SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. –
Brian Carrabes and
Josh Groll each notched multi-goal games and
Alex Tracy secured his fourth shutout of the season as the Mavericks sunk Lake Superior State 4-0 Friday night at Taffy Abel Arena.
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Tracy, who leads the country in goals against average, stopped all 32 shots in the win. With a Michigan Tech win over Ferris State Friday and Bowling Green loss in regulation to Ferris State, the Mavericks clinched at least a share of the MacNaughton Cup with three games remaining in the regular season.
"It was good to see our team play a complete game after a break," said head coach
Luke Strand. "It said a lot about our group to come out and play the strength and numbers."
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The Mavericks outshot the Lakers 41-32, scoring in each period.
Rhett Pitlick peeled off the wall and found
Josh Groll for a redirect at 19:46, giving MSU a 1-0 lead at the end of the first. It was Groll's 11
th tally of the season while Pitlick collected his team-leading 21
st assist and extended his point streak to six.
Mason Wheeler (4) also assisted. The Mavericks led in shots on goal 18-4 after 20 minutes.
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Brian Carrabes entered the zone and one-timed a slap shot from the left point to double the Mavericks lead 5:49 into the middle period. It was Carrabes' eighth goal of the season.
Luigi Benincasa backhanded a pass across and
Zach Krajnik (6) recorded the second assist on the play. The Mavericks led 33-17 in shots on goal at intermission.
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Groll and Carrabes added insurance in the third period and the Mavericks killed all three penalties on the night. Easton Hesse stopped 33 attempts in goal for the Lakers. It was Carrabes' second career multi-goal game and the third of the season for Groll. Pitlick has three goals and seven assists over his last six games.
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The Mavericks (21-8-2, 16-5-2 CCHA) have won four straight CCHA contests with a chance to sweep a four-game season series against Lake Superior State (11-18-2, 9-13-1 CCHA) on Saturday at 5:07 p.m. CT. With the top seed in the CCHA Mason Cup Playoffs secured, one point on Saturday by the Mavericks (or lost by Michigan Tech) will win MSU the MacNaughton Cup outright.
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