Houghton, Mich. --- Minnesota State claimed a 6-3 win at 16th-rated Michigan Tech Saturday night in ending a six-game losing streak.
The Mavericks struck first at 11:46 after freshman forward
Jean-Paul Lafontaine finished off a pair of nice passes from
Johnny McInnis and
Zach Palmquist with a power play tally from in front of the net. Tech’s
Jacob Johnstone took a pass from behind the net and beat MSU senior netminder
Austin Lee at 14:26 to tie the game and then when
Blake Pietala scored at 15:16, it stood 2-1 in favor of the Huskies. But when senior forward
Michael Dorr scored on a breakway at 16:23, the opening period ended knotted at 2-2.
Lafontaine tipped
Joe Schiller’s pass from the right boards past Robinson at 11:46 for his second goal of the game in giving MSU a 3-2 advantage, but the lead was short-lived with
Tanner Kero scoring on a rebound at 15:25 and the score stood 3-3 after two periods of play.
At 4:49 of the third period, freshman forward
Matt Leitner scored on a five-on-three power play when he rifled a shot along the ice beat Robinson on the stickside. Freshman defenseman
Mat Knoll’s shot from the top of the circle bounced in off of a Tech defender’s skate at 9:58 for his first career goal. Leitner’s empty-net tally at 18:41 closed out the scoring in the game.
Both teams ended up with 45 shots on goal as Lee finished with 42 saves for the Mavericks. MSU finished the game with a two-for-five ledger in power play chances, while Tech was unsuccessful in five chances.
The five goals by the Mavericks represent a single-game high for 2011-12.
Now 2-6-0, 1-3-0 WCHA on the year, the Mavericks entertain St. Cloud State in Mankato next Friday and Saturday in their next action.
