SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The shots just weren’t turning into goals for the Minnesota State men’s hockey team.
MSU had 30 shots on goal in the first two periods, yet still trailed Augustana 1-0 going into the third.
The Mavericks finally broke through a few times in the final frame, rallying to beat the Vikings 2-1 in a nonconference game Saturday night. The teams played to a 3-3 tie in Game 1 of the series Friday night.
“I like that they stayed on a team plan,” MSU coach Luke Strand said. “Guys didn’t go rogue trying to do things by themselves. That showed some maturity out of our group.”
Luke Mobley scored the Vikings’ lone goal of the game at 11:05 of the first period, a power-play marker.
Sam Morton finally got MSU on the scoreboard at 8:01 of the third period. He fired home a wrist shot from the mid-slot after Brandon Koch’s rebound ended up right on his stick.
Evan Murr also got an assist on the goal.
Morton was in the middle of the game-winning goal as well, sending a nifty backhand feed to Adam Eisele, who ripped home a power-play goal at 17:59 from point-blank range. Murr got his second assist of the game on the play.
“He’s kind of playing chess while others are playing checkers. He’s under control,” Strand said. “He’s been an excellent leader, all while keeping his own game intact. That’s not easy.”
The Vikings pushed to tie the game down the stretch with their goaltender pulled, but the Mavericks were able to hold on.
Shots on goal favored MSU 42-29.
Keenan Rancier made 28 saves to get the win.
The Mavericks (9-8-3, 5-4-1 in CCHA) will host Ferris State for a series on Friday and Saturday at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
“We needed to win after break here,” Strand said. “I thought we showed a lot of good signs of our game improving over the last six periods.
Follow Kevin Dudley on Twitter @Dudley7Kevin.