ST. PAUL, Minn. — The last couple minutes of Minnesota State’s victory over Minnesota on Friday had their fair share of drama, but the score ended up being the exact same as it was at the end of the second period.
The Mavericks earned their first win at the Xcel Energy Center with their 4-2 victory over the Gophers in the second semifinal game at the North Star College Cup.
“It’s an important win,” Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings said. “I think this tournament is special. It’s great for the people in the state. It was nice being able to look across the rink and see the purple and gold and see people that took the time to spend their money and come and watch a tournament like this.”
With Minnesota State leading by two goals and the game’s final minutes ticking away, the Gophers had an empty net and were on a power play looking to cut the Mavericks’ lead to one goal. A hard shot dropped MSU defenseman Casey Nelson to ice and essentially left him motionless there for almost 30 seconds.
The officials allowed play to continue, due to the fact that Minnesota was in its offensive zone with the power play and essentially had a six-on-three power play.
That’s when Minnesota State goaltender Stephon Williams’ instincts kicked in. The junior netminder emphatically and obviously knocked the net off its moorings and stopped play. The action resulted in a delay of game penalty, which gave Minnesota the option for a power play or penalty shot.
“I was willing to take a delay of game to get [Nelson] off the ice,” Williams said after the game. “I wasn’t really aware of the penalty shot rule, but it was just one of those things where when you have a guy hurt out there, things were a lithe chaotic at the time … it was an impulse reaction. Something I’m not going to make a habit out of, obviously.”
The Gophers opted to give Seth Ambroz a shot at bringing them to within one. His backhanded penalty shot was easily stopped by Williams.
“It was nerve-wracking,” Williams said. “At the end of the day, I knew that if I didn’t [stop him] there would probably be a lithe chewing out going on. It was a great feeling.”
Hastings said that Nelson was sore after the game and that he was going to be “looked at.” He added that even though he was not pleased with the officials letting play continue at the time, he understands why they did.
“He’s injured and they’re on the power play – I understand that they can’t blow that down,” he said. “I don’t like it, I didn’t like it at the time, but you can’t.”
[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000SjMnnhjYslE” g_name=”20150123-Minnesota-Minnesota-State-JGR” f_show_caption=”t” f_show_slidenum=”t” img_title=”casc” pho_credit=”iptc” f_link=”t” f_bbar=”t” fsvis=”f” width=”500″ height=”375″ bgcolor=”#AAAAAA” bgtrans=”t” btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” crop=”f” trans=”xfade” tbs=”4000″ f_ap=”t” linkdest=”c” f_fullscreen=”f” f_constrain=”f” twoup=”f” f_topbar=”f” f_bbarbig=”” f_htmllinks=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”f” f_show_watermark=”f” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”f” f_up=”f” target=”_self” wmds=”llQ6QNgpeC.p1Ucz7U.f22UnFHkvyGA912ITpm6ZfwRSgES5js_jn5csVYw9Fhcoggo3xQ–” ]The game was 4-2 thanks to a three-goal second period by Minnesota State.
Bryce Gervais gave the Mavericks a 2-1 lead at the 2:26 mark of the second period. The junior’s second goal of the night, which was a snipe that hit the top-right corner of the frame, was his second of the night.
Minnesota rallied back again, thanks to a long delayed penalty that resulted in Michael Brodzinski’s third goal of the season. The Mavericks killed off the power play that followed the goal.
“It can turn a pebble into an avalanche in a hurry,” Hastings said of having to go on the penalty kill after giving up a goal on a delayed penalty. “All of a sudden, it’s one goal and that turns into two and momentum goes back on their side. I thought Nelson and [Brett] Knowles and our defensive corps did a really good job killing penalties tonight.”
Minnesota State regained and padded its lead before the game’s middle period was over.
Halfway through the period, Dylan Margonari connected with C.J. Franklin on a long lead pass that sprung the freshman on a breakaway which he finished, beating Adam Wilcox for MSU’s third goal.
“In the last three weeks, he’s probably been one of our most consistent forwards on both ends of the rink,” Hastings said of Franklin. “It was a big play.”
Jon Jutzi scored his first goal of the season on the power play to make it 4-2 Mavericks. Minnesota State scored its three goals in the second period on only five shots. The goal was the first of the season for Jutzi, who was away from the team for the entire first half of the season for personal reasons.
MSU put three of its five second-period shots past Wilcox.
Minnesota State clearly got off to the better start in Friday’s game, getting both even-strength and power-play opportunities in the first couple minuets. The Gophers weathered the storm and took the first lead of the game with about two minutes left in the first.
After a nice individual effort by defenseman Mike Reilly to gain the zone, the puck was relayed back to the blue line where Steve Johnson fired it towards the net. Ambroz ended up putting the puck past Williams after it rattle around near the crease for a bit.
The assist was the first collegiate point for Johnson.
The Mavericks responded before the horn sounded at the end of the first period, however.
Matt Leitner corralled a puck behind the goal line, evaded a defender and spun around and connected on a pass to Gervais, who had gotten free near the goalmouth. Gervais beat Wilcox’s blocker to tie the game.
“They’re a deep team,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said of Minnesota State. “Their top line I think scored three goals tonight and our two goals were generated by our back end.”
Gervais was credited with four shots on goal in the first period. He finished the game with six.
The Mavericks’ win, coupled with Bemidji State’s 4-0 victory over Minnesota-Duluth early Friday evening, means that the Mavericks and Beavers will play Saturday at 7 p.m. CDT for the NSCC championship. The Gophers and Bulldogs will play at 4 p.m. in the consolation game.
