Mavericks 3, Gophers 3, OT final

There was yet another overtime between Minnesota State and Minnesota as they played to a 3-3 tie Friday.

Goalie Mike Zacharias made 47 saves for the 12th-ranked Mavericks (3-1-1, 1-1-1 in WCHA), and freshman defenseman Cameron Cooper knotted the game at 10:27 of the third period.

When the two teams last met last March, they battled through a three-game conference playoff series that featured two double-overtime games and a single-overtime contest. The Gophers won that series to advance to the WCHA Final Five and end the Mavericks' season.

Jay Barriball and Ryan Stoa had a goal and an assist, and freshman Jordan Schroeder had three assists for the fifth-ranked Gophers (3-0-2, 3-0-2), who remained unbeaten on the season..

Barriball broke a scoreless tie at 4:54 of the second period. Mavericks defenseman Kurt Davis tied the game at 9:13 with a long shot from just inside the blue line that deflected off the ice and beat goalie Alex Kangas (26 saves).

Cade Fairchild and Stoa gave Minnesota leads of 2-1 and 3-2, but the Mavericks answered each time, first with Jason Wiley early in the third period, then with Cooper's first career goal.

The two teams will play again today at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul in the WCHA Minnesota College Hockey Showcase. The game will be the nightcap of a doubleheader, with St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth playing in the opener.

***

Minnesota opened the scoring at 4:54 with a goal by Jay Barriball. The Mavericks tied the game on defenseman Kurt Davis' long shot from just inside the blue line that deflected off the ice and past goalie Alex Kangas. The Gophers took back the lead with the game's first power-play goal. Defenseman Cade Fairchild shot the puck in through traffic from the point. The Mavericks are getting outshot 29-14 through two periods. The Gophers will start the third period wtih 1:16 of power-play time.

There's no band here tonight. Which is weird. And disappointing.

***

Picking up where they left off last March, Alex Kangas made seven saves and Mike Zacharias made 15 in a scoreless first period. There was plenty for the box score though, as the two teams were called for 11 penalties. MSU's Jerad Stewart got a five-minute major for "grabbing the facemask."

***

Greetings from Mariucci Arena. One item of note, Minnesota has suspended freshman forwards Jake Hansen and Nico Sacchetti for violation of team rules. They had played in all of the Gophers' games so far.

Check back regularly for updates.

Here are the lines (starters in bold):

MINNESOTA STATE
Mouillierat-Bruess-Berge
Gaulrapp-Harrison-Stewart
Irwin-Sackrison-Wiley
Thompson-Galiardi-Jokinen

Davis-Kilburg
Cooper-Boe
Friesen-Canzanello

Zacharias
Tormey

MINNESOTA
Stoa-Schroeder-Barriball
Lucia-Carman-Flynn
Hoeffel-White-Dorr
Miller-Matson-Bostrom

Fairchild-Fischer
Ness-Anderson
Wehrs-Lofquist

Kangas
Patterson
Kremer

Friday-morning reading

Just because it's Gopher night doesn't mean Troy Jutting won't practice a little tough love again this season. Defenseman Ben Youds and forward Mike Louwerse will sit out tonight's game against Minnesota because of some bad penalties taken in MSU's last game against North Dakota. The practice seemed to work last season, as the Mavericks slashed their penalty minutes. Currently, they lead the country in PIMs per game. Both Youds and Louwerse are expected to play on Saturday. MSU will get forward James Gaulrapp back from injury.

For more on the series, you can read my preview in The Free Press, which chronicles how the Mavericks just can't forget last year's playoff series against the Gophers.

Here's what others are saying about the series and the Showcase:

The Star Tribune and Pioneer Press take a look at Saturday's WCHA Minnesota College Hockey Showcase, which needs a better name but won't get one until the league and participating teams figure out a way to do it every year. One nugget of concern: an Xcel Energy Center official is expecting just 10,000 fans. The PiPress also says that the Gophers are a different team with the return of Ryan Stoa.

