DULUTH, Minn. --- Minnesota State drops the series finale contest against Minnesota Duluth 2-1 Saturday afternoon at AMSOIL Arena.
 
After a scoreless first period, the Bulldogs scored two goals in the second period to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission. The first goal was scored 12:43 into the period when Gabby Hughes beat three Maverick defenders and squeaked one in between freshman Abigail Levy's skate and the post. With less than two minutes remaining in the period, UMD extended their lead to 2-0 when Anneke Linser took a blocked shot and fired it into the top right corner of the goal.
 
The third period was back and forth between the two teams with neither team keeping possession of the puck very long. It was not until there was 38 seconds left in the third period when the Mavericks got on the board. Levy was pulled to gain an extra attacker and it paid off as senior Corbin Boyd was able to tip in her fifth goal of the season off sophomore Brittyn Fleming's shot. That cut the score to 2-1, but Minnesota State was unable to get a game-tying goal before time expired.
 
Levy (8-7-3) totaled 32 saves on 34 opportunities while her counterpart, Emma Soderberg made 19 saves on 20 opportunities.
 
The Mavericks were able to kill all four penalties throughout the game and failed to score on the only power-play opportunity. Despite the loss, this is the latest in the season that MSU has a record of .500 or better since the 2006-07 season.
 
Minnesota State (8-6-3, 3-6-2-1 WCHA) will be off during the holiday break until Jan. 5 when the first round of the Minnesota Cup will be played against St. Cloud State in Minneapolis, Minn., at 1:07 p.m.