Minnesota State slipped to second place in the CCHA standings (by this year’s points percentage system to accommodate first-place Augustana’s shorter conference schedule) and No. 18 in the Pairwise after racking up its fourth straight series split over the weekend.
The Mavericks (18-8-2, 13-5-2 in CCHA) grabbed just two points out of the games against St. Thomas, falling 3-2 on Friday and winning 3-2 in overtime on Saturday. In both games, the Tommies came from behind to essentially take conference four points away from MSU. On Friday in Mankato they scored a pair of goals 13 seconds apart in the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead and eventual win. On Saturday in Mendota Heights, they scored an extra-attacker goal with 1:09 remaining in regulation to force overtime. Fortunately for the Mavericks, Rhett Pitlick scored 24 seconds into OT, thanks to a highlight-reel pass from Josh Groll.
Beautiful play; the Mavericks just needed it in regulation to get all three points for the standings.
Here are my three thoughts of the series …
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