BOSTON, Mass. — Minnesota State (3-4-1) tied Yale (1-0-1) 3-3 on Saturday and eventually fell in the shootout 2-1 in the championship of the 2026 Ice Breaker. The Mavericks scored twice in the third period and finished with a 29-28 edge in shots. Yale converted two of its three power-play opportunities, while the Mavericks went 0-for-4.
Zoe Lopez scored on four shots. Lopez has scored in two consecutive games. Audrey Garton added a goal, won 5 of 7 faceoffs and finished with a +2 rating. Garton's goal was her first of the season. Makayla Moran scored on two shots and added a blocked shot. Ayla Puppe put six shots on goal, a season high, and won seven faceoffs. Hailey Hansen made 25 saves in her return to the net.
Hansen stopped Yale's early looks; while the Mavericks began creating chances, with Lopez and Puppe putting shots on Emeline Grennan before Lauren Zawoyski hit the pipe at 7:33. Yale went on the power play after Neely Hawn's tripping penalty and put three shots on Hansen during the advantage, but the Mavericks killed the penalty. As the penalty expired Garton found herself all alone on a breakaway, her shot deflected off the Bulldogs goaltender and in. Garton's goal came four seconds after the penalty expired and marked the first time the Mavericks scored first this season. The Mavericks had a power-play chance of their own after a Yale holding penalty, but the first period closed with Hannah Weyerhaeuser scoring from Annie Schwarz and Mackenzie Allen with 8.9 seconds left to send the teams to intermission tied 1-1.
The Mavericks were held off the board in the second period, and Yale converted the period's only goal on Molly Boyle's power-play score with 7:28 left to make it 2-1. Earlier, the Mavericks had two early power-play stretches and generated attempts from Mia Miller and Mercury Bischoff, but Grennan stopped Miller and Yale blocked another Miller chance before the advantage ended. The Mavericks spent much of the middle portion defending Yale pressure, with Hansen making saves and Puppe, Zawoyski and Garton blocking shots before Anika Stromme's hooking penalty set up Yale's power play. The Mavericks pushed back late with saved shots from Payton Finnie, Bischoff and Sophie Stramel around Mika Cichosz's wide attempt, but Yale also forced Hansen into late saves and carried a 2-1 lead into the intermission.
Yale made it 3-1 at 6:47 of the third period, scoring seven seconds into a power play when Stephanie Stainton converted off assists from Chloe Cleaves and Cami Bell after Ava Guillemette's tripping penalty. The Mavericks answered at 8:39 as Moran skated past two Bulldog defenders and deked the goalie, depositing the puck into a wide-open net, pulling the Mavericks within one. MSU then generated chances during and after an ensuing power play, including looks from Puppe, Lopez, Cichosz and Bischoff. The Mavericks pulled Hansen for an extra attacker with 2:00 remaining and, after a timeout with just over a minute left and three late Finnie attempts, Lopez scored to even the score off Finnie's assist with 22 seconds left. Lopez was able to dig the puck out of a net front scrum and flip a backhander into the net, effectively sending the game to overtime. Finnie has now recorded at least one assist in two consecutive games after being held off the scoresheet in the first six games.
The Mavericks generated their busiest stretch of overtime after Boyle was called for tripping with 2:34 left, putting four shots on Grennan during the power play. Puppe had three of those chances and Lopez added another, but Yale killed the penalty and Grennan stopped Puppe again just after Boyle returned. Earlier, Bischoff tested Grennan in the opening minute, while Hansen turned aside Yale shots from Stainton and Bell later in the overtime. The Mavericks used a timeout with 27 seconds remaining, and overtime ended scoreless.
Bischoff converted the Mavericks' lone successful shootout attempt, but Yale finished with two successful tries while the Mavericks went 1-for-5. Hansen faced five Yale attempts, with Boyle missing twice and Stainton also missing, while Bell scored on both of her attempts. For the Mavericks, Garton and Finnie missed before Bischoff scored, and Lopez and Puppe missed after that. The segment ended with the game score listed at 3-3 after the shootout.
Up next, the Mavericks visit Boston College on Monday, at 10 a.m. at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
