MANKATO — Something had to give.
No. 20 Minnesota State men’s hockey entered Saturday’s CCHA tilt against its vaunted rival in No. 14 Augustana on a streak colder than the arctic air outside of Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. The Mavericks had dropped seven of their last eight games.
But to the delight of the 4,808 fans in attendance, the skid ended there.
Junior Ean Somoza came up with the biggest game of his MSU career with two third-period goals in a 4-1 win.
“We got here from a Monday through Thursday mindset,” MSU head coach Luke Strand said. “I can’t say we got off that course. We don’t get to practice the way that we practice when you’re short bodies, you’re injured and you’re tired. It’s just too hard. This has probably got us back (on track).”
The teams carried a 1-1 tie into the third period, which didn’t start on schedule. There was a 15-minute delay to repair a chunk of the ice near, around and in the crease closest to the MSU student section.
It also delayed the inevitable for the Vikings.
Leading up to Saturday’s game the Mavericks knew that they needed to get traffic in front of the net for second and third chance opportunities against Josh Kotai. It’s how MSU got on the board early in the second when senior Tristan Lemyre’s shot near the blue line was tipped by junior Luigi Benincasa.
That gameplan continued. Somoza capitalized on a third-chance opportunity 1:05 into the third period for a 2-1 lead which sent the home crowd into a controlled frenzy.
“That was surreal,” Somoza said. “That was kind of an eye opening moment. This is unbelievable to see… how excited (fans get) and how much support we have for us. It makes us play that much harder, and it also gives us that much more momentum.”
But Somoza didn’t stop there.
Near the halfway mark of the third period he found himself open near the crease with the puck in front of him, the net primarily open. As he was tripped to the ice he buried the puck past the goal line for a 4-1 lead with 10:01 to go.
“Not all the goals are going to be pretty, but that’s our brand of hockey,” Somoza said. “That’s what we’ve been working on. We’re taking eyes away, we’re jamming, we’re hard to play against. We want to suffocate teams, and we want to work it to the net, get shots, tips and just bang away.”
Oh, and Lemyre’s impact didn’t come on MSU’s first goal. He beat Kotai where Mom keeps the cookie jar for a 3-1 lead.
Things did not go MSU’s way out of the chutes. Augustana’s first shot of the game saw Colton Friesen left wide-open next to the net, burying a one-timer that found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead 2:17 into the game.
That was also the only goal senior Alex Tracy surrendered all night, stopping the next 16 Vikings shots.
“It was good to give the kid some (goal) support,” Strand said. “It’s been a while. It’s a different atmosphere in the crease when you get a little bit of help.”
The Mavericks hit the road to face Ferris State starting at 6 p.m. Friday.