Scrappy Mavs Give No. 1 Minnesota All it Can Handle

Mavericks tie Gophers in Minneapolis but lose 2-1 thriller next night at home

by Dan Myers
Issue date: 12/5/06 Section: Mens Sports

If teams were awarded points for moral victories, the Minnesota State men's hockey team (3-10-2 overall, 2-7-1 WCHA) would have gained all four possible in its weekend series against No. 1 Minnesota (13-1-3 overall, 7-0-3 WCHA).

After surrendering a three-goal lead in Minneapolis Friday night, then fighting back from two down in the third period to salvage a 5-5 tie, the Mavericks fought tooth and nail against the nation's best team but lost a 2-1 duel with the Golden Gophers.

All three goals Saturday were scored within the first 10 minutes, as Blake Wheeler put the Gophers ahead 1-0 with a power play goal at 4:42.

UM's lead didn't last long, however, as Kurtis Kisio rifled a shot over the glove of Gopher goalie Kellen Briggs just 27 seconds later to tie the score. Kyle Okposo answered four minutes later, scoring the game winner on a pretty goal at 9:30. The freshman forward maneuvered in front of the Maverick net, moving the puck between his legs to his forehand and slipping the puck past goalie Mike Zacharias.

"The first one was whacked out of mid-air," Zacharias said. "Okposo was alone out front and just made a nice play putting it between his legs. It was a good goal."

For the second-straight night, the Mavericks out shot the Gophers - the first two times this season they have been on the short end of the shots battle.

"I am extremely disappointed in losing but all the rest of it, I couldn't be prouder of our kids," said Mavericks head coach Troy Jutting. "In terms of a 60 minute effort, I think we got it from start to finish. We just gotta score more than one goal on 29 shots."

A night after Zacharias and Briggs both played sub-par in net, both were more than stellar. Zacharias stopped 22 shots in the loss, while Briggs rebounded from his worst outing of the season Friday making 28 saves.

"I thought both goalies played well," Jutting said. "The fans definitely got their money's worth."

The low-scoring defensive battle was shocking considering the offensive explosion just 24-hours earlier in Minneapolis.

It looked good for MSU early and often Friday, as goals by Joel Hanson, Jon Kalinski and Steve Wagner gave the Mavs a 3-0 lead at the end of the opening period at Mariucci Arena.

But the Maverick penalty kill went south in a hurry during the middle frame as MSU allowed four power-play goals in the second period to fall behind 4-3 heading to the third.

Unfortunately for the Mavericks, the lead wasn't all they lost.

Leading 3-1 near the halfway point of the period, MSU goalie Dan Tormey was injured when Wheeler crashed the net hard looking for a rebound and lost an edge - his first skate knocking the glove off Tormey's hand and the second cutting the exposed skin. The sophomore net minder suffered a severed tendon and after surgery this week is likely to miss six to eight weeks.

Zacharias entered the game cold and surrendered the remaining four goals - all on the power play - to give UM a 5-3 lead with just over 12 minutes to play in the game.

"It was a tough situation to come into," Zacharias said. "You never want to come into a game like that, especially with what happened to Dan."

MSU fought back, however, as Kalinski scored his second of the night to pull the Mavericks to within one with his even-strength marker at 12:56. Hanson tied the game with his second goal with just 53 seconds remaining.

Both teams combined for 30 penalties totaling 87 minutes. The Mavericks converted two of their four power plays into goals, but the Gophers were 5-for-8, and scored on four-straight opportunities with the man advantage in the second.

The Mavericks will continue WCHA action this week with a road trip to No. 13 Denver for a Friday-Saturday series at Magness Arena. Face-off is scheduled for 8:37 p.m. Friday and 8:07 p.m. Saturday.

Dan Myers is the Reporter Sports Editor