MANKATO — And the plot thickens.
No. 8 seeded Ferris State blocked 29 shots and netted the game-winner 1:45 into overtime to hand No. 1 seeded Minnesota State a 2-1 Game 2 loss in the Mason Cup quarterfinals.
Game 3 between the Bulldogs and Mavericks is set for 5:07 p.m. Sunday.
“(Ferris State) played a desperate game as a team would and should. We knew it was coming,” MSU head coach Luke Strand said. “We didn’t get our jobs done the way this group is capable of.”
After 60 minutes wasn’t enough to determine a winner, Ferris State’s Gavin Best motored down the left side of the ice and carried the puck behind the goalline. He fed a pass to Caden Brown, who was in front of the net next to the left post.
Brown didn’t get a clean shot off. But he managed to get a piece of the puck as his stick rose toward the ceiling of Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. The puck rose with it, sneaking in safely inside the top corner for a goal.
It was ultimately reviewed as fans hit the brakes on exiting the arena. But after a handful of suspenseful minutes the goal stood. Game 3 was on.
“It’s that time of year,” Strand said. “You better bring it the whole time. Our execution level wasn’t good enough to get the outcome we wanted.”
The Mavericks did have a bounty of opportunities. In fact they had a 1-0 lead when junior and Ferris State transfer Luigi Benincasa buried a rebound for a 1-0 lead with 3:18 remaining in the second. It was at that moment where MSU’s home rink came to life after countless scoring chances were either blocked or were a tick off.
Then the Bulldogs came up with the equalizer a little over two minutes later. Connor McGrath fed a one-time pass to John Lundy, who was left in front of the net, buried the shot and ultimately found himself in the net to tie the game 1-1.
The Mavericks put 29 shots on FSU goalie Martin Lundberg. The Bulldogs also blocked 29 shots.
In fact the teams combined to block more shots (44) than shots on goal (42). A total of 25 MSU shot attempts did not register on goal.
It also doesn’t help that MSU’s power play also continues to leak oil. The Mavericks were 0 for 3 on the man advantage Saturday.
And while the third opportunity did see crisp passes and a handful of opportunities to take the lead, the Mavericks are still looking for their first power play goal since Feb. 20, the first game of a road series against Bowling Green. MSU scored on the man advantage on its first power play. Since then it’s gone 0 for 18.
“There has to be a selfishness to the point of execution,” Strand said. “There has to be an unselfishness to share the puck at a pace that’s going to connect.”
Note the Mavericks’ bid for another Mason Cup and its 2025-26 season hangs in the balance in one game Sunday.
“Every guy in here wants to go further,” Benincasa said. “We’re all willing to do whatever it takes to keep going.”