Princeton, N.J. ---   19^th-rated Minnesota State jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead and never trailed in downing Princeton 5-4 in a men's college hockey nonconference game Saturday.
 
Minnesota State owned much of the territorial advantage in the first 20 minutes of play and it didn't take long for the visiting Mavericks to score the game's first goal when freshman forward Nick Rivera cashed in on a rebound chance at the 54-second mark for his fourth goal of the season. Then, at 8:47 shortly following a Minnesota State power play, freshman forward Mark Michaelis pounced on the puck after Colton Phinney had initially stopped a shot from C.J. Franklin to score his tenth goal of the year. The Mavericks outshot the Tigers by a 23-10 margin in the first period.
 
The two teams connected for six goals in the second period with Princeton scoring the first two, the Mavericks the next two and the Tigers the last two. The Minnesota State two-goal lead disappeared in the first three minutes of the middle frame when Jackson Cresse and Ryan Kuffner tallied goals for Princeton to knot the score at 2-2. Franklin rifled a shot from the right dot past Phinney for a power play goal at 5:57 and Daniel Brickley's wrister from far out found the back of the net at 9:13 allowing the Mavericks to regain their two-goal edge. Princeton responded with a pair of power play markers – the first on a five-on-three by Kuffner at 12:04 and the second by defenseman Josh Teves at 15:35 – and the two teams stood tied at 4-4 at the end of 40 minutes of action.
 
Senior forward Michael Huntebrinker got the game-winner at 4:27 of the final period when he went forehand-backhand to beat Phinney for his third goal of the season. For Huntebrinker, who hadn't scored since Oct. 29 (versus Ferris State), the goal is his first career game-winning tally.
 
Michaelis, who entered the game as the second-highest scoring freshman in the country, finished with a three-point night on a goal and two assists.
 
The Mavericks owned a 48-36 advantage in shots on goal and converted on one-of-seven power play chances in the contest. The Tigers, who came into tonight owning a five-game winning streak, finished the game with a two-for-six performance with the man advantage.
 
Now 11-7-2 overall for the season, the Mavericks are off until resuming action Jan. 6-7 with a Western Collegiate Hockey Association road series at Alabama-Huntsville.
 
Head coach Mike Hastings commented following the game