Minnesota State Downed in 4-3 Triple-Overtime Thriller at Minnesota

2/27/2010 8:29:29 PM

Box Score MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.--- After a game one loss to the third-ranked Golden Gophers Friday evening, the seventh-seeded Mavericks took the ice at Ridder Arena for game two Saturday afternoon and suffered a 4-3 triple overtime loss that ended their season.

MSU opened up scoring in the contest when senior forward Jenna Hewitt was able to sneak the puck behind Gopher goaltender Noora Raty for the go-ahead goal. Rookie forward Lauren Smith helped setup Hewitt's opening tally.

The Gophers took advantage of a five-on-three opportunity at the 11:15 mark of the first when rookie defenseman Megan Bozek rifled a shot from the point past MSU goaltender Alli Altmann to put Minnesota on the board. Assists on the goal went to sophomores Sarah Erickson and Anne Schleper.

Minnesota earned their first lead of the contest just 2:31 into the second on another power play tally. Senior forward Brittany Francis cleaned up a rebound putting the puck upstairs in the back of the net.

Sophomore forward Moira O’Connorscored the equalizer for MSU at the 12:29 mark in the second making the score, 2-2. Fellow sophomore forward Lisa Edman sent a pass up ice to O'Connor who capitalized on the breakaway chance, beating Raty top-shelf, glove-side.

With just :19 left in the second, Gopher senior forward Kelli Blankenship scored on a wrister from the right circle to put Minnesota up, 3-2 heading into the third period.

The back and forth battle continued early in the third period when MSU knotted up the contest at three. O'Connor tallied her second goal of the game, seventh of the season, after collecting a rebound and burying the puck in the open net. Smith earned her second helper of the contest, senior blueliner Kathleen Rosso also tallied an assist.

Three periods of play were not enough for the Gophers and the Mavericks sending the contest into the extra session.

Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first overtime or second overtimes, so the game would head to a third extra session. It took just a 1:16 into the third overtime to find a winner and it would be Minnesota Gopher senior Emily West who ended the contest.

Altmann finished the triple overtime contest with 37 saves, while Minnesota netminder Raty ened up with 41. The Mavericks outshot the Gophers for the second night in a row, 44-41.

MSU finished the contest 0-5 with an extra attack, while Minnesota finished 2-6.

The overtime loss marks the first of its kind this season, the last of which came November 14, 2008 against St. Cloud State in which MSU was defeated 3-2. The last MSU win in overtime came October 18, 2008 at North Dakota when they defeated the UND, 5-4. Minnesota State's only other playoff game that went to overtime came in the 2006-07 season when MSU lost to Ohio State, 5-4.

It marked the first-time in program history Minnesota State participated in both double and triple overtime games and with that, the longest game in the history of MSU women's hockey, lasting three hours and 47 minutes from start to finish.

The Mavericks finish their season with a 7-22-5 overall record and a 5-18-5 in the WCHA after the hard fought loss.

To view game stats, click HERE.

To view season stats, click HERE.

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