Men’s hockey Mav-handles Minnesota Duluth
Mel Stramm
Staff Writer
Last weekend, the Minnesota State Mavericks men’s hockey team faced in-state rivals as the men traveled up north to take on the defending national champions, the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.
MSU was unable to beat Duluth last year, losing 4-3 in a neutral site game in Arizona.
However, this year the No.8-ranked Bulldogs came in with a 7-4-1 record and stood no chance against the No. 1 Mavericks, who looked stronger than ever and ultimately swept the series.
It was a particularly successful weekend for sophomore goaltender Dryden McKay, who upped his record to 11-1-1 and for junior center Jake Jaremko, who scored the first and last goal in Saturday’s match.
Senior Marc Michaelis opened the weekend’s scoring Nov. 29, in the second period with a give-and-go shot by senior Marc Michaelis right past the UMD goalie.
With MSU on the power play, the duo then did it again four minutes later as Tuomie netted the puck to extend the Maverick lead to 2-0.
The Mavericks scored again before the end of the second period, as senior center Josh French collected his first goal of the season of a rebound from freshman Ryan Sandelin.
MSU scored again on a power play four minutes into the third period from freshman forward Nathan Smith.
Reggie Lutz was sent to the box for slashing, allowing UMD to score at the 9:20 minute mark. The first power play goal the Mavericks have given up since the unfortunate loss against Bowling Green Nov. 1.
Neither side allowed any further scoring for the rest of the game, with the final score coming to 4-1 and it being another Maverick win.
Michaelis seventh goal of the season extended his point-scoring streak to seven games, McKay made 27 stops and MSU outshot the Bulldogs by a 30-28 margin.
It has been a recurring theme for MSU’s opponents to play a stronger game in the second part of a series with the power the Mavericks are bringing on the ice this season, and this weekend was no exception to that. However, the Mavericks eventually took this match as well, winning 3-1.
On Saturday, freshman forward Lucas Sowder was able to connect with Jaremko, who then netted the puck for a 1-0 Mavericks lead. Each goal of this game would be scored on a power play.
The following period had more action in the penalty boxes than goals, including a game misconduct from Jared Spooner for kneeing that allowed for UMD to create five shots towards McKay, who successfully saved four, with a block by Sandelin in addition.
Then with junior Connor Mackey in the box, UMD’s Justin Richards scored a goal to tie the game eight minutes into the third period.
MSU didn’t wait long to respond, as Sowder regained the lead for the Mavericks just two minutes later.
Jaremko scored his second goal of the night and the final one of the weekend series.
McKay tallied a career high of 37 stops and Lutz was able to collect three assists. Overall MSU outshot the Bulldogs by a 30-28 margin and went three-for-four in power plays.
The team will host the Lake Superior State Lakers this weekend at the Mankato Civic Center.
Header photo: Minnesota State forward Jake Jaremko (5) skates with the puck against Alaska Anchorage at the Mankato Civic Center Saturday Nov. 23, 2019 in Mankato, Minn. (Mansoor Ahmad/MSU Reporter)