Overtime Winner Salvages Men's Hockey Split Against Notre Dame

Kalinski's goal in bonus time makes Mavericks winners; MSU opens WCHA schedule this weekend with home-and-home series against St. Cloud State

by Dan Myers
Issue date: 10/17/06 Section: Mens Sports

For much of Minnesota State's men's hockey game Saturday in Mankato, the Mavericks could not organize themselves on the power play. It was so bad at one point, MSU had more luck creating opportunities short handed. But after a 6-1 drubbing in season opener Thursday at Notre Dame, the Mavericks finally got on the board with a power play goal that earned a split and gave the Mavs a much needed boost heading into WCHA play this weekend.

Things were already heading downhill for the Mavs before Game 1 had even started. Head coach Troy Jutting had selected Mike Zacharias to start in net, while planning to give Dan Tormey the nod in Saturday's rematch. But a leg injury sustained during warm-ups forced Zacharias from the line-up and will likely sideline him for at least two weeks.

"Danny wasn't expecting the start, so I don't think he played the way he is capable of playing," Jutting said.

Early on, the Mavericks had a chance to find the scoreboard and stake themselves a lead. But the Irish, like they would in Game 2, scored the game's first goal. The 1-0 score lasted until the early moments of the second period. ND's Garrett Regan tallied a pair of goals within the first four minutes of the second and Mark Van Guilder added one at 4:20 to put the game away.

"They were able to take advantage of some shots in the second that we weren't able to earlier in the game," Jutting said. "They got us back on our heels a little bit, so I called timeout. After that, I thought our kids did great job of regrouping and I thought we played a lot better the rest of the way."

Jon Kalinski added the Mavericks' only goal at 3:18 of the third. Travis Morin earned the only assist on the short-handed goal but ND scored its final marker three minutes later to sniff out any hopes of a Maverick comeback.

Much like Thursday, Notre Dame carried a 1-0 into the second period Saturday. But an unusual series of penalties allowed the Mavericks to take the lead via a 5-on-3 power play at 2:46 of period two. After Joel Hanson knotted the game at 1:36, a pair of Irish penalties gave the Mavs the two-man advantage. Freshman Kael Mouillierat took advantage and scored his first collegiate goal.

Another ironic twist came shortly after as Notre Dame was the beneficiary of a pair of penalty calls. Kevin Deeth evened the game once again with his power play goal at 8:28. The goal would be the last during regulation play as both schools played lock-down defense during the third period - the Mavericks and Irish could only muster a pair of shots during the final frame.

"It's a lot harder to go down two guys at the beginning of the season," Jutting said, "because you're not in great game shape yet. It confirmed for me, though, that we have a gritty, competitive group of kids. They didn't get bothered by it, they just went out and got the job done."

When the Mavericks went up a man with just two minutes to go in overtime, it certainly gave them an advantage in momentum. The game had been a seesaw affair for the better part of a period and half, and neither team could gain a clear edge.

With just 14 seconds to go, Kalinski ended the game with a pretty back-handed shot that beat ND goalie David Brown upstairs and sent the 3,652 fans in attendance home happy. The power-play goal was his second of the weekend and gave the Mavericks their first win of the season, a milestone they did not reach until early November last year.

"The victory was huge for our team as a confidence builder," Jutting said. "It's something we have been talking about for awhile, not getting off to that 0-6 start that killed us last year."

MSU will look to build on its victory this weekend with a weekend home-and-home with rival St. Cloud State. Scoring may be at a premium this weekend, as the Mavericks will face one of the best goalies in the nation in Bobby Goepfert. MSU won a pair of overtime games against SCSU near the end of last season, losses that may have kept the Huskies from NCAA tournament play.

Face-off is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. Friday from Midwest Wireless Civic Center. Saturday's rematch will get underway shortly after seven from the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

Dan Myers is the Reporter Sports Editor