ST. PAUL, Minn. – A three goal scoring burst in a three-and-a-half minute span of the first period was all Minnesota State needed to get back in the win column as the 13^th-ranked Mavericks claimed a 5-2 win at St. Thomas.
 
St. Thomas opened an early 1-0 lead and held onto it for roughly six minutes before sophomore Stevin Bellini circled high in the zone, through the left circle and behind the net before making a quick pass to sophomore Brenden Olson, who quickly banged home the goal.  The tally was the first of Olson's career. 
 
Just 87 seconds later, the Mavericks took the lead for good when sophomore Zach Krajnik forced a turnover along the left-wing boards. The puck kicked out to junior Tony Malinowski, who quickly passed the puck to the right point and junior Jake Livingstone.
 
After forcing the turnover, Krajnik turned and slowly moved into position to the left of the crease, where he set up and was able to tip Livingstone's pass for his second goal of the year.
 
The three-goal flurry concluded a little more than two minutes later on the power play as junior Akito Hirose got the puck at the top of the slot and moved it over to freshman Christian Fitzgerald in the right circle. His one-timer found the top-right corner of the net and MSU had a 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
 
Midway through the second period, Andrew Kangas scored for the Tommies to cut the lead to one but, with 3:13 to play in the frame, senior Andy Carroll scored the Mavericks' second power-play goal of the game when his blast from the right point found its way through traffic and into the net.
 
The score remained 4-2 for the next 22 minutes, with MSU having an apparent goal waved off, but, with 1:08 to play, senior Brendan Furry forced a turnover in the neutral zone and fired the puck into an empty St. Thomas net to finish the scoring.
 
The Mavericks held a 38-13 advantage in shots on goal as sophomore goaltender Keenan Rancier won for the ninth time in his last 10 starts by stopping 11 shots.
 
The Mavericks hold a one-point lead in the conference standings and are idle next weekend. Meanwhile, second-place Michigan Tech plays host to third-place Bowling Green next weekend.
 
Up next for the Mavericks (19-10-1, 14-7-1 CCHA) is a two-game set at Bemidji State, Feb. 17-18, with the opening game set for a 7:07 p.m. while game two is a 6:07 p.m. faceoff. Both game are slated for the Sanford Center in Bemidji.