Mavs end drought
Sutter scores game-winner late; MSU wins first game in nearly a month
By Shane Frederick
Free Press
ST. CLOUD — Travis Morin was sick. Jeff Marler was a late scratch. Brock Becker was still out with a broken foot.
As if the Minnesota State men's hockey team's scoring woes weren't bad enough, its second-leading scorer and two players with a combined 25 points were missing from the lineup Friday at the National Hockey Center.
"They're definitely a big part of our offense," freshman Ryan Carter said. "But we're a hard-working team, and our goal was to get some shots and go hard to the net."
A simple strategy, but it worked, as the Mavericks snapped a four-game winless streak and defeated St. Cloud State 4-3 before an announced crowd of 5,656.
Carter scored two goals and fellow rookie Austin Sutter knocked in the game-winning power-play goal with 90 seconds remaining in the third period.
It was MSU's first victory since Jan. 22 and was the first time the Mavericks had four goals since scoring six in a loss to Minnesota Jan. 14.
"This was a huge win for us," coach Troy Jutting said, "to not have those three guys playing and do what we did tonight, I'm proud of the effort we gave."
Morin stayed in Mankato with the flu. Marler suffered an abdominal strain during Thursday's practice and tried to go during pregame warmups. Becker is expected to return next week.
Christian Toll replaced Marler in the lineup, and freshman Shane McCormick got his first chance to play since December.
"It doesn't matter who's playing," said Sutter, whose goal was his fourth of the year. "Coach said some guys might get a chance tonight. If he's not worried, it doesn't matter."
Sutter said the coaching staff has been on him to go to the net. On the bus ride to St. Cloud, he watched video of the Mavericks' recent series with Colorado College, and coach Darren Blue pointed out how hard the CC forwards went to the net.
Sutter remembered the lesson later.
Jake Brenk threw the puck on net from the slot, and Sutter crashed. Tim Boron made the first save, but Sutter was there to take a whack at the rebound.
"When I saw Brenk wind up, I had to get to the net," Sutter said. "It wasn't pretty, but they all count."
Perhaps MSU's "puck luck" is starting to change.
Brad Thompson batted the puck out of the air and into the goal on a shorthanded opportunity to give MSU a 1-0 lead in the first period. And Carter's first goal, a one-timer during a 4-on-3 power play, appeared to be stopped by Boron, only to trickle through the goalie's pads and over the goal line.
"Those goals, nobody wants to get them, but you're glad they did get through," Carter said. "The puck had eyes on its way through."
Said Jutting: "We got the bounces tonight, and we won. We scored four goals. That's what it takes to win games in this league."
Carter's second goal gave MSU a 3-1 lead at 4:05 of the second period.
But the Mavericks' first two-goal lead since Dec. 30 didn't hold up.
The Huskies' Dave Iannazzo scored two goals less than 4 minutes apart to tie the game.
At the end of an MSU power play, Peter Szabo and Iannazzo turned a long rebound into a 2-on-1 rush with Iannazzo beating an outstretched Chris Clark at 8:28.
Then MSU really got in trouble.
With defenseman Kyle Peto already in the penalty box for holding, Rob Rankin was called for holding and then popped a Huskies player in the face for two more minutes. That gave St. Cloud State a 51-second 5-on-3 advantage and three more minutes of 5-on-4 play.
Iannazzo dangled the puck inside after a faceoff and slid the puck past Clark at 12:24.
"(Rankin) played a great game until that point," Jutting said. "I addressed it in the locker room after the game."
The Mavericks killed off the final two minutes of the penalty and went back on the power play with 2:20 to play after Casey Borer was called for holding.
Fifty seconds later, Sutter not only put MSU a goal ahead but four points in front of the 10th-place Huskies in the WCHA standings.
The Mavericks (10-15-6, 8-14-4 in WCHA) and the Huskies (13-18-2, 7-16-0) will conclude the season series at 7:07 p.m. tonight in Mankato.
Minnesota State 1-1-2-4
St. Cloud State 0-1-2-3
First Period
Scoring
1. MSU-Thompson 8 (Rankin 5, Wagner 7) shg 18:18
Penalties
- Hartman, SCSU (hooking) 4:27
- McCormick, MSU (holding) 7:04
- Iannazzo, SCSU (high-sticking) 9:23
- Hanson, MSU (hooking) 9:54
- Brocklehurst, SCSU (tripping) 10:32
- Brenk, MSU (roughing) 14:05
- Gens, SCSU (roughing) 14:05
- Anderson, MSU (elbowing) 14:05
- Toll, MSU (interference) 16:56
- Carter, MSU (interference) 19:00
Second Period
Scoring
2. SCSU-Brocklehurst 3 (Gordon 6) 14:28
3. MSU-Carter 11 (Peto 20, Backes 16) ppg 17:19
Penalties
- Thompson, MSU (obstruction-hooking) 11:40
- Sutter, MSU (roughing) 15:46
- Szabo, SCSU (roughing) 15:46
- Jensen, SCSU (interference) 16:57
- Toll, MSU (interference) 18:30
Third Period
Scoring
4. MSU-Carter 12 (Kisio 11, Dubel 6) 4:05
5. SCSU-Iannazzo 12 (Szabo 12) 8:28
6. SCSU-Iannazzo 13 (Gens 12, Fletcher 12) ppg 12:24
7. MSU-Sutter 4 (Brenk 7, Backes 17) ppg 18:30
Penalties
- Stephenson, SCSU (interference) 6:38
- Peto, MSU (holding) 9:45
- Rankin, MSU (holding, roughing) 10:54
- Boreer, SCSU (holding) 17:40
Summaries
Shots on goal
- MSU 18-8-12-38
- SCSU 9-12-7-28
Penalties
- MSU 11 for 22 minutes
- SCSU 9 for 18 minutes
Power-play opportunities
- MSU 2 for 7
- SCSU 1 for 8
Goalie saves
- MSU-Clark 9-11-5-25
- SCSU-Boron 17-7-10-34
Attendance
- 5,656