Men’s hockey win two more vs. Alaska Anchorage
The MSU men’s hockey team wins two more games to bring their record to 16-6
The 16-6 Minnesota State Mavericks have won three consecutive games following a road trip sweep of the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. In both games, a decisive offense sealed the games for the Mavericks.
The game was all about the third period, with MSU going down early in the first period. They trailed throughout the period but solid defense and a Parker Tuomie goal evened the game at 1-1. After another goal in the third period for the Seawolves, which was the second time they would trail during the game, the Mavericks put on a clinic. The Mavericks stormed back on a four-goal fury that gave the Mavericks a dominant 5-2 victory.
“Every time we came up here over the years, they’re tough points to get, if you can get them,” said Mavericks head coach Mike Hastings after the opening game. “We had big plays by C.J. and Marc to get us a lead, which we definitely needed. Jason Pawloski did a good job, and we didn’t give him a lot of help on the first goal, but I liked the way our guys stuck with it.”
The heroics of the offense is what stole the headlines, with 38 shots on goal. However, goaltender Jason Pawloski was able to buckle down in the second period, and a majority of the third to keep the Mavericks in the game despite trailing twice during the game.
During the second game for the Mavericks against the Seawolves, it was all offense for the Mavericks yet again. They racked up 46 shots on goal compared to the Seawolves 11 shots. One of the best scoring freshman in the country, Jake Jaremko, netted the opening goal to give the Mavericks the early lead, which was short lived, as Seawolves Jordan Xavier tied the game up in the opening period.
“I liked our star, and we really played a complete game, our power play was the difference,” said Hastings after game two, when the Mavericks went 3-of-5 on the power play. “The power play was great, but our group as a whole finished the game really well, I thought we went out in the third period and didn’t really take chances but still played offense, and finished well.”
In the second period is when MSU really started to pull away, with goals from Marc Michaelis and Tuomie snagged goals to go up a commanding 3-1. The game was cleaned up in the final period with a last goal from C.J. Suess to find a short-handed goal. A 4-1 win was the only way to conclude a weekend in which the Mavs outscored Anchorage 9-3.
The Mavericks have put together a truly impressive series of offensive performances, with three consecutive wins. They have also gone 7-1 since their loss to the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, outscoring opponents 38-12 in that span. The offensive turnaround has been tremendous for the Mavs, which has been the biggest difference in the Mavericks season. The Mavericks will now play a two-game series against the Alaska Nanooks in Fairbanks, AK beginning on Friday.