Anchorage, Alaska --- Third-ranked Minnesota State scored three times in the second period in pulling away for a 7-1 win in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game played at Alaska Anchorage Friday.

The Mavericks, who lead the country in wins, have now won 19 of their last 23 games.

Senior winger Nick Rivera got his stick on a shot from defenseman Ian Scheid in scoring his fifth goal of the year at the 4:37 of the opening period in giving the Mavericks a 1-0 lead.  Minnesota State outshot the Seawolves by a 12-8 margin in the first 20 minutes of action and for the 23rd time this year, scored the game's first goal.

The Mavericks opened things up in the second period with three unanswered goals. Junior defenseman Connor Mackey scored his fourth goal of the season at 5:54 on the power play, ripping a shot from the top of the left circle past Kristian Stead high on the glove side.  Sophomore winger Chris Van Os-Shaw found a quiet spot on the left side of the ice and made no mistake after getting a pass from Mackey in tallying his second goal of the year at the 18:29 mark.  A minute later, junior forward Walker Duehr tallied his second goal of the year and Minnesota State entered the locker room after 40 minutes of action owning a 4-0 lead.

The Mavericks repeated their second-period output by tacking on three more goals in the final stanza.  Junior defenseman Jack McNeely connected on a slap shot from the right side at 2:13 and 20 seconds later junior forward Dallas Gerads made a nice move down low and his fifth goal of the year made it a 6-1 Minnesota State lead.  Freshman center Nathan Smith closed out the scoring with his seventh goal of the season at 3:34.  The Seawolves got on the board at 15:58 when Alex Frye connected on a shot from the right side of the crease.

The Mavericks outshot the Seawolves by a 37-21 margin in the contest and Minnesota State sophomore netminder Dryden McKay upped his record on the season to 23-3-1 with the victory.

Sophomore forward Julian Napravnik contributed three assists in the game, while Connor Mackey also had a three-point night (goal, two assists). Charlie Gerard (two assists), Chris Van Os-Shaw and Dallas Gerads (goal, assist) all finished with two points each.

The Mavericks, now 24-4-1 overall and 18-3-0 WCHA, and the Seawolves (4-16- 5 overall, 4-13-4WCHA) close out the two-game league series tomorrow night.

Head coach Mike Hastings commented following the game.


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