Slow start leads to easy win for Mavericks
MANKATO, Minn. – No. 19 Michigan Tech fell 7-2 at No. 16 Minnesota State on Saturday in the CCHA Mason Cup Semifinal at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. The Huskies ended their season with a 23-13-3 overall record.
MSU and No. 18 St. Thomas will meet in the CCHA Mason Cup Championship Game on Friday in Mankato. The Tommies defeated No. 13 Augustana in the early semifinal of the day.
“It was a tough night, but I’m so proud of this group for the way they represented Michigan Tech all season long,” Tech coach Bill Muckalt said. “We had a really good start, but tip your hat to Alex Tracy. He made the stops early, and then the pucks just started to go in for them.
“I’m proud of this team and these seniors. We’ve had a tremendous year. We kept preaching that we need to win with class and lose with class, and congrats to Minnesota State on the win.”
The Mavericks scored three goals in the first period. Ean Somoza got the crowd on its feet 8:15 into the game. Alex Zetterberg assisted
Tristan Lemyre made it 2-0 at 11:53 of the first with assists going to Liam Watkins and Evan Murr.
Luigi Benincasa made it a three-goal lead at 13:48 from Mason Wheeler and Tristan Lemyre.
Tristan Lemyre scored his second of the game at 4:22 in the second period. Liam Watkins and Luigi Benincasa assisted.
Tom Leppa gave the Huskies some life, scoring his sixth of the season. He took a shot from behind the net that went off a skate. Kalem Parker and Matthew Van Blaricom assisted on Leppa’s eighth of the season.
MSU added three more goals in the second, with two from Reid Morich and one from Fin Williams.
Isaac Gordon scored the lone goal in the third with a snipe on the rush. Luca Fasciano assisted on Gordon’s eighth of the season and 33rd of his career.
Owen Bartoszkiewicz had five saves in the first 34:31. Ryan Manzella stopped eight shots over 24:19. Houghton native Bryant Lee stepped between the pipes for the final 1:09 in his first collegiate action. He made one save.
For the second time this season, Tech was not whistled for a penalty.
The game was the last for seniors Jack Anderson, Trevor Kukkonen, Joe Prouty, Stiven Sardarian, and Kasper Vaharautio.
