MANKATO — If it’s Saturday night at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, it must be overtime.
For the third Saturday-night home game in a row, the Minnesota State men’s hockey went to extra time against a CCHA opponent.
“It’s fun,” Mavericks senior forward Rhett Pitlick said.
It certainly was for Pitlick and his teammates this time, as Pitlick’s power-play goal 94 seconds into the extra session gave them a 3-2 victory and extended their unbeaten streak to nine games.
Before a crowd of 3,982, Pitlick finished with two goals and an assist, and defenseman Campbell Cichosz scored MSU’s other goal.
Pitlick nearly had a breakaway opportunity early in the overtime, but he was slashed on his way to a loose puck, drawing a penalty and setting up the player advantage.
Both Pitlick and coach Luke Strand were asked if they thought a penalty shot was going to be called.
“I would have been OK with that,” Strand said.
Pitlick smiled: “I think it worked out either way.”
Indeed, Pitlick, the Mavericks’ leader with seven goals this season, hammered Josh Groll’s pass behind goalie Cole Moore on a one-timer from the right circle to seal the series sweep.
“A way I look at hockey is, one-timers are an amazing thing,” Pitlick said. “I think Josh Groll and I have good chemistry to set each other up, and that’s exactly what happened. I’m grateful he made that pass.”
Moore had been almost impossible to solve since Bowling Green tied the game at 2-2 early in the third period, saving all 24 shots he faced in the final frame to get the game to overtime. The 6-foot-6 sophomore goaltender finished with 33 saves, while the Mavericks’ Alex Tracy stopped 16 of 18 shots for the win.
The Falcons grabbed the early advantage, as Ben Doran ripped a shot past Tracy off a rush at 3:49 of the first period.
That lead lasted a mere 12 seconds, however, as the Mavericks tied the game on a rush of their own. Pitlick scored the goal, easily tapping in Kaden Bohlsen’s cross-ice pass on a 2-on-1 sprung immediately after the faceoff following Bowling Green’s score.
The Mavericks went ahead 2-1 lead at 11:18 of the second period on Cichosz’s goal from the right point. It was just the second career goal for the junior defenseman from Albert Lea, who was playing in his 86th game.
“The thing you cannot take away from Campbell Cichosz is his approach day to day, the way he works, the way he wants to learn,” Strand said.
The Falcons didn’t go away, and 92 seconds into the third period, Jaden Grant tied the game 2-2, banging in teammate Brett Pfoh’s behind-the-net pass.
Minnesota State’s push to get a regulation win was stymied by Moore, whose saves included a stop on another Pitlick one-timer and another on which he dived across the front of his goal to knock away a shot by Luigi Benincasa late in the period.
The game seemed to slow down for the Mavericks in overtime.
“They were patient,” Strand said. “I love that they didn’t force it. I love the fact that they took their time selflessly. … (Pitlick) had a great look earlier that Moore had a huge save on, and then he comes back and has a rewind of the same-looking play. But he finished the job.”
And avoided a third-straight Saturday-night shootout at home.
“I’m just happy for the guys,” Strand said. “It’s hard to sweep in college hockey.”
The Mavericks (12-4-2, 7-1-2 in CCHA) will host Lake Superior State on Friday and Saturday, their final series before the holiday break.