Mavericks 4, Falcons 0

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. What else is there to say? Ho-hum, another shutout for Dryden McKay. Uh, better not go there! Better appreciate what this guy is doing. He now has seven shutouts in 11 starts this season and 21 for his career, tying Bemidji State's Michael Bitzer for second all-time in college hockey. Michigan State's Ryan Miller holds the NCAA record with 26, and McKay is still just a junior. He stopped 30 shots tonight against a good Bowling Green team that had four power plays to work with, including a five-minute major. Eight of his saves came on the PK. His teammates also blocked 17 shots throughout the game. McKay now has a .960 save percentage and a 0.82 GAA. "Dryden was Dryden," coach Mike Hastings said. Yep, he sure was.

2. Intensity, gentlemen! The game was an intense, physical, hard-fought one for the entire 60 minutes. The first period, despite being scoreless, was exciting. It was the kind of game you'd expect between top-10 teams and conference rivals battling for a regular-season championship. It was just unfortunate that the building was mostly empty (150 fans — family members of the two teams were allowed in) because this would have been one of those raucous weekends in Mankato with 5,000-plus in the arena each night. Asked how the players kept that up despite the empty building, Hastings said, "When the guys get competing against each other, there's the same intensity in the building whether there are people there or not."

3. Getting goals: The game was scoreless until the 12:45 mark of the second period (BG's Eric Dop, who had 25 saves, was rock-solid for much of the game) when Nathan Smith scored on a rush from Jack Livingstone during a power play. Dallas Gerads scored a power-play goal, deflecting in a Riese Zmolek shot with 2:00 left in the middle frame. Walker Duehr and Zmolek added goals a little more than three minutes apart midway through the third period. Zmolek, who missed MSU's last three games with an injury, looked like the offensive defenseman he's never been, weaving through traffic before scoring his goal. "He makes such a difference when he's in our lineup and when he's in our locker room," Hastings said of Zmolek.

Around the WCHA: Ferris State 3, Bemidji State 3 (FSU wins shootout) ... Michigan Tech 3, Alabama Huntsville 1