MANKATO, Minn. — Minnesota State (2-4-1, 0-0-1) and Lake Superior State (2-4-1, 0-2-1) skated to a 2-2 tie Friday evening. MSU would go on to the in the shootout 2-0.
Minnesota State finished with a 26-25 edge in shots and won 33 of 61 faceoffs.
After an early
Sam Court chance, Lake Superior State opened the scoring at 3:03 when Markus Loponen scored at even strength off an Ethan Moore assist for a 1-0 lead. Minnesota State generated pressure on a power play midway through the first period, including attempts from
Mason Kraft,
Liam Watkins,
Jack Christ and
Sam Kappell, but Anders Miller kept the Mavericks off the board.
LSSU added to its lead at 16:25 on Cooper Foster's even-strength goal from Charles Savoie and Teo Besnier before
Sawyer Scholl got Minnesota State back within 2-1 at 17:22, finishing off assists from
Will Skahan and
Alex Zetterberg. Scholl has scored in two consecutive games. The Lakers carried that 2-1 lead to intermission after a late
Reid Morich penalty put Minnesota State shorthanded for the closing stretch.
Minnesota State killed off the remaining Laker power play early in the second period, then went on an advantage at 19:18 after Doogan Pederson was called for charging, but attempts from Kraft, Christ and
Ean Somoza did not break through. After Scholl put a shot on Anders Miller at 16:15, Lake Superior State created saved looks from Hunter Ramos and Calem Mangone, while Minnesota State kept generating chances through the middle of the period with Miller stopping shots from Morich, Skahan,
Gus Thorp,
Jacob Conrad and
Liam Hupka.
Lassi Lehti later turned aside Charles Savoie and Tyson Galloway, and Minnesota State created the final series of attempts in the closing minutes before the period ended scoreless.
Minnesota State put several early attempts toward the net before Christ tipped in a shot from Conrad at 18:03, to tie the game at 2-2. LSSU generated chances through the middle of the third period, but Lehti made saves on Doogan Pederson, Ethan Moore and Charles Savoie while blocks by Court, Christ and
Fin Williams helped keep the score even. Minnesota State had the late looks, including shots by
Jakob Stender and Watkins saved by Anders Miller in the final 3:25, and the period ended with the game still tied 2-2.
Lake Superior State generated the early pressure in overtime, with Court blocking a Teo Besnier shot before Lehti was credited with saves on attempts by Hunter Ramos and William Samuelsson. Morich and Ramos took offsetting penalties at 1:23, and LSSU continued to put pucks toward Lehti during the three-on-three stretch before both penalties expired at 3:23. Minnesota State created late looks from Watkins and Court, but the Lakers drew two penalties and Minnesota State one with one second left, giving the Mavericks a brief power play before the overtime ended without a goal.
The shootout began with Charles Savoie missing for Lake Superior State against Lehti, before
Jordan Ronn converted Minnesota State's first attempt against Anders Miller. Markus Loponen was stopped by Lehti in the second round, before
Luigi Benincasa scored to secure the 2-0 shootout win for the Mavericks.
Lehti finished his night with 23 saves, including five in overtime. Scholl and Christ each finished with a goal and two shots, while Court blocked a team-leading three shots.
Minnesota State wraps up its weekend series against Lake Superior State on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