The Duluth News-Tribune also looks at the Showcase, and the St. Cloud Times' Kevin Allenspach wonders if the fans will turn out for the event, too.

Gustavus player gets blog

I haven't done a ton here on Gustavus Adolphus hockey in the past, but the Gusties do deserve some attention. The Gustavus men's team opens the season Friday night when it hosts defending national champion and No. 1-ranked St. Norbert. The Gusties were the only team to beat St. Norbert last season. That game and Saturday's game against Lake Forest will be played at All Seasons Arena in Mankato while the Don Roberts Ice Rink gets a facelift in St. Peter.

Meanwhile the Gustavus women's team is ranked No. 4 in the country and will open the season next week. Gusties senior Jessie Doig, meanwhile, will be blogging for the NCAA on the life and times of a college athlete. She is one of a select group chosen by the NCAA. Her blog, which she says will be updated twice a week, can be found here. I'll also post a permanent link to it in the sidebar.

More on Harrison

Zach Harrison's short-handed hat trick continues to draw attention. The Western College Hockey blog explored Harrison's rise with the Mavericks, as did the sports blog Deadspin.

Mavs in the pros

Thanks to MSU's sports information department, here are the Mavericks alumni playing professional hockey:

NHL
David Backes, St. Louis
Ryan Carter, Anaheim
Steve Wagner, St. Louis

AHL
Tim Jackman, Bridgeport (NHL rights: NY Islanders)
Jon Kalinski, Philadelphia (NHL rights: Philadelphia)
Grant Stevenson, Chicago (NHL rights: Atlanta)

ECHL
Joel Hanson, Augusta
R.J. Linder, Augusta
Travis Morin, South Carolina (NHL rights: Washington)
Kyle Peto, Florida

CHL
Austin Sutter, Amarillo
Brad Thompson, Wichita

Europe
Jake Brenk, Netherlands
Aaron Fox, Austria
Lucas Fransen, Netherlands
T.J. Guidarelli, Germany
Andy Hedlund, Germany
Shane Joseph, Germany
Rob Rankin, England

MSU gets bump (updated)

The Mavericks moved up one spot to No. 12 in the latest USCHO.com poll and two spots to No. 11 in the USA Today poll. Here are today's rankings (first-place votes in parenthesis):

USCHO.com/CBS College Sports
1. Colorado College (37)
2. Boston College (7)
3. Boston University (1)
4. Denver (3)
5. Minnesota (2)
6. New Hampshire
7. Miami
8. Michigan
9. Northeastern
10. Princeton
11. Michigan State
12. Minnesota State
13. Notre Dame
14. Vermont
15. Clarkson
16. Cornell
17. Air Force
18. North Dakota
19. St. Cloud State
20. Harvard
Others receiving votes: Northern Michigan, Alaska-Anchorage, St. Lawrence, Nebraska-Omaha, UMass, Minnesota-Duluth, Colgate, UMass-Lowell, Union, Wisconsin, Niagara, Bemidji State, Dartmouth, Ohio State

USA Today/USA Hockey
1. Colorado College (30)
2. Boston College (3)
3. Boston University
4. Denver
5. Minnesota (1)
6. Miami
7. New Hampshire
8. Michigan
9. Northeastern
10. Princeton
11. Minnesota State
12. Michigan State
13. Notre Dame
14. Clarkson
15. Vermont
Others receiving votes: Air Force, Nebraska-Omaha, Cornell, Alaska-Anchorage, St. Lawrence, St. Cloud State, Colgate, UMass, UMass-Lowell, Harvard, North Dakota, Northern Michigan, Union.

FYI, PucKato and The Free Press generally use the USCHO.com rankings as the official rankings for two reasons: 1. They're the rankings released weekly by the Associated Press, and 2. Shane votes on the poll (the power rankings at right are what I submit).

Hat-Trick Harry