Three Early Goals Lead #3 Minnesota State To Weekend-Opening Win Over Ferris State In Mankato

Big Rapids, Mich. - Nationally third-ranked Minnesota State used a quick start with three early goals en route to a 5-1 win over the Ferris State University men's ice hockey squad on Friday (Jan. 30) night at the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato, Minn.

The host Mavericks produced three goals in the first 8:29 of the contest and came up with a pair of power-play markers on the night as they topped FSU to open a two-game weekened set in Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) play in Mankato.

The Bulldogs, who were playing their third-straight contest against the league-leading Mavericks after hosting MSU two weeks ago, started slowly off a bye week and a lengthy trip to Minnesota. Minnesota State needed only 16 seconds of action to score the first goal of the evening as Carter Foguth tallied his second goal of the year in unassisted fashion for the early strike.

Then, five minutes later, the Mavericks took advantage of a Bulldog penalty for interference and capitalized for the first time with the man-advantage. MSU's Teddy Blueger picked up his ninth goal of the season off assists from Jon Jutzi and Michael Huntebrinker at 5:22 of the first frame to push Minnesota State's lead to 2-0 in the contest. It would prove to be the eventual game-winner.

The lead then grew to three goals only three minutes later when the Mavericks struck again on the power play following a stretch in which five penalties were called against the two teams combined, including three on FSU. Matt Leitner tallied his sixth goal off a feed from Zach Palmquist at 8:29 as Minnesota State scored its second power-play goal of the evening.

Ferris State finally got on the board at 13:19 of the opening frame when sophomore forward Kyle Schempp picked up his seventh goal this season on the power play to trim the margin to 3-1 in favor of the hosts. Both junior forward Matt Robertson and sophomore forward Gerald Mayhew were credited with helpers on the Bulldogs' lone goal of the contest. It marked Schempp's third marker against Minneosta State in the last three games as he previously accounted for both FSU goals in a two-game set on Jan. 16-17 at FSU's Ewigleben Ice Arena.

The scoring slowed from that point forward as neither team could find the back of the net the remainder of the opening frame or the entire second period as Minnesota State still held onto a 3-1 lead heading into the final 20 minutes of action.

However, the Mavericks pushed the edge back to three goals only 4:04 into the third when Bryce Gervais notched his 16th lamplighter of the year off assists from C.J. Franklin and Palmquist at even-strength. MSU later added a goal from Brett Knowles, which was his fourth this campaign and assisted by Sean Flanagan and Brett Stern at 14:16 of the final frame to account for the final margin.

The Mavericks finished with a 31-22 edge in total shots for the night while beating FSU for the sixth-straight time over the last two seasons in a series between two of the league's top programs. MSU posted 14 shots in the opening frame followed by nine in the second and eight in the third while FSU had 10 shots in period one before producing five in the second and seven in the final 20 minutes of play.

Stephon Williams picked up the victory in net for Minnesota State by making 21 saves in 60 minutes of work to improve to 16-3-1 overall. His counterpart, FSU senior captain CJ Motte, suffered the setback for FSU despite making several big saves to thwart other potential scoring opportunities. He finished with 26 saves on the Bulldog side.

Overall, Minnesota State was called for six penalties totaling 12 minutes in the box with FSU whistled five times for 10 minutes. The Mavericks went two-of-three on the power play with FSU scoring once in four tries with the man-advantage.

With the victory, the Mavericks improved to 20-5-1 overall and stayed on top of the WCHA standings with a 16-2-1 league record while FSU dropped to 11-14-1 overall and 8-9-0 in the WCHA. FSU sits fifth in the league standings with 16 points, but owns two games in hand on fourth place Northern Michigan, which has 18 points to date. The top four teams at the end of the year will host first-round matchups in the WCHA Tournament.

Ferris State and Minnesota State will wrap up the weekend set and square off for the final time this year in regular-season competition again on Saturday (Jan. 31) evening at the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato. The puck drop is set for 8:07 p.m. (ET).

The next home action for Ferris State is not until Feb. 13-14 when FSU entertains nationally-ranked Bowling Green at the Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids. Tickets are on sale now at StarTickets.com or visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com for more information. Tickets can also be purchased by calling 1-800-585-3737.