender Dryden McKay got the start and looked the part all night long — especially in the first period when he stopped 12 of 13 shots, including a breakaway. Looking back at my time covering MSU (starting in 2000-01), I can't recall a freshman goalie starting the first game of the season for the Mavericks. Time to go back further in the archives, I suppose. “I was excited about the opportunity for sure," said McKay, who finished with 21 saves. "It was a goal of mine to be the starter and be the guy who plays the first game. But it’s just another hockey game. I try not to put too much pressure on myself and just go out and play."

3. Good crowd: The announced attendance was 4,120, pretty good, especially with three high school football games going on in town. Saturday should be impressive, too. It will also be the celebration of MSU's 50th season of hockey. "The intensity in the building was awesome tonight," Gerads said. "Guys really feed off that." Indeed, the Mavericks gave the crowd a good show. Parker Tuomie's two goals were highlight-reel plays, especially the second one which included a beautiful set-up from Marc Michaelis followed then some nifty stick-handling to get the goalie out of position for an easy put-in.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Bemidji State 2, North Dakota 1 ... Michigan State 4, Northern Michigan 2 ... Robert Morris 3, Bowling Green 2 ... Western Michigan 4, Ferris State 3 ... Minnesota Duluth 2, Michigan Tech 1 ... Colorado College 1, Alabama Huntsville 0 ... St. Cloud State 3, Alaska 2