DULUTH, Minn. -- In the second game of a Western Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal playoff series between Minnesota State and No. 5-rated Minnesota Duluth, the Mavericks forced a third game in the best-of-three series with a 3-1 victory, Saturday afternoon at AMSOIL Arena.
With the win, Minnesota State now stands 15-18-1 while Minnesota Duluth is 23-10-1. MSU and UMD are now tied in the best-of-three quarterfinal series, 1-1. MSU's victory moves them to 4-35 all-time in the postseason play and ends a playoff victory drought that dated back to March 1, 2014 (3-0 win at Wisconsin). A win in game three Sunday would mark MSU's first playoff series victory since their 2009 WCHA Quarterfinals matchup at St. Cloud State.
For the second time in the series, the Mavericks opened the scoring in the first period when senior forward Brittyn Fleming cleaned up a loose puck out of a net-front scramble and fired it past UMD's Jojo Chobak near the left goalline at 10:09. Similar to the start of game one, UMD had a response not long after to tie the game when Gabbie Hughes scored to make it 1-1 at 14:31. After 20 minutes of play, the Mavericks and Bulldogs were tied, 1-1, with UMD owning a 17-5 advantage in shots.
The middle period saw MSU carry a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. Freshman forward Alexis Paddington made it 2-1 with an unassisted goal after she attempted to deliver a pass out front of the Bulldogs' net before it deflected off a defender and found the top-right corner of UMD's goal at 9:01 of the second period. Roughly a minute later at 10:20, Fleming scored her second goal of the game on a one-timer that beat Chobak five-hole. Junior forward Kennedy Bobyck had the primary assist on the play that made it all happen. After 40 minutes of play, with the Mavericks leading 3-1, UMD owned the shots advantage 26-18.
Minnesota State's goaltender Chantal Burke, now 3-1 on the season, stood tall in the final 20 minutes to make all 16 saves needed to secure a 3-1 victory. In total, Burke made a season-high 41 saves en route to the win, which included several desperation saves late in the third period.
Claiming the shots advantage was UMD by a 42-20 margin. Maverick special teams were superior in Saturday's contest. MSU went 2-2 on the power play and was a perfect 3-3 on the penalty kill.
The Mavericks and Bulldogs rematch Sunday at 2:00 p.m. for the third and final game of the best-of-three series. The winner will earn a spot in the WCHA Final Faceoff, March 4-5, at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.
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