Andy Hedlund snapped a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal 6:26 into the third period and Minnesota State-Mankato held on to defeat Michigan Tech 2-1 on Friday night.
Jesse Rooney also scored on the power play and junior goaltender Todd Kelzenberg made 33 saves for the Mavericks (2-5-0, 2-5-0 WCHA).
Paul Cabana scored Michigan Tech’s only goal and Brian Rogers made 27 saves for the Huskies (1-6-1, 1-6-0).
After a scoreless opening period, the pace picked up in the second. Kelzenberg made a difficult save on a shorthanded breakaway by Tech’s Brett Engelhardt, and Rogers kept the game scoreless when he then stopped a shorthanded break by Mankato’s T.J. Guidarelli.
At 12:39 of the middle period, the Mavericks were assessed a bench penalty for having too many men on the ice, giving Tech a 5-on-3 advantage. The Huskies capitalized when Cabana beat Kelzenberg with a shot from the left circle to the far side of the net at 12:56.
But Mankato would answer with a power-play goal of its own. With Jeff Keiver in the box for tripping, Rooney scored unassisted with just nine seconds left in the period.
Early in the final period, Michigan Tech got a 5-on-3 advantage for a full two minutes when Tim Jackman went off for slashing and Mankato coach Troy Jutting was slapped with a bench minor. But the Huskies failed to convert and the Mavericks made them pay just minutes later.
After Tech’s Adrian Fure went off for holding, Hedlund fired a shot from the point that eluded a screened Rogers and gave Mankato a 2-1 lead.
And Kelzenberg, who made 18 of his saves in the third period, made sure that was all the Mavericks needed.
“I was really disappointed in some penalties that we took,” said Michigan Tech coach Tim Watters. “I thought we took a couple very undisciplined penalties.” Said Jutting, “We couldn’t stay out of the penalty box, and I’m as guilty as anybody. But I thought we played hard and stayed with it the whole game.
Mankato was 2-for-7 on the power play, while the Huskies were 1-for-8.
“We haven’t played any games on a small rink yet this year, so it was a little bit tighter and slower than we’re accustomed to,” added Jutting.
The two teams wrap up their weekend series tomorrow night at 7:05 ET at MacInnes Arena.
