MANKATO – Earlier Friday, Minnesota State forward Zach Krajnik was named a finalist for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Defensive Forward of the Year. But it was his offense that excelled Friday night.
The graduate senior came into the contest with just one goal on the season. He tallied three Friday night as MSU defeated Lake Superior State 4-1 in the first game of a best-of-three CCHA Mason Cup quarterfinal series at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
Minnesota State, the regular season CCHA champions, defeated the Lakers all four times during the regular season, including a sweep in Michigan two weeks ago.
The Mavericks were aggressive early on, controlling the puck in the LSS zone for the first five minutes. At the 5:12 mark, Krajnik connected on his first goal of the evening. His attempted pass from behind the goal bounced off Lakers goaltender Rorke Applebee into the net for a 1-0 Mavericks lead.
Krajnik’s next goal came later in the first period. He faked a slap shot on the right side to get Applebee leaning forward, then went backhand high into the center of the goal for a 2-0 MSU lead at the 13:28 mark.
MSU goaltender Alex Tracy was not very busy for the first 11 minutes of the game. He didn’t face his first shot until the 11:35 mark of the opening period. He did have a nice save on an LSS breakaway shortly thereafter. He later allowed a goal by Timo Bakos at the 16:15 mark of the period, which cut MSU’s lead to 2-1 after the first 20 minutes.
Tracy had a busy second period. The Lakers had three power play opportunities but Tracy was stout on each one, stopping all eight shots he faced when down a man. He kept the game at 2-1 going into the third.
The Mavericks got a key insurance goal early in the third period. Evan Murr had a hard slap shot that bounced high off the post. When the puck came down, Brian Carrabes was there to place the rebound into the net for a 3-1 MSU advantage.
Krajnik completed his first career hat trick as a Maverick with an empty netter with just under two minutes remaining.
Luigi Benincasa assisted on both of Krajnik’s first period goals. Carrabes added an assist as well for his two-point night.
Earlier in the week, Tracy was acknowledged as the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) National Goaltender for February. He stopped 20 of 21 shots he faced Friday night.
Minnesota State (24-8-3) and Lake Superior State return to Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center Saturday at 6:07 p.m. for Game 2 of the CCHA Mason Cup quarterfinal series.