MANKATO — A 5-2 win should leave any hockey team happy.
In the case of No. 15 Minnesota State women’s hockey Friday’s 5-2 win over Dartmouth left it wanting more.
“As far as a consistent full team effort I thought we were a little bit lacking. We can be sharper,” MSU head coach Shari Dickerman said. “We won a game 5-2 at home and didn’t play great. That’s a sign of a good hockey team. We’re happy with that.”
Fresh off a series sweep over No. 2 Minnesota, the Mavericks returned to their home ice Friday. At times they were sluggish. At times they were on point.
And there were two instances where goals came easy to score.
Freshman phenom Mercury Bischoff found herself 1 on 1 with Big Green goalie Michaela Hesova. But defenseman Miami Jones caught up to Bischoff and drug her down to the ice.
Instead of a two-minute minor penalty the Mavericks opted to let Bischof attempt a penalty shot. She was successful, beating Hesova under her sprawling left pad for a 1-0 7:31 into the second period.
“She’s electric, and she has poise with the puck,” Dickerman said of Bischoff. “It was good to see her score that one and kind of let the team take an exhale.”
Less than four minutes later freshman Sophie Stramel threaded a precise one-time pass to Whitney Tuttle, who was left unoccupied posted next to the net for a 2-0 lead.
Dartmouth cut the MSU lead in half off a third-chance opportunity to end the second period, but the Mavericks didn’t flinch.
Sophomore Ayla Puppe found the back of the net 4:42 to re-take a two-goal advantage. Then the goals began to pour again.
Junior Lauren Goldsworthy fired from the slot with heavy traffic in front of Hesova. Her shot found the back of the net for a 4-1 lead 9:35 into the third period. Freshman Zoe Lopez needed 11 seconds to give MSU a 5-1 lead.
“Goals are the biggest way to get a team going,” Tuttle said. “When you get two (goals) really quick in a row like that it changes the entire energy. The ice kind of tilts.”
Junior goalkeeper Hailey Hansen turned away 24 of 26 shots. Tuttle finished with a goal and an assist. Lauren Zawoyski added two helpers. Lilie Ramirez and Lucie Tenenbaum each had an assist.
The Mavericks and Big Green play at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.