Mankato, Minn. --- Fourth-rated Minnesota State got goals from five different players in skating past Lake Superior State, 5-2, in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association contest played in Mankato Friday evening.
Freshman forward
C.J. Franklin took a pass from
Matt Leitner and snapped a shot past
Gordon Defiel on the stickside at 13:27 of the first period to open the scoring. The goal is Franklin's fourth of the season.
Then, with the Mavericks on the power play, junior defenseman
Blake Thompson slid one along the ice from the point that made its way through more than a few legs before finding the back of the net at 6:46 of the second. The Lakers made it a 2-1 game at 7:08 when
Alex Globke beat
Cole Huggins for his second goal of the year.
Senior defenseman
Zach Palmquist scored on the backdoor at 2:28 of the third with the Mavericks on the power play. Lake Superior State responded in kind at 3:04 with
Daniel Vernace tallying his second of the season. With Mavericks shorthanded, junior forward
Bryce Gervais made a nifty on a partial breakaway in scoring his 13
th goal of the season at 9:29 after Matt Leitner dug the puck out of the corner.
Senior forward
Matt Leitner had three assists in the victory, including one on the game-winner by
Zach Palmquist.
C.J. Franklin had a goal and an assist and sophomore netminder
Cole Huggins upped his record to 4-2-0 on the year by turning aside 21 shots.
Minnesota State, which converted on three-of-eight power play chances, outshot Lake Superior State by a 39-23 margin in the game.
The Mavericks are now 15-4-1 on the season (12-2-1 WCHA) with tonight's victory, while Lake Superior State drops to 4-8-1 (3-12-0 WCHA).
The Mavericks are now 10-1-1 in their last 12 games.
The two teams close out the two-game WCHA series Saturday at Verizon Wireless Center with a 7:07 p.m. face-off scheduled.
Head coach
Mike Hastings commented following the win.
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