Mankato, Minn. --- Minnesota State found a 3-0 first-period deficit insurmountable as St. Cloud State claimed a 5-1 victory over the Mavericks in St. Cloud Friday in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association opening game for both schools.

SCSU capitalized on its first power play opportunity at 7:34 of the opening period with Ben Hanowski batting a pass from Drew LeBlanc past MSU senior netminder Phil Cook high on the stickside.  The Huskies then scored a pair of goals 34 seconds apart late in the period.  Hanowski scored on a breakaway at 14:48 and Nic Dowd one-timed a shot past Cook at 15:22 and SCSU entered the locker room owning a 3-0 edge.

Following a scoreless second period, junior defenseman Evan Mosey wired a shot past Ryan Faragher on the stickside as the Mavericks got on the board at 8:57 of the final frame.  LeBlanc closed out the scoring at 19:12.
 
Minnesota State, now 2-1-2 overall on the season, was outshot 28-23 in the game.  The Mavericks went 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Huskies were one-for-5. The game was played in front of 3,901 fans.

MSU and SCSU will close out the two-game league series Saturday night with a 7:07 p.m. face-off scheduled at National Hockey Center.

Minnesota State head coach Mike Hastings commented after the game.