BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Minnesota State and Bemidji State skated to a 1-1 tie in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series finale, Saturday afternoon at the Sanford Center.

The Mavericks came out on top in the best-of-three shootout, 1-0, to earn an extra point in the conference standings, which now has them situated at fifth in the WCHA with 18 points. Sophomore forward Sydney Langseth was the Mavericks' lone goal scorer in the extra period while junior goaltender Calla Frank stopped each of the Beavers' three shootout attempts.

The tie is the first of the season for the Mavericks, who now stand 9-10-1 overall with a 5-10-1 mark in league action. The Beavers remain sixth in the WCHA with a 7-10-3 overall record as well as a 4-10-2 mark in conference play.

The first period was a scoreless one between the two in-state rivals. The Mavericks were winning the shots battle, 8-3, heading into the first intermission.

In the second period, Beavers' forward Lindsey Featherstone broke the scoreless tie on a one-time shot from the slot that beat Frank over her glove hand at the 11:23 mark of the middle period. Despite MSU owning the shots on goal advantage, 13-8, BSU was leading in the score column, 1-0, after 40 minutes of action.

Sophomore forward Madison Mashuga tied the game, 1-1, at 12:33 of the third period when she fired home a shot from the slot for her fourth goal of the season. At the end of regulation, the Mavericks and Beavers were still tied at 1-1. Even with the addition of the five-minute overtime, 65 minutes of action in total was not enough to determine a winner, and the game officially ended in a tie.

A best-of-three shootout took place after overtime in order to determine who would earn an extra point in the WCHA standings. After Frank made a save to open the extra session, Langseth scored the Mavericks' only goal before Frank went on to make two more saves in the final two rounds. As a result, the Mavericks earned the extra standings point and now have 18 on the season (fifth in the WCHA).

In goal for the Mavericks, Frank made a total of 24 saves on 25 shots. She now owns an 8-8-1 record this season between the pipes for MSU.

The Mavericks outshot the Beavers, 29-25, in the game. Both sides failed to score with the man advantage. The Mavericks had three chances with the power play while the Beavers finished the game with six opportunities.

The Mavericks have concluded the 2021 portion of their schedule with a 9-10-1 (5-10-1 WCHA) record while being just over halfway through the regular season, with 14 regular-season games remaining. MSU opens the new year hosting Syracuse, Jan. 7-8, at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato.

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