Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Kael Mouillierat had the overtime game-winner for MSU at CC on March 1 |
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Minnesota State Upends CC in Overtime Saturday to Move MacNaughton Cup Derby to Final Weekend
March 2, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
MADISON, Wisc. - No. 9/10-ranked Minnesota State (17-13-4, 11-11-4 WCHA), behind a game-winning goal from right winger Kael Mouillierat at 0:16 of overtime, knocked off league-leading and No. 4-ranked Colorado College (24-9-1, 19-6-1 WCHA), 3-2, on Saturday (March 1) night, becoming only the second team to defeat the Tigers on their home ice this season and pushing the awarding of an outright Western Collegiate Hockey Association championship off until the final weekend. But more importantly for the Mavericks, the victory kept their hopes for a top five finish alive heading into a regular-season ending home series against Michigan Tech.
The Mavericks, now 8-2 over their last 10 league games, trailed the Tigers 2-0 heading into the third period, but stunned a Colorado Springs World Arena crowd of 7,174 with three unanswered goals - from left winger Jason Wiley at 0:37 of the third, from right winger Jerad Stewart at 5:13, and then Mouillierat's winner in the extra session. For CC, right winger Eric Walsky and center Chad Rau scored first period goals.
Elsewhere around the WCHA on Saturday, visiting North Dakota blanked Minnesota Duluth, 2-0, to extend their nation's best unbeaten streak to 14 games (13-0-1) host Michigan Tech downed Denver, 2-1, host St. Cloud State bounced back to win 3-2 over Wisconsin, and visiting Minnesota fashioned a 4-1 victory over Alaska Anchorage.
The No. 2/3-ranked Fighting Sioux (22-8-2, 17-7-1 WCHA) won over the No. 15-ranked Bulldogs (12-13-6, 8-12-5 WCHA) on Saturday afternoon before a DECC sellout crowd of 5,356 behind a 28-save effort from goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux and goals from centers T.J. Oshie at 19:15 of the first and Chris VandeVelde on a power-play at 19:37 of the second. The win kept North Dakota in the thick of the MacNaughton Cup race, and gave them an opportunity to close within two points of CC pending Sunday's matinee matchup with UMD.
At John MacInnes Student Ice Arena on March 1, host Michigan Tech (12-17-5, 8-14-4 WCHA) used goals from left winger Alex Lord in the first and defenseman Geoff Kinrade (game-winner) in the third and a 32-save effort from goaltender Michael-Lee Teslak to win 2-1 over No. 7-ranked Denver (22-11-1, 16-9-1 WCHA). Huskies, who were outshot 33-21, can still move up in the standings. For the Pioneers, right winger Rhett Rakhshani netted an extra-attacker power-play goal at 18:13 of the third period while Peter Mannino had 19 stops between the pipes.
At the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud on Saturday night, a sellout crowd of 6,076 saw host and No. 12/13-ranked St. Cloud State (17-14-3, 12-12-2 WCHA) bounce back for a 3-2 victory over No. 13/14-ranked Wisconsin (15-14-7, 11-12-5 WCHA), as center Garrett Roe and right winger Matt Hartman scored back-to-back power-play goals late in the second period, at 18:32 and 19:07 respectively, to overcome a 2-1 deficit. The win moved the Huskies to within one point of the Badgers with two games to play and heading into their March 7-8 series at UND.
And before 3,366 at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, visiting and No. 17-ranked Minnesota (14-13-9, 8-11-7 WCHA) kept their home playoff hopes alive with a 4-1 victory over Alaska Anchorage (7-19-8, 3-19-6 WCHA), as wingers Mike Hoeffel and Mike Howe each had a goal and an assist and goaltender Alex Kangas stopped 26 of 27 shots on goal. For UAA, defenseman Mat Robinson scored in the second period.
Through league games of March 1, Colorado College (26 gp, 39 points) owns a four-point lead in the race for the WCHA crown over North Dakota (25 gp, 35 points) and a six-point advantage over third place Denver (26 gp, 33 points). A win on Sunday, however, would move the Sioux within two points of CC. Wisconsin (28 gp, 27 points), which has now concluded its regular season, is fourth while Minnesota State (26 gp, 26 points) and St. Cloud State (26 gp, 26 points) are tied for fifth. Minnesota (26 gp, 23 points) stands seventh, Minnesota Duluth (25 gp, 21 points) is eighth, Michigan Tech (26 gp, 20 points) is ninth, and Alaska Anchorage (28 gp, 12 points) will finish 10th.
Looking ahead to the final weekend of the regular season - Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8 - there will be four WCHA series. Colorado College and Denver play a home-and-home set, North Dakota hosts St. Cloud State, Minnesota entertains Minnesota Duluth, and Minnesota State hosts Michigan Tech. Both Wisconsin and Alaska Anchorage will be idle.
This Week in the WCHA
Results of Tuesday, February 26: Nebraska-Omaha 4 at Minnesota State 2 (nc).
Results of Friday, February 29: Denver 1 at Michigan Tech 0; Wisconsin 2 at St. Cloud State 1; Minnesota State 2 at Colorado College 5; Minnesota 2 at Alaska Anchorage 2 ot
Results of Saturday, March 1: North Dakota 2 at Minnesota Duluth 0; Denver 1 at Michigan Tech 2; Wisconsin 2 at St. Cloud State 3; Minnesota State 3 at Colorado College 2 ot; Minnesota 4 at Alaska Anchorage 1.
Games for Sunday, March 2: North Dakota at Minnesota Duluth, 2:07 pm CT.
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