Mavericks 6, Nanooks 1

WCHA photo

Freddy's three thoughts (from afar):

1. Theirs alone: Kudos to the WCHA for flying officials and the MacNaughton Cup to Fairbanks and awarding the trophy to the Mavericks after they clinched sole possession of it on Friday night. The team deserved to have its moment on the ice with the trophy and got it after the game. Minnesota State made the league's effort worthwhile with a strong performance coming off a bye week in which it clinched at least a share of the regular-season championship.

2. Power players: Minnesota State put the game away when it scored three power-play goals in a span of 1:45 early in the second period during a five-minute major power play. Parker Tuomie, Reggie Lutz and Marc Michaelis scored the power-play goals. The Mavericks finished 3 for 6 with the man advantage. Penalties were dished out freely after that, and the teams combined for 100 penalty minutes in the second period alone. Alaska was 1 for 3 on the power play, a 5-on-3 goal.

3. Too Schied: Junior defenseman Ian Scheid had an outstanding night with a goal and two assists. He scored the game's first goal, the lone score of the first period and assisted on two of the power-play goals. Josh French finished with a goal and an assist, and defenseman Jack McNeely and forward Jared Spooner each had two assists. Defenseman Connor Mackey had the other MSU goal.

Deep thought: The Mavericks are now No. 3 in the Pairwise Rankings.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Alabama Huntsville 2, Ferris State 0 ... Michigan Tech 3, Alaska Anchorage 2 ... Northern Michigan 4, Lake Superior State 2 ... Bowling Green 3, Bemidji State 1