Minnesota State Overpowers Gophers
Mankato, MN (Gophersports.com) - Tommy Novak scored his fourth goal of the year but it wasn't enough as the Gophers fell 4-1 to Minnesota State Friday night.
Nick Lehr made 10 saves on 10 shots in a relief appearance in the third period - his first action of the season.
Minnesota State (8-4-1 overall, 5-4-1-0 WCHA) jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period with an even-strength tally from Brad McClure at 12:26 and a power-play strike from C.J. Franklin at 16:32.
Novak brought the Gophers within one early in the second period when he found the net on a Minnesota power play. The sophomore forward was left all alone in front of the net and buried his shot at 2:16 off a nice feed from Tyler Sheehy and Mike Szmatula. The Maroon & Gold closed out the night 1-for-5 on the advantage.
Minnesota (4-3-2, 0-0-0-0 Big Ten) wouldn't be able to best Jason Pawloski in goal again however, while the Mavericks added a pair of goals late in the period. Parker Tuomie scored a power-play goal at 15:04 while McClure netted his second even-strength goal of the game at 17:47.
Pawloski stopped 25 shots to pick up the win while Eric Schierhorn took the loss for Minnesota with 23 saves. Lehr made his season debut, playing an unblemished third period.