Mavericks 5, Cougars 2

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Welcome, freshmen: Minnesota State's lineup looks like it will be tough to crack with so many returning players, but the rookies made a good first impression on Saturday. Goals from Ryan Sandelin, Tony Malinowski and Cade Borchardt and solid play from Lucas Sowder and Colby Bukes (Nathan Smith and Jaxson Stauber were out with minor injuries) mean tough decisions are coming in making out the lineup for next weekend's regular-season games against Arizona State. Sandelin "was pretty complete from start to finish," coach Mike Hastings said.

2. Goalies looked good: Sophomore goaltender Dryden McKay, coming off an outstanding rookie season, was tested by a solid Canadian college team and stopped 18 of 19 shots over two periods before giving way to sophomore Jacob Berger. "I thought McKay was really good," Hastings said. "He made a couple that he shouldn't have, and we need him to do that. We’re getting used to him doing that." Berger, who didn't play at all as a freshman, gave up a snipe of a shot less than a minute into the third but that was all. "I thought he settled down after that," Hastings said. "When I went in the locker room, I said, 'Great job That first one might have rattled me, but it didn’t rattle you, and I thought you did a real good job the rest of the game.'"

3. Isn't that special? The Mavericks were 1 for 5 on the power play and 2 for 2 on the penalty kill. They did have two long 5x3 power plays, one that was part of a 5-minute major, but managed just the one goal. "There were a lot of special teams tonight, so it was good to work on those and get the dust off," junior Jared Spooner said. Hastings said he didn't really like much about the special teams but put that on himself. "That's on me more than on them," he said. "We didn't spend a tremendous amount of time (on them in practice). We will this week."

Deep thought: Be sure to check out Sunday's Free Press for stories previewing the Mavericks' 2019-20 season.

Read my game story here.

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 2, Robert Morris 1 (OT) ... Lake Superior State 6, Merrimack 2 ... UMass Lowell 5, Alabama Huntsville 1 ... Northern Michigan 4, U.S. Under-18 Team 3 (exhibition) ... Denver at Alaska (late)