MANKATO – Close games seem to be the way it’s going to be this season.
Minnesota State is enjoying the fruits of the close victories and the pain of the losses. Saturday was no exception in a 1-1 tie with Bowling Green.
“In a one-goal game, you have to be comfortable in your plan,” Mavericks coach Luke Strand said. “You don’t need to a hero. You just need to go about your business and stay the course.”
For the second straight night, Minnesota State and Bowling Green went to overtime, but on Saturday, it was the Falcons came away with a shootout victory in a CCHA men’s hockey game Saturday in front of 4,119 fans at Mayo Clinic Health System Events Center.
In 10 games, the Mavericks have gone to overtime five times, with one loss, one win in a three-player shootout and three losses in the shootout. There has also been a one-goal victory and another that would have been a one-game victory if not for a late empty-net goal.
“We can’t take our foot off the gas,” MSU forward Luigi Benincasa said. “Both games this weekend ended up in a shootout, but we can’t keep putting ourselves in that situation.”
Neither team scored in the first period, with each putting eight shots on goal. The Mavericks had some chances on a pair of power plays in the opening period but couldn’t solve BGSU goaltender Jacob Steinman.
On the other end, MSU phenom Alex Tracy wasn’t tested severely but stopped everything that came at him.
The Mavericks put on extended pressure early in the second period, leading to another power play. Even though the Mavericks weren’t able to score with the man-advantage, the goal came just five seconds later. Liam Watkins picked up the puck in front of the net and backhanded a pass to Benincasa alone at the opposite corner for the first goal.
“You look at the stat sheet, and it says we didn’t score on the power play,” Strand said. “But the power play set up that goal.”
BGSU tied the game six minutes later as the Mavericks were tagged with consecutive penalties. Both Steinman and Tracy survived pressure with some brilliant saves to keep the score tied 1-1 despite tempers flaring on both sides, heading into the final period.
There were more penalties than goals in the third period, and the Mavericks went to overtime for the second consecutive game and fifth time in 10 games. As like Friday, neither team scored in overtime, though Tracy had to stop a breakaway in the final seconds.
“He bailed me out there,” Benincasa said. “He’s definitely one of the best (goaltenders) in college hockey.”
BGSU won the shootout as the Mavericks failed on all three tries. The Falcons had a 32-27 advantage on shots on goal and had 10 penalties, three more than the Mavericks
“I feel like we’re growing in some of those (close-game) situations, but we want to start seeing some of the rewards,” Strand said.
The Mavericks (4-2-4, 1-12 in CCHA) play at Lake Superior State at 6 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday.