SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – At the end of the day they enter Christmas break at the top of the CCHA standings.
No. 14 Minnesota State hockey dug itself out of an early hole, but couldn’t complete the comeback in a 5-4 shootout loss to Augustana Saturday. The Mavericks enter the holiday break with a record of 11-4-5 overall and an 8-3-3 record in CCHA play.
“I liked our 5 on 5 play,” MSU head coach Luke Strand said. “I was disappointed in our special teams.”
Down 4-2 the Mavericks found another dose of second period magic.
Jack Smith’s power play shot smacked the far post. Reid Morich mopped up the rebound at 10:58 for his second of the season. Less than two minutes later Ralfs Bergmanis tied the game 4-4 with his shot through traffic from the left point.
After that no one else scored in regulation. And despite having two minutes of 4 on 3 hockey MSU couldn’t sneak anything past Josh Kotai. Augustana’s Nace Langus, who scored the final goal in the first period, scored the lone goal in the fourth round of the shootout.
Despite the quiet third period, this game had a bit of everything.
Junior Ean Somoza scored his first goal in an MSU jersey, and similar to Friday the Vikings evened the game off a breakaway.
Moments later Jacob Jastrzebski took Augustana’s first ever penalty shot. He beat Alex Tracy glove side for a 2-1 lead.
On a 4 on 4 MSU junior Evan Murr fired on net. Senior Jack Smith tipped the puck into the back of the net to tie the game 2-2.
All of that transpired within the games first 8:18.
But the Vikings walked into intermission with a 4-2 lead, striking first with 4:45 left in the frame and scoring on the power play with 24 seconds remaining. It’s the first time Augustana has scored four goals in the first period, needing 10 shots to accomplish the milestone.
“Augustana’s a good team, and they’ve only gotten better,” Strand said. “At the same time there were some moments where we looked tired. But, our 5 on 5 game was air tight.”
Before the Mavericks get time off for Christmas they will face Switzerland in a World Juniors Pre-Tournament exhibition game at 7 p.m. Tuesday at May Clinic Health System Event Center.
It’ll be a chance for MSU to tinker with adjustments while facing one of the 10 teams vying for a Gold Medal in this year’s World Junior Championships in Minneapolis.
“We’re going to really use some length in the lineup for what we have to get ready for post-break,” Strand said. “It’ll be an opportunity for some guys to get in there, showcase and have opportunities. We also have to be ready to go on the other side of the holiday.”
But after the showdown with the Swiss the Mavericks will get much needed rest. They sat and watched scoreboards in the opening week. Since then it’s been 10 straight weekends of hockey action.
Their next game will be against University of Massachusetts Lowell on Jan. 2 as part of the Coachella Cactus Cup in Palm Springs, California.
“There’s never the right time, and there’s never the wrong time,” Strand said of the break. “The first half (of the season) was grueling. We’ve got some time here for the guys got to celebrate where we’re at. Then we’ll just get ready to move forward.”