Men’s hockey on top of the CCHA
The Minnesota State men’s hockey team is back on top of the CCHA standings after a series split with Michigan Tech in the Winter Carnival Series with Sam Morton cementing his place in the history books.
The Mavericks now sit one point above St. Thomas in the conference after the Tommies dropped points and were swept by Bemidji state. But the Tommies have two games in hand over MSU.
The Michigan Tech Huskies handed MSU a 3-1 loss Friday, but the Mavericks responded with a 4-2 win Saturday.
Hobey Baker Award nominee Sam Morton notched his 20th goal of the season — his 40th career goal.
Morton leads the CCHA in goals, and yet again showed that when he’s firing on all cylinders the Mavs are a force to be reckoned with.
The Mavericks have won 12 of 17 games that Morton has scored in.
The Mavs yet again showed their consistency and resilience in responding to losses proving why the Mavs have not been swept since November.
On Friday the Huskies scored in the first minute. The Mavs found an equalizer, but the Huskies ran away with the win after a goal in the second period and a monster performance from goaltender Blake Pietila.
The Huskies blocked 20 shots, and Pietila made 31 saves holding the Mavs to one goal on six power plays.
The Mavs’ struggle to finish their chances was shown yet again “losing in winning moments” as Head Coach of the Mavericks Luke Strand described.
“We lost during winning moments. Races, net fronts, second efforts, power plays. Tech played to their identity and we didn’t in the critical spots. We need to finish our opportunities in game two tomorrow night.”
The Mavs were determined to not get swept by the Huskies yet again, and were able to do so figuring it out as they’ve done throughout the season.
When the Mavericks have all played to their ability, it resulted in wins which was the highlight for them on Saturday.
Brian Carrabes opened up the scoring for the Mavs with his seventh of the season marking his great recent run of form. It was his second goal in his last three games.
Rookie-of-the-year nominee Evan Murr dished out his 16th and 17th assists of the year, which is tied for second in the CCHA.
Alex Tracy continued his solid form stopping 26 shots. The Mavs defense blocked 15 shots in the final frame to hold the Huskies scoreless. Kaden Bohlsen added an empty netter for the cherry on top and his 11th goal of the season.
“I am happy for our guys to answer the challenge on the road,” said head coach Luke Strand. “Now is a good time for a break to heal up some bodies. We are excited to regroup and continue to move forward.”
With four games left in the regular season, the Mavericks sit at the top of the CCHA with 35 points. The Mavericks are now 15-11-4 overall record and 11-7-2 in the conference.
Next up for the Mavs is a two game home series against Lake Superior State.
Header Photo: After a weekend series split with Michigan Tech in the Winter Carnival Series, the Minnesota State men’s hockey team sees themselves sat on top of the CCHA. (Dylan Long/The Reporter)
Write to Ahmed Hassan at ahmed.hassan.4@mnsu.edu