MANKATO — The points keep rolling for No. 13 Minnesota State men’s hockey.
Behind a two goal night from Tristan Lemyre and another brilliant performance in net from Alex Tracy the Mavericks knocked off Ferris State 5-1 Friday for their seventh-straight win.
“Success is built by consistency,” MSU head coach Luke Strand said. “We’re working hard to find moments where we’re just a standard team, opponentless. There were some great moments of that. Then there were some moments where you’re like ‘come on guys, let’s snap out of this.’”
Tracy turned away 22 of 23 shots to improve to 11-2-4 on the season while earning his 56th career victory.
“There were definitely some ups and downs during the game,” Lemyre said. “Tracy … man, he came up clutch for us.”
And while Tracy held down the back end, he got help from everyone else.
Senior Jack Smith’s wrap around attempt 92 seconds into the game proved to be successful for a 1-0 lead. Fin Williams doubled the lead with under five minutes left in the opening stanza in a mad scramble in front of the net which saw bodies fly like kites in a wind storm.
The push didn’t stop there.
Sawyer Scholl and Jakob Stender found themselves on a 2 on 1 while shorthanded. Scholl waited to rope a pass past a diving Bulldog. Stender hesitated a 1/2 second to get an opening on the right side of the net to bury his second goal of the season and a 3-1 lead.
MSU went on the power play with under four minutes to go in the frame. Alex Zetterberg fed Ralfs Bergmanis, who dished it off to Lemyre for his ninth goal of the season and a 4-0 lead.
Lemyre added another goal in the third for his team-leading 10th of the season.
The Mavericks are also beginning to come back to full strength.
Junior Ean Somoza, who hasn’t played since the series opener at Wisconsin on Oct. 16, is nearing his return to the lineup.
Somoza went through pregame warmups on Friday. His energy was infectious on the ice, but he’s yet to ramp up to full capacity.
The Mavericks are taking a patient approach to unleash the 6-foot-3 Western Michigan transfer back onto the ice.
“His confidence is up there as far as how he feels,” Strand said. “He’s been aces as far as meetings, timing and understanding that he’s actually probably in better shape now. To come back stronger than when you were injured is hard to do, but he’s found a way.”
Before the game Strand was recognized for being a recipient of LG Electronics USA’s second annual LG Life’s Good Coaches Award.
This is an honor given to NCAA collegiate coaches who create supportive team environments and break down the stigma around mental health issues for their student-athletes. Strand was nominated not by some random booster or anyone on the athletic department’s payroll.
He was nominated by the MSU roster. And while he was quick to thank a lot of contributing factors, the Mankato community was toward the top of the list.
“This is a home away from home for every single player. None of them are from here,” Strand said. “The way the whole community opens up to our guys and makes them feel valuable outside of the rink is one of the biggest moments of these guys’ lives at this age. It will be a place to remember forever because of a lot of things.
“The wins are one thing, but those moments of connectivity are huge.”
Bergmanis finished with two assists. Smith finished with a goal and an assist.
The Mavericks and Bulldogs play at 6:07 p.m. Saturday.