Mavericks 6, Huskies 3

The Mavericks finally found some goal scoring — and got a win.

Jean-Paul Lafontaine (pictured) scored two goals and had an assist, and Matt Leitner also had two goals, including the game-winner, in a 6-3 WCHA victory at No. 16 Michigan Tech.

This was a must-win for MSU, as it broke a six-game losing streak. The Mavericks also handed Tech its first loss at home this season (the Huskies started 6-0-1 in Houghton).

Mavericks rookie defenseman Mat Knoll also had a goal, as did senior forward Michael Dorr. Zach Palmquist finished the game with three assists. You can see the box score here.

Lafontaine looks like a real keeper. He leads MSU in scoring with five goals and two assists.

"He's playing really well," coach Troy Jutting said in a phone interview tonight. "He had two goals tonight and hit a post and hit a post last night. He's around the puck a lot."

Lafontaine has seven points this year. Leitner and Zach Palmquist each has five. Good freshman group.

Meanwhile, Austin Lee finished with 42 saves and had 82 for a weekend that included a 1-0 loss on Friday. He has a .931 save percentage and a 2.81 goals-against average currently.

Perhaps most importantly, the beat-up Mavericks got through the weekend without an injury.

"Part of it, too, is we played with the same team two nights in a row," Jutting said. "There's something to be said for that. We could get in a little rhythm."

River Hawks 4, Mavericks 2

Freddy's three thoughts of the game:

1. Out-everythinged: UMass-Lowell beat Minnesota State all over the ice on Friday night. If you had to guess which team was the five-win team last year, you wouldn't have picked the River Hawks. Sure the Mavericks had depth issues on D and again gave up a lot of shots, but it was the lack of hustle and urgency up front that killed them. Lots of sloppiness. Lots of impatience. Lots of turnovers. Not the way you want to play in your home opener.

2. First goals: Mavericks freshman defenseman Zach Palmquist and rookie forward Jean-Paul LaFontaine scored the first goals of their college careers. Palmquist gave the Mavericks a 1-0 lead at the 6:21 mark. LaFontaine made it 4-2 with 3:17 to play after Austin Lee (33 saves) was pulled for an extra attacker. If the scoreboard was correct at the time, LaFontaine's goal was MSU's second shot of the third period. They were outshot 37-27 — 17-11 in the first period and 10-5 in the third.

3. Power outage: The game hinged on Lowell's lone penalty — Josh Holmstrom's five-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind with 3:06 left in the second period. The Mavericks trailed 2-1 at the time but just couldn't muster much on the power play. It was a primo chance to take over the game again and it just didn't happen. MSU was credited with four shots on goal during the power play, and I saw none during the last two minutes, which were also the first two minutes of the third period.

Deep thought: Norm Bazin won in his coaching debut with the River Hawks, a team that had five wins a season ago and was swept by the Mavericks at Thanksgiving. Bazin, a Lowell grad, was a longtime assistant at Colorado College.

Quote of the night: "We gotta figure it out pretty quick if we're going to compete." — MSU junior forward Eriah Hayes.

Around the WCHA: Michigan Tech 2, Wisconsin 1 (OT) ... Denver 4, Boston College 2 ... Northern Michigan 5, St. Cloud State 2 ... Minnesota 5, Minnesota Duluth 4 (OT) ... North Dakota 3, Maine 1 ... Alaska-Anchorage 3, Nebraska-Omaha 0 (NC) ... Colorado College 3, Bemidji State 1

Jutting talks recruits

Minnesota State made it official this week, announcing the signing of defenseman Mat Knoll to its recruiting class for 2012. Knoll is playing for the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. After winning the AJHL title, the Knoll and the Saints are taking on the BCHL-champion Vernon Vipers for the Doyle Cup — Canada's Junior A national championship the winner of which moves on to the Canadian Junior A national championship tournament (Thanks for the clarification, PA!). Spruce Grove leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.

Mavericks coach Troy Jutting called Knoll one of the best defensemen on the best junior team in Canada. He said that Spruce Grove rotated six defensemen pretty equally during the regular season but that Knoll got more responsibility in the playoffs, including time on the top power play. Knoll had 10 assists in 13 playoff games. He also has on assist in the Doyle Cup so far.

"He's a 20-year-old who's played a ton of games," Jutting said. "He's in his third year in the Alberta league and was the best defenseman on the team in Lloydminster last year. He's been around the block and understands the game. He's been a very good player. He's very experienced and a leader."

Sounds like a good recruit to bring in considering the loss of Kurt Davis, Ben Youds and Channing Boe.

Knoll will join the four players who signed during the early period in November and Matt Leitner as part of a six-player rookie class (Leitner will be a sophomore).

Here's what Jutting had to say about the other recruits coming in next fall:

On forward Jean-Paul LaFontaine: "He's second (on the Green Bay Gamblers) in scoring in his first year of juniors. He's had a great year there."

On defenseman Zach Palmquist: "The team (Waterloo) was not as good this year, and his numbers were down a little offensively. But his shots were up and his (playing) time was up. ... He's had a great junior career, and we're really excited about him. We hope Zach can pick up some of the slack with what we lose with (Davis) graduating."

On defenseman Brett Stern: "He's on one of the best team in the USHL (Green Bay). ... He's had to sit behind some veteran defensemen, but he's a good hockey player. He doesn't get as much get as much playing time but when he has he's played well."

On forward Max Gaede: "He's had a good year. He's got some thing to learn. But he's a big, raw, talented kid. We're very excited about him."

On Leitner: "He's on track (to play). Obviously, he's an extremely talented kid. He has potential to be a first-line center in the WCHA."