Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...
1. Playoff-esque: Sure, it's only Oct. 19, but the end of Saturday's game sure felt like a postseason game with two good teams battling, one to preserve a one-goal lead and one to try to tie it up and force overtime. Perhaps Minnesota State and North Dakota will meet again in March. That's a long way away and conference play for the Mavericks begins next weekend. But with one goal separating the two teams over 125 minutes, it sure would be fun to see a rematch, maybe even in Detroit.
2. Marvelous McKay: I write a lot about goaltender Dryden McKay in my game story (linked below), so check that out, but he was fantastic in the third period, making 14 saves as North Dakota tried to rally after Edwin Hookenson put MSU 2-1 at 5:21. "After we scored I thought we backed off a bit," Mavericks coach Mike Hastings said. "They made a push." The Mavericks killed off two penalties after that, including one in the final minute that allowed North Dakota to pull its goalie and play 6 on 4.
3. Captains come through: Hookenson's goal was his first game-winner at Minnesota State. The senior alternate captain has seven career goals. Marc Michaelis, on the other hand, is a scorer, and after being held off the score sheet on Friday, had a goal and an assist on Saturday. He went hard to the net in the first minute of the second period and slammed in the rebound of a Lucas Sowder shot to tie the game at 1-1. "Marc's pretty dialed right now on trying to be a complete player. ...," Hastings said. "You need your best players to do that if you want to be successful in games like this."
Read my game story here.
Around the WCHA: Northern Michigan 4, Boston University 3 ... Bowling Green 2, Western Michigan 1 (OT) ... Ferris State 3, Miami 1 ... Michigan 4, Lake Superior State 3
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