Friars 6, Mavericks 3

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. Another NCAA disappointment: The Mavericks keep finding new ways to not win in the national tournament, this time jumping out to a 3-0 lead and somehow giving up six unanswered goals, including four power-play goals. That's just not the way this MSU team had done business this year. They had protected leads, killed penalties and won close games. The 11:08 mark of the first period seems like weeks ago. If the Mavericks did have a wart this season it was a penchant for taking some third-period penalties, and Connor Mackey's major for a hit to the head (called after video review) in a 3-3 game was a killer. "Tonight, I thought the one thing that turned the game was a penalty," coach Mike Hastings said, comparing the defeat to last year's 3-2 OT loss to Minnesota Duluth. "As a coach, I’ve got to manage that situation a little bit better."

2. Super start: The Mavericks' quick start was not a fluke. The first goal was a beauty, staring with Wyatt Aamodt's hard body check to jar the puck, Marc Michaelis picking it up to create a 2-on-1 with Parker Tuomie, Tuomie shooting and Charlie Gerard putting back the rebound. Thirty seconds later, Jake Jaremko found his way to the left post, forgotten by the Providence defense, and took a perfect cross-ice pass from Reggie Lutz for the 2-0 lead. Then Nick Rivera turned a turnover into the third goal, stuffing the puck through the goalie's legs. The Mavericks were forcing the issue, and the Friars didn't have an answer. Minnesota State appeared to take a 4-1 lead with 40 seconds left in the first period on another Gerard goal, but the play was ruled offside after review.

3. Looking forward (and backward): The game was the last as a Maverick for Max Coatta. He played 148 career games and scored 52 points. Coatta and just two other seniors, scratches Alec Vanko and Ryan Schwalbe, will graduate from the program. Not sure if others will depart early to pro hockey, but there's always a possibility, right? We may know more in the coming days and weeks. If everybody's back, Minnesota State will again be the WCHA favorite and should be back in the NCAA tournament. While Saturday's results was shocking and disappointing, it shouldn't dampen an otherwise great season with 32 wins, two WCHA championships and one of the best games the Verizon Center has ever seen. Not too much, anyway.

Read my game story here and my fan feature here.

Around the WCHA: Minnesota Duluth 2, Bowling Green 1, OT

Live: Minnesota State vs. Providence

The No. 3 Mavericks will try to get their first Division I national-tournament win when they play the No. 14 Friars at noon at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The game is televised on ESPNews. Follow along with the action below tonight's lines.

MINNESOTA STATE

6-Tuomie, 20-Michaelis, 9-Gerard

16-Lutz, 5-Jaremko, 12-Coatta

23-Rivera, 26-French, 10-McMahan

22-Gerads, 11-Spooner, 17-Duehr

15-Napravnik

2-Mackey, 3-McNeely

25-Zmolek, 18-Scheid

7-Aamodt, 24-Hookenson

29-McKay

32-Israelsson

Scratches: Berger, Bigelbach, Carroll, Galambos, Schwalbe, Vanko, Van Os-Shaw

PROVIDENCE

20-Bjorkqvist, 15-Wilkins, 12-Dugan

9-Duhaime, 10-Conway, 27-Thompson

11-Printz, 19-O'Neill, 24-Lemos

8-Tait, 26-McDermott, 17-Kavanagh

22-Sukumaran

18-Bryson, 21-Young

23-Callahan, 2 Desharnais

5-Mirageas, 3-Bunz

31-Hawkey

33-Mollot-Hill

1-Scannell

***

Saturday Morning Skate

Good morning from Providence where Minnesota State will play in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. The Mavericks say they hope to use their experience to their advantage, whether that's last year's experience in Sioux Falls or this year's experience in winning close games. Nick Rivera, of course, is one player who can relate to both. Providence has experience, too, as the Friars are making their sixth tourney in a row and, of course, playing in their hometown.

Check out The Free Press' College Hockey Gameday for more on today's matchups.

The Mavericks and Friars are two good defensive teams, so goals may be hard to come by, the Providence Journal's Mark Divver writes, when they face off at noon (CDT).

College Hockey News takes a look at MSU goaltender Dryden McKay and previews the East Regional.

The tournament started on Friday, with UMass defeating Harvard 4-0 and Notre Dame edging Clarkson 3-2 in overtime in the Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H. In the West Regional in Fargo, Denver beat Ohio State 2-0 and, in the day's big stunner, American International upset No. 1 overall seed St. Cloud State 2-1. It's the second year in a row that the Huskies were No. 1 and were knocked out by a No. 16 seed.

