Men's hockey takes three

Hanson breaks season scoreless drought Friday; Berge tallies game-winner Saturday in three-point weekend vs. UMD

by Dan Myers
Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: Mens Sports

UMD 2 vs. MSU 2 Friday, November 30th
UMD 1 vs. MSU 2 Saturday, December 1st

It's not often a team can score four goals in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series and call it a successful weekend.

But thanks to an outstanding effort by junior goalie Mike Zacharias and a timely goal Saturday by Mick Berge, the Mavericks took three points from No. 12 Minnesota-Duluth Friday and Saturday at the Alltel Center.

Berge's goal Saturday was the game-winner and was critical for the Mavericks. MSU had a 2-0 lead the night before, but a pair of UMD goals in the second period tied the game. Minnesota State was unable to get another quality scoring chance after, and hung on for the 2-2 tie.

The next night, MSU again staked itself to a lead on a Blake Friesen goal at 19:17 of the second period. Zach Harrison and Rylan Galiardi earned the assists.

A hooking penalty on the Bulldogs' Justin Fontaine put MSU on a power-play just seconds into the third, but it was a UMD goal which tied the game as a result.

Berge's goal four minutes later came suddenly.

Junior forward Jon Kalinski - moved to center from wing before the game by MSU head coach Troy Jutting - stepped into the face-off circle to the left of UMD goaltender Alex Stalock. Kalinski won the draw cleanly to Berge in the slot, who fired a wrist shot past Stalock for the game-winner.

The goal came off a lucky bounce for the Mavericks - as Berge said he initially misfired on the shot. The puck hit the post and deflected in, however.

"I had a good feeling going into it," Berge said. "Jonny had been winning the draws all night. I flipped it with my stick and was thinking 'shoot,' but luckily it went off the post and in."

UMD was unable to get many more quality chances as the Mavericks defense played aggressively to keep the puck out of the slot.

"I thought we did a good job of keeping the puck to the outside from there on," Jutting said.

Zacharias made 26 saves in the win, as MSU was outshot 27-17 on the night. The Mavericks held a 29-28 edge in shots Friday night, as Zacharias made 26 saves.

The weekend cemented Zacharias' stranglehold on the No. 1 goaltenders job. His record now stands at 3-3-2, but his goals against average of 1.81 and his save percentage of .930 both rank among the league leaders.

"My team is playing really well in front of me," Zacharias said. "I'm seeing the puck really well and from there it's my job to stop it."

The game-winner for Berge was his seventh goal of the season - tying him for fifth in the WCHA in that category.

Friday's 2-2 tie was seen by many as a step in the right direction. Despite thouroughly outplaying Minnesota and Denver in its two previous Friday night contests, MSU had zero points to show for it.

The first period of Friday's game was one of the better MSU had played all season, but the Mavericks only came out of it with a 1-0 advantage.

"It looked like no contact, skate around and do nothing," said UMD head coach Scott Sandelin. "Give them credit - they got better as the period went on and we were lucky to get out of there down only 1-0."

Joel Hanson made it 2-0 just seconds into the second, but the Bulldogs took control of the game for about 15 minutes from there - scoring a pair of goals in the process. The third period and overtime were evenly matched both ways, though UMD held a 15-8 shots advantage over the final 25 minutes.

For Hanson, it was his first goal and first point of the season, breaking the senior captain out of a long slump.

"It was a sense of relief," Hanson said. "I haven't had that feeling for a long time. After that, when I was out there, I wasn't gripping my stick too tightly. I was just playing."

The three-point weekend moved MSU out of last place in the WCHA, as the Mavericks prepare for a weekend series against No. 10 Wisconsin, a team only two points ahead of the Mavs in the standings. Eight points are all that separate second-place Denver and ninth-place MSU.

Face-off against UW is scheduled for 7:37 p.m. Friday and 7:07 p.m. Saturday at the Alltel Center.

Dan Myers is the Reporter sports editor