THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. – No. 14 Minnesota State turned its fortune around with a 4-3 win over Yale University to take third place in the 2026 Coachella Cactus Cup at Acrisure Arena on Saturday. Freshman goaltender Max Beckford (London, Ontario) stopped 15 shots for his first career victory as a Maverick.
 
"The response from game one to game two was needed," reflected head coach Luke Strand. "There's another layer to our group that needs to take off as we get back into conference play. We are grateful to UMass Lowell and the Acrisure group for the invitation to the tournament and the setup."
 
Freshman forward Jordan Ronn (Champlin, Minn.) notched his second goal of the season at the 10:14 mark of the first period, giving the Mavericks the lead heading into the first intermission. Ronn curled across the blue line and executed a give-and-go with senior defenseman Campbell Cichosz (Albert Lea, Minn.). Ronn wired a wrist shot from the left dot and freshman Reid Morich (Scottsdale, Ariz.) collected the second assist for MSU.
 
Freshman forward Mason LeBel (South Bend, Ind.) put away his first collegiate goal in the second period for a 2-0 Maverick lead. After an offensive zone faceoff win, junior Fin Williams (North Vancouver, B.C.) fed LeBel at the top off the crease from behind the goal line on the short side at 2:59. Fifty-eight seconds later, junior Luigi Benincasa (Edmonton, Alberta) reversed a pass behind the goal for Alex Zetterberg (Sundvall, Sweden) and the sophomore tucked in the puck for a 3-0 advantage with his fourth of the year.
 
Donovan Frias cut the lead to 3-1 at 8:42 at even strength with a deflection off the rush for Yale. Owen Forester and Rhys Bentham assisted.
 
Leading by a pair heading into the third period, junior Ean Somoza (Simi Valley, Calif.) scored his second goal in seven games this season for the Mavericks when he backhanded one in from the low slot at 2:44, assisted by senior Jack Smith (St. Cloud, Minn.).
 
David Chen responded with a tap-in on the weak side post at 7:54 after the Bulldogs created a 2-on-1 break at the conclusion of a minor penalty.
 
Beckford kicked out Dylan Hunt's shot but Owen Forester banged in the rebound to draw the Bulldogs to 4-3 with 5:25 remaining in regulation. Minnesota State withstood pressure with Yale's netminder pulled in the final minute.
 
The Mavericks had ten different players with one point on the night and MSU outshot Yale 38-18. The Mavericks finished 0-3 on the power play while the Bulldogs converted 0-4.
 
Minnesota State (12-5-5, 8-3-3 CCHA) improved to 3-1-1 all-time against Yale (4-10-0, 3-5-0 ECAC), the nation's longest-tenured college hockey program. It was the first meeting between non-conference foes since Dec. 30, 2008.
 
The Mavericks host St. Thomas (10-7-3, 7-3-2) next on Saturday, January 10 at 6:07 p.m. CT in a CCHA matchup at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. The Mavericks lead the Tommies by four points in the conference standings but UST holds two games in hand.