Huntsville, Ala. ---   Including the game-winning goal, 19^th-rated Minnesota State senior forward Zach Stepan scored twice as the Mavericks fended off a late Alabama Huntsville charge Saturday in gaining a 3-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association road victory in Huntsville, Ala.
 
The Mavericks got rolling following a five-minute major assessed to UAH forward Cody Maroony by scoring a pair power play goals en route to a 2-0 lead after the first 20 minutes of action. Freshman defenseman Ian Scheid jumped on a rebound to score his fifth goal of the year at 11:30 in opening scoring in the game. Senior forward Zach Stepan one-timed a shot on the glove side past Charger netminder Carmine Guerriero after taking a cross-ice pass from Zeb Knutson for his first goal of the season at 13:52.
 
Stepan, who hadn't scored since Feb. 12, 2016 in a 3-3 with Alabama Huntsville, got his second of the game when he deflected a shot into the net for a power play marker at 16:37 of the second.
 
The Chargers would not go silently into the night, however, pulling within one goal of the Mavericks with a pair of third-period goals markers to make the final score 3-2.  Max McHugh scored on a scramble in ending Minnesota State netminder Aaron Nelson's shut-out streak at 105:32.  The final goal of the game came at the 6:24 mark on a backhander from Hans Gorowsky.
 
The Chargers, who haven't beaten Minnesota State since the 2001-02 season (MSU has now gone 18-0-4 in the last 22 games between the two schools), outshot the Mavericks by a 31-25 margin in the game.
 
Nelson, who made his second consecutive start, stopped 29 shots in raising his record to 2-0-0 for the year.
 
Now 13-7-2 overall and 9-5-2 WCHA for the season, the Mavericks return home to host Bowling Green in pair of WCHA contests next Friday and Saturday.

Head coach Mike Hastings commented following the game.


 
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