Mankato, Minn. --- #20 Minnesota State got a goal and an assist from sophomore defenseman
Jaden Schmeisser and a pair of goals from hot-handed
Michael Huntebrinker in skating past Alabama Huntsville 4-1 in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action Saturday in Mankato.
With tonight's result, Minnesota State extends its unbeaten streak to nine games.
At 8:13 of the first, freshman forward
Jetlan Houcher wristed a shot from the left circle that beat Jason Pawloski on the far side to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead. The goal marked the 13
th time in 20 games this year that the opponents had scored the game's first goal versus the Mavericks.
The Mavericks evened it up at 4:12 of the second after
Casey Nelson set up
Michael Huntebrinker in front of the UAH net with a pass from the side. Huntebrinker made no mistake in beating
Carmine Guerriero to make it 1-1 with his third goal of the season and extending his point-scoring streak to eight games. Sophomore
C.J. Franklin one-timed a pass from
Jaden Schmeisser past Guerriero at 9:27 for his sixth goal of the season in giving the Mavericks a 2-1 lead. Then Schmeisser, playing in his 18
th career game, got his first goal as a Maverick when his shot from the point found the back of the net at 13:05.
Huntebrinker added an empty net tally at 18:18 of the third to close out the scoring in the game.
Minnesota State outshot the Chargers by a 41-15 margin in the win and freshman netminder
Jason Pawloski, who started his eighth consecutive game, stopped 14 shots in remaining undefeated for the season. He now stands 7-0-4 in his first year of college hockey.
Minnesota State, which stands 10-6-4 overall and owns a 9-1-4 WCHA mark, is off until Jan. 8-9 when Northern Michigan visits Mankato for a two-game WCHA series at Verizon Wireless Center.
Head coach
Mike Hastings commented following the win.
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