ST CLOUD — Channing Boe came out of an almost-silent locker room late Sunday night, representing the Minnesota State men’s hockey team’s as its assistant captain.

“A lot of tears,” the junior defenseman said of the scene in the National Hockey Center space behind him where six seniors played their final game for the Mavericks.

Hoping to get to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Five for the first time since 2003, the Mavericks couldn’t quite pull off the Game 3 and first-round upset of St. Cloud State, falling 3-2 in overtime.

“I really feel for the seniors,” Boe said. “They brought us along with their leadership. They got us to where we were tonight. We had a great weekend of hockey. To have it end like that, it’s just devastating.”

Drew LeBlanc’s power-play goal at 3:21 of the extra period gave the Huskies the win and a spot in the conference tournament’s semifinals on Friday night.

Mavericks forward Joe Schiller was called for boarding after delivering a hit on Brian Volpei near the MSU bench at 2:32 in overtime. It was the just the sixth penalty called in the entire game.

“It’s a little tough,” MSU coach Troy Jutting said of the penalty kill. “Guys are tired. They’ve been working hard for three straight games. It’s the second overtime game in three games. It’s difficult, no question.”

Minnesota State won Friday’s game 5-4 in overtime, and St. Cloud responded with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory on Saturday. In the deciding game, the Mavericks had leads of 1-0 in the second period and 2-1 midway through the third.

“I thought we played our tails off,” Jutting said. “I feel bad for the whole team. I’m awfully proud of the kids. They got better and better over the course of the year, and they were playing their best hockey at the end.”

The eighth-seeded Mavericks outshot the third-seeded Huskies 29-26, including a 13-7 advantage in the third period. Tyler Pitlick and Jason Wiley scored MSU’s goals.

Even Huskies coach Bob Motzko sympathized with his team’s opponent.

“That’s a tough way to go down,” he said. “Mankato played fantastic throughout the weekend, start to finish. Those seniors have a lot to be proud of. They worked and competed.”

After a scoreless first period, the Mavericks got on the board first for the second game in a row. Pitlick was credited with the goal at 11:14 after the puck trickled through goalie Mike Lee’s legs during a scramble around the net. Michael Dorr and Eriah Hayes had assists.

The Huskies tied the game with 3:54 remaining in the second period, as Garrett Roe scored his third goal of the weekend, finishing off a give-and-go play with David Eddy on an odd-man rush following an MSU turnover in the neutral zone.

The Mavericks had three shots on goal in the first period but upped that to 12 on Lee in the second. Lee (27 saves) made a tremendous save, robbing senior Nick Canzanello of a sure tip-in goal. That matched an earlier save by Cook (23 saves), who gloved a point-blank chance by Jared Festler.

Minnesota State took the lead again at lead at 10:20 of the third period when Wiley, a senior forward, tapped in a loose puck that slipped through Lee’s pads after Boe skated in deep and fired on net. Senior Geoff Irwin set up the play with a great pass to Boe for his sixth point of the weekend.

That lead lasted just 2:12, however, as the Huskies’ Ryan Lasch made a perfect centering pass from the boards to defenseman Garrett Raboin, who was able to tip it behind Cook despite having Irwin draped all over him.

Lasch made a similar pass to LeBlanc, who crashed down the slot to get the game- and series-winner.

“They’re good players,” Jutting said. “We held them to two goals (in regulation), and they’re one of the better offensive teams in the league. I thought, defensively, we played very well.”

Minnesota State’s season ends with a 16-20-3 record.  



St. Cloud State                  0-1-1-1—3

Minnesota State                  0-1-1-0—2



FIRST PERIOD

Scoring: None.

Penalties: Boe, MSU (high-sticking) 19:49

SECOND PERIOD

Scoring: 1. MSU-Pitlick 11 (Dorr 11, Hayes 6) 11:14; 2. SCSU-Roe 19 (Eddy 10, Mosey 22) 16:06

Penalties: Zabkowicz, SCSU (hooking) 2:41

THIRD PERIOD

Scoring: 3. MSU-Wiley 2 (Boe 5, Irwin 16) 10:20; 4. SCSU-Raboin 7 (Lasch 25, Marvin 9) 12:32

Penalties: Lasch, SCSU (high-sticking) 3:20; Mouillierat, MSU (slashing) 8:13; Hepp, SCSU (roughing) 8:13

OVERTIME

Scoring: 5. SCSU-LeBlanc 6 (Lasch 25, Roe 26) ppg 3:21

Penalties: Schiller, MSU (boarding) 2:32



SUMMARIES

Shots on goal: MSU 3-12-13-1—29; SCSU 6-10-7-3—26. Penalties: MSU 3 for 6 minutes; SCSU 3 for 6 minutes. Power-play opportunities: MSU 0 for 2; SCSU 1 for 2. Goalie saves: MSU-Cook 6-9-6-2—23 (2 GA), SCSU-Lee 3-11-12-1—26 (2 GA).

Referees: Don Adam, Tim Walsh. Linesmen: Jeff Schultz, Jarod Moen.