MANKATO, Minn. – After blowing a two-goal lead in the third period against Bowling Green on Friday, Minnesota State didn’t want history to repeat itself on Saturday.
Quinn Emerson’s shorthanded goal on Keenan Rancier early in the second period had put the Falcons ahead 2-1, giving them their first lead of the game.
But Minnesota State – determined to take as many points as possible from their first CCHA series of the season – didn’t allow that to happen.
The Mavericks rallied to score the game’s next three goals, then killed off some key penalties late in the third period and skated to a 4-2 victory at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
“We had some issues that were a little bit self-inflicted but I liked how we stuck with it,” MSU head coach Mike Hastings said. “Giving up a shorthanded goal, and being down 2-1, I thought the guys stayed after it.”
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Cinematic look at tonight's 4-2 win! pic.twitter.com/Rm5g4IXNma
— Minnesota State Hockey (@MinnStMHockey) October 30, 2022
The Falcons (2-6-0, 1-3-0 CCHA) weren’t in the series finale.
“Last night we defended pretty well and even though the shots were lopsided, the chances weren’t necessarily too bad,” Bowling Green head coach Ty Eigner said. “Tonight we just spent so much time in our own end, it was hard to get anything going because we were exhausted.”
Still, against the odds, the Falcons still managed to net a pair of goals in the first 30 minutes.
Chase Gresock scored 10 minutes into the first period while Emerson netted an impressive shorthanded goal less than three minutes into the second. MSU’s Christian Fitzgerald had the puck poked away from him by Max Coyle, then Bowling Green’s Adam Pitters cleared it. The play didn’t look dangerous, but Emerson outraced Steven Bellini to the puck. He picked it up at the blue line and, with Bellini well behind him, finished easily.
“We didn’t start great, and I thought the ice was tilted early,” Eigner said. “But we hung in there and hung around. Then we got a big play with the shorthanded goal, which was great, had a little bit of a lead, and I don’t know if it ends up different if we keep the lead in the third with the one-goal lead, but, hey, we were hanging around. Minnesota State was the better team.”
Tonight we just spent so much time in our own end, it was hard to get anything going because we were exhausted.
Despite the shorthanded goal, special teams ended up being the key to victory for Minnesota State (5-3-0, 2-0-0 CCHA). After Brendan Furry tied the game late in the second period – the senior captain tapped in a rebound past Falcons goalie Christian Stoever’s blocker for his second goal of the series – the Mavericks took the lead on the power play early in the third.
Senior center Sam Morton lost the opening faceoff but won the puck back in the neutral zone with the help of Cade Borchardt. From there, Morton skated around two Falcons defenders and took a wrist shot that bounced past Stoever to make it 3-2. All of this happened in 4 seconds.
“For Mo to come out and get us a power-play goal in the first seven seconds of the third and get the crowd into it, you need guys to step up like that at this time,” Hastings said of Morton.
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The Mavericks scored again 10 minutes later when Adam Eisele netted his first career goal. That one turned out to be important. Not only did it give MSU a 4-2 lead, but it also gave them a little breathing room. They’d need it, as they’d spend much of the final 10 minutes of the game killing penalties. Ondrej Pavel (boarding), Jake Livingstone (tripping) and Mason Wheeler (boarding) all went to the box in rapid succession, giving the Falcons almost six straight minutes of power play time.
“Any time you can kill off a two-minute penalty, it’s a huge momentum boost and a huge part of the game, and to kill off six minutes or whatever it was, was huge,” said Borchardt, who was one of the Mavericks’ primary penalty killers.
“I thought it was heroic,” Hastings added. “I thought the guys really stepped up when we needed them to. And you know, with last night’s game getting away from us, having a 2-0 lead, I think that’s important for our growth so we can show that we can maintain that when some bad things happen.”
Highlights from No. 8 @MinnStMHockey and @BGFalconHockey from Saturday night in Mankato.
— CCHA (@CCHAHockey) October 30, 2022
🎥: https://t.co/yRw1IaFMPQ#CCHAHockey pic.twitter.com/3kMhrQkRlF
Eigner lamented his team’s lack of success on special teams. Aside from the shorthanded goal, the Falcons didn’t ever get much going on the power play, going 0-for-5.
“I think some of it is, a lot of those guys have been playing a lot of minutes and they were tired,” Eigner said. “It’s not an excuse, it was just hard on them. When we needed to get a big play our of our power play, last night, we did. Tonight, we just didn’t seem to be in sync.”
Stoever made 29 saves for the Falcons – the same number had made on Friday night. For the Mavericks, Rancier only needed to make nine, as MSU outshot Bowling Green 34-11.
The Mavericks, who took five points from the Falcons this weekend, are now in a three-way tie with both the Falcons and Bemidji State at the top of the CCHA standings. Both teams will continue conference play next weekend. Minnesota State plays a home-and-home with St. Thomas while Bowling Green returns to Ohio for a series with Michigan Tech.
MINNESOTA STATE 4, BOWLING GREEN 2
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Bowling Green 1-1-0–2
Minnesota State 1-1-2–4
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING: 1, MSU, Silye (Malinowski, Borchardt), 4:13; 2, BGSU, Gresock (Coyle, Doherty), 10:30.
PENALTIES: MSU, Bench (too many players, served by Fitzgerald), 8:17; MSU, Pavel (high-sticking), 18:51.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3, BGSU, Emerson (Pitters), 2:38, SH; 4, MSU, Furry (Borchardt, Livingstone), 18:13.
Penalties: BGSU, Barber (slashing), 1:17; BGSU, Malmsrom (cross-checking), 13:07, BGSU, Norris (holding), 19:38.
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THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 5, MSU, Morton (Borchardt), 0:04, PP; 6, MSU, Eisele (Carroll, Wheeler), 10:12.
Penalties: MSU, Sandelin (roughing), 0:49; BGSU, Swankler (roughing), 0:49; MSU, Pavel (boarding), 11:36; MSU, Livingstone (tripping), 13:32; MSU, Wheeler (boarding), 15:39; BGSU, O’Hara (goaltender interference), 19:10.
SUMMARIES:
Shots on goal: BGSU 2-5-4–11; MSU 10-12-12–34. Penalties-minutes: BGSU 5-10; MSU 6-12. Power plays: BGSU 0-for-5; MSU 1-for-4. Goalie saves: BGSU, Stoever 29; MSU, Rancier 9.
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