Here's today's schedule:

East Regional
Minnesota State vs. Providence, noon, ESPNews
North Eastern vs. Cornell, 3:30 p.m., ESPNews

Midwest Regional
Minnesota Duluth vs. Bowling Green, 3 p.m., ESPNU
Quinnipiac vs. Arizona State, 6:30 p.m., ESPN3 (streaming)

Northeast Regional championship
UMass vs. Notre Dame, 5:30 p.m., ESPNU

West Regional championships
Denver vs. American International, 7 p.m., ESPNU

Heading to Providence

Puckato will be en route to Providence today (Thursday), and the coverage has already started in a special section in today's Free Press. Pick up a copy or read the stories online:

• This year's season has already been a record-breaker for the Mavericks.

• Minnesota State is seeking that elusive first NCAA Tournament win.

• Looking at the matchup between Minnesota State and Providence.

Keep checking the blog, my Twitter feed, and, of course, The Free Press website (or print edition) for coverage throughout the East Regional.

McKay named CHN's top rookie

Minnesota State freshman goaltender Dryden McKay on Wednesday was named College Hockey News' 2018-19 national rookie of the year.

Going into this week's NCAA tournament, McKay is 24-6-2 with a 1.66 goals-against average, tops among all freshman goaltenders and second-best in the country. His .931 save percentage ranks fifth nationally.

The Downers Grove, Illinois, native was the WCHA's goaltending champion with a league-leading 1.36 GAA in conference play. McKay is also a top-10 semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award, which goes to college hockey's top goaltender.

Minnesota State will play Providence in the NCAA East Regional at noon Saturday in Providence, Rhode Island.

On to Providence

Minnesota State will play Providence in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday to open the NCAA Tournament. The Mavericks are the top seed in the East Regional, but they'll have to get by the hometown Friars to win their first DI tournament game.

A lot of people won't like the idea of Providence being a fourth seed and getting to play essentially a home game. The last time that happened, the Friars went on to win the national championship.

“To me, it’s hockey,” coach Mike Hastings said. “We’re going to have to be good to move on.”

The Mavericks (32-7-2) and Friars (22-11-6) will play at noon Saturday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPNews. Northeastern and Cornell will play in the other East Regional game.

St. Cloud State received the No. 1 overall seed and will play American International in Fargo, North Dakota. Ohio State and Denver will meet in the other West Regional matchup.

Minnesota Duluth is the No. 2 overall seed and will play Bowling Green in the Midwest Regional in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with Arizona State and Quinnipiac playing in the other game.

In the Northeast Regional in Manchester, New Hampshire, No. 4 overall seed Massachusetts will play Harvard, and Notre Dame will play Clarkson.

Minnesota State is expected to release ticket information for the regional sometime Monday.

Read more in my Free Press story here.

Mavericks 3, Falcons 2 (OT)

Photo by Pat Christman

Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...

1. What. A. Game: The Mavericks pulled off the miracle win, scoring two late goals with an extra attacker to tie the game and then won it in overtime on a Nick Rivera goal. I don't think I've ever heard the Verizon Center so loud as when Connor Mackey tied it with a bomb of a shot with 55.9 seconds remaining in regulation. "It was awesome," said Jake Jaremko, who scored the Mavericks' first goal. Official attendance was 5,327, the fourth-largest in MSU history. It was a jam-packed arena. Another comment from Rivera about the crowd: "That’s something you've got to take pride in. We try to do our best to make it a hard place to play. (The fans) step up night in and night out. They're the reason it's hard to play in this building. ... They’re bringing the energy."

2. Playing with poise: The Falcons really frustrated the Mavericks for most of the game with their stellar defense. "I thought we took away time and space and played hard, which is who we are when we're playing our best," BG coach Chris Bergeron said. But when MSU pulled their goalie, they weren't panicked, even if they were in desperation mode. "It's something I think the guys are more than comfortable doing," MSU coach Mike Hastings said. "It's something consistently that we work on. I think at that time it’s really important to play with poise. It's easy for a coach to tell you to do that. It’s another thing for an athlete to go and do it."

3. Appreciate that game: Already, the social media is blowing up with speculation about the NCAA Tournament field, which will get announced at 6 p.m. Sunday. That's to be expected. The consensus seems to be that the Mavericks will be the top seed at Providence and play ... wait for it ... Providence. And there will be much gnashing of teeth about that. But for now, enjoy that game and, if you were there, that atmosphere, as well as that championship.

Read my game story here.