MANKATO, Minn. – It wouldn’t be a conference title game in Mankato without some drama.
At the end of the regular season, Minnesota State and Michigan Tech played an eventful final five minutes for the MacNaughton Cup that featured a penalty shot and a controversial goal review. Minnesota State won that game 3-2 and took the title.
Last season, of course, was the controversial Mason Cup championship game between Minnesota State and Bemidji State in which a Mavericks’ goal was called good on the ice and not reviewed, despite being clearly no good. The trophy was given out and most fans had left the building before referees overturned the goal and play resumed again.
In this year’s edition of the Mason Cup championship game, there was nothing quite that controversial. But it sure was exciting.
“We’ve come to expect crazy endings here in Mankato,” CCHA commissioner Don Lucia told the crowd before presenting the Mavericks with the trophy at center ice following Saturday’s game at the Mayo Clinic Health System Events Center in Mankato.
“Crazy things happen in this building,” MSU head coach Mike Hastings said. “I’m glad we were able to play this game at home, because to me that makes the difference tonight. The players play, they’re the ones that decide the game, but I can’t believe that we didn’t draw some energy from the building itself, so we’re fortunate.”
The Mavericks (25-12-1) erased a late 2-0 deficit in the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime and eventually win their second-straight Mason Cup, 3-2, over Northern Michigan, after sophomore Zach Krajnik scored to end it 1:08 into the extra session.
“I don’t think there was any panic,” said Krajnik, who managed to split two defenders and do a nifty little spin move before beating NMU goaltender Beni Halasz for the winner. “I think we all believed in each other and ourselves, and we knew that eventually if we kept getting shots at the net, one was going to go.”
The Wildcats (21-17-0) had taken what looked like a commanding 2-0 lead early in the third period on Alex Frye’s second goal of the game – a breakaway that finished with a nice move that beat MSU goalie Keenan Rancier blocker side.
But as many a team that has held on to a late advantage on the road against Mankato knows, few leads in this building are “commanding.”
With just over five minutes to go, a pair of NMU penalties – one on Frye and another on Aiden Gallacher – gave the Mavericks a 5-on-3 power play opportunity and all the momentum for the rest of the game.
“It just had to be in a room with a team that could not have played better and it’s really really hard for me right now,” NMU head coach Grant Potulny said. “Especially when you’re winning the game with two minutes left, or whatever it was, four minutes left. You’re in complete control in the third period. There’s nothing happening in the game, absolutely nothing, and we’re getting all the chances, and then penalties. That’s hard.”
Although the Wildcats killed off the 5-on-3, the Mavericks’ push didn’t end there. Hastings elected to pull Rancier for the extra attacker shortly before the second penalty expired. The Wildcats also killed that penalty, but seconds later MSU finally put one past Halasz, who finished with 30 saves.
With 2:17 to play, a puck went in off Ondrej Pavel, who was parked in the slot in front of Halasz. The home crowd went nuts, and that just seemed to energize the Mavericks even more. They found the equalizer feeding off that energy, and with 57.2 seconds remaining, Christian Fitzgerald swooped in to get a rebound from a Jake Livingstone shot. He went behind the net to celebrate and senior Cade Borchardt leaped into his arms, leading to a dogpile behind the NMU goal.
It was yet another late win for the Mavericks, who looked out of contention for both the CCHA title and a return NCAA bid after struggling in the first half of the season. But following a 15-3 run since the start of January, they’ve been almost unstoppable.
“We’ve been resilient all year long,” Fitzgerald said. “I think we’ve had a bunch of ups and downs, especially in the first half, and I think our team is really coming together because of that and gelled real well, and I think that’s why we’ve been so successful late in games.”
