Marquette, Mich.  --  The 19th ranked Minnesota State men's hockey team used a three-goal third period to open the 2023 calendar year with a 5-2 win at Northern Michigan. 

The Wildcats got on the scoreboard first when Connor Eddy scored at the 14:40 mark of the opening frame.
 
Minnesota State answered 81 seconds later when junior David Silye scored his first of two goals on the power play. Silye's goals were his 14^th and 15^th of the year, extending his team lead.
 
Junior Jake Livingstone, who set up Silye's first goal, set up senior Ryan Sandelin for a one-timer from the left circle, 5:48 into the middle period.  The Wildcats would add a goal at the 19:41 mark to knot the game at two after two periods.
 
NMU's Joey Larson took a boarding call just 31 seconds into the final period, setting up Silye's second goal, 46 seconds later. The game winning goal was Silye's second game winner of the year.
 
Freshman Adam Eisele's goal at 7:22 of the third gave the Maverick's a cushion to work with and then, with 50.5 seconds remaining, Livingstone finished off his fourth multiple-point game of the season, and first three-point outing, when he scored into an empty net.
 
Sophomore goaltender Keenan Rancier finished with 18 saves on 20 shots picking up his fifth win of the season.  Junior Akito Hirose added a pair of assists in the win.
 
The two-game sets concludes Saturday at 5:07 p.m., CST.