MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. -- The Minnesota State women's hockey team defeated St. Thomas 4-1 during a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game played at St. Thomas Ice Arena, Friday night.
MSU now stands 11-11-1 overall with a 7-11-1 mark in the WCHA, St. Thomas now owns a 4-16-1 record (2-14-1 WCHA).
The Mavericks' offensive charge was led by senior forward Brittyn Fleming, who scored a pair of goals, and junior defenseman Charlotte Akervik, who tallied three points to match a season-high set back in September.
Fleming put the Mavericks in the score column first on Friday. After picking up a puck in the right corner, she drove the net and buried the first goal at 13:02 of the first period. MSU was on top 1-0 after one period. Shots were 14-6 Mavericks after 20 minutes.
In the second period, the Tommies responded with the tying goal at the 1:44 mark, one second after their second power play of the game expired. However, MSU wasted no more than a minute to retake the lead, 2-1, when Fleming beat UST netminder Alexa Dobchuk near the top-left corner at 2:39 of the middle period. After two periods at St. Thomas Ice Arena, the Mavericks carried a 2-1 lead with a 33-10 advantage in shots.
The third period saw MSU score two more goals, an insurance goal off sophomore forward Sydney Langseth's stick at 16:19 prior to an ENG from Akervik at 18:57, which iced the game and capped a three-point evening for the Eau Claire, Wis., native.
Sophomore goaltender Emerald Kelley (1-0) picked up her first victory in her first collegiate start for the Mavericks on Friday night. Kelley made 11 saves on 12 shots en route to the win.
Shots on goal sided with MSU by a 46-12 margin. The Mavericks' penalty kill was perfect on Friday night after MSU took a pair of penalties in the contest. The Tommies never took a penalty in the game, and thus never allowed the MSU power-play unit to touch the ice.
The Mavericks and Tommies are back in action Sunday with the rematch, and series finale, slated for 1:00 p.m. at Blakeslee Stadium on the campus of Minnesota State University.
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