Men’s hockey handles Arizona State with ease

Aaron Young
Staff Writer

The Minnesota State men’s hockey team handled Arizona State with ease on back-to-back nights, winning 4-1 in the first game and 5-0 in the second.

Junior Riese Zmolek started the Mavericks season off with a goal and gave the team an early 1-0 lead. Later in the first period, Arizona State’s Johnny Walker tied the game up.

Sophomore Julian Napravnik broke the tie in second on a powerplay goal. He was assisted by juniors Reggie Lutz and Connor Mackey

Senior Marc Michaelis scored the final two goals of the contest in the first game – a powerplay and shorthanded goal, pushing the Mavericks lead to 4-1. 

Senior Ian Schied and freshman Lucas Sowder both had two assists each on the contest. 

 Sophomore Dryden McCay saved 25 shots, giving up just one goal.

On Saturday, it wasn’t until the second period that the action picked up. A lone goal by junior Dallas Gerads highlighted the first period. 

In the second, tempers flared when a Maverick player got the wind knocked out him and both teams fought until an Arizona State player was rejected.

Minnesota State responded with a bombshell in the third, lighting up the scoreboard with four goals on three power plays. The goal scorers were Michaelis, Lutz, Sowder and freshman Ryan Sandelin. The Mavericks improve to 2-0 on the year. 

The men’s team takes on North Dakota on Friday and Saturday. 

It was an instant classic for the women’s team on Saturday. Their first meeting against the Bulldogs couldn’t be contained in regulation and both teams had to fight for the right to win in overtime. The Mavericks gave it all they had, but UMD managed to squeak by, winning 3-2.

Minnesota State was the first to get on the scoreboard when sophomore Claire Butorac scored her second goal of the year five minutes into the first period. She was assisted by junior Mallorie Iozzo and freshman Charlotte Averinick.

UMD responded with less than a minute remaining in the second period, where Sydney Brodt scored her third of the season.

Both teams found the back of the net in the third, as the Mavs got the home crowd on their feet with a goal by none other than senior captain, Emily Antony.

Over halfway through, the Bulldogs tied the game at 2, when Gabbie Hughes beat the goaltender after an assist from Brodt. Neither team would gain the upper hand for the remainder of the game, sending it into overtime.

Maverick fans were sent packing after the Bulldogs made quick work in OT, scoring less than 30 seconds in from Brodt.

Akervik led the Mavericks in assists with two. For the Bulldogs, four players recorded an assist and Ashton Bell had two on the night. Despite being outshot 44-to-16, the Mavericks stuck around the put up a fight.

In the series finale, the Bulldogs ran rampant over the Mavericks, winning 4-1. 

UMD scored all four of their goals, before the Mavericks found the net late in the third. Anna Klein began the Bulldog domination with her first goal of the year halfway through the first period. Hughes and Bell followed up in the second, three minutes apart from each other.  Monique Aanenson put UMD up 4-0 in the third period.

Sophomore Madison Oelkers was the only Maverick to score, scoring with less than five minutes into the third period.

UMD had six power plays on the game compared to Mavericks who only had two on the night. The Bulldogs also outshot the Mavericks 38-to-11.

The Maverick’s women team will take on Ohio State Friday and Saturday at home, at the Mankato Civic Center for their next homestand.

Header photo: Minnesota State forward Marc Michaelis (20) attempts a shot at the goal during the first period of a game against Arizona State at the Mankato Civic Center Friday, Oct. 11, 2019 in Mankato, Minn. (Kjerstin Hall/MSU Reporter)