MANKATO — As far as points for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association go, the one Minnesota State picked up on Saturday night wasn’t a pretty one.

But …

“We needed that,” a relieved Jean-Paul LaFontaine said.

Trailing by four midway through the game after a second consecutive inexplicable outing by goaltender Phil Cook, the Mavericks scored four unanswered goals to tie Alaska Anchorage 5-5 before 2,591 onlookers at the Verizon Wireless Center.

LaFontaine, the freshman forward, scored two goals in the comeback, and a monster slap shot by Joe Schiller capped it with 9:36 to play in the third period.

“When you’re down 5-1 that early in the hockey game, especially with the adversity we’ve had, it would have been real easy for the kids to kind of pack their bags,” MSU coach Troy Jutting said. “I’m real proud of the way the kids stayed together, stuck together, kept working hard and managed to give themselves a point out of the game.”

The Mavericks outshot the Seawolves 46-13, but a couple of miscues and Cook’s struggles put them into a big hole.

Anchorage scored five goals on just seven shots. Going back to the second period of last week’s second game at Minnesota Duluth, Cook has allowed nine goals on the last 11 shots he’s faced.

“I think probably a lack of confidence,” Jutting said “We’ve got to get him back to where he’s capable of being. He’s a very good goaltender who’s kind of fighting the puck right now.”

Curtis Leinweber scored two power play goals for the Seawolves, and Mickey Spencer beat Cook on a breakaway, getting the puck as he stepped out of the penalty box. Brett Cameron and Jordan Kwas also scored goals for Anchorage.

Amid the Seawolves’ scoring, MSU’s Matt Leitner had a first-period goal as a part of a three-point game.

Leinweber’s second goal, at 7:31 of the second period, forced a goalie change, and Jutting opted to let redshirt freshman Evan Karambelas make his collegiate debut.

The Fort St. John, British Columbia, native didn’t allow a goal the rest of the way, stopping six shots, including two in overtime.

“I think we played pretty dang good defensively all night,” Jutting said. “We gave up 13 shots on goal to a WCHA hockey team. I don’t know if you can do it much better than that.”

The Mavericks’ comeback began four minutes after the goalie change as Eriah Hayes scored on a power play. With Anchorage continuing a parade to the penalty box, LaFontaine took advantage with a power-play goal on each side of the second intermission.

Zach Lehrke and Leitner assisted on both goals.

“I think we just needed to stay positive, like coach has been harping on us about,” Leitner said. “No hanging our heads. The way we were playing and moving our feet and getting shots on net, we knew we’d be able to do that.”

Midway through the period, Justin Jokinen took a shot that hit traffic in front and caromed out to the high slot. Schiller skated in from the left point and blasted the puck past goalie Rob Gunderson (41 saves).

“I’m really happy we were able to come back,” said LaFontaine, who now has seven goals. “With who we play next week, we needed some confidence.”

The Mavericks (3-10-1, 2-7-1 in WCHA) travel to Minneapolis on Friday and Saturday to play Minnesota.

Notes

Johnny McInnis also had two assists for the Mavericks. … The two teams combined for 75 minutes worth of penalties, including three majors and game misconducts (Eriah Hayes for MSU, and Spencer and Mitch Bruijsten for UAA). … With the tie, the Mavericks’ winless streak extended to five games. … Minnesota State and Alaska-Anchorage are tied for 11th place in the WCHA.

 

Alaska Anchorage    2-3-0-0—5

Minnesota State    1-2-2-0—5

 

First period

Scoring: 1. UAA-Leinweber 2 (Scheid 3, Gorham 3) ppg 6:47; 2. MSU-Leitner 4 (McInnis 3, Palmquist 4) 11:12; 3. UAA-Cameron 2 (unassisted) 18:43  Penalties: Dorr, MSU (tripping) 6:10

 

Second period

Scoring: 4. UAA-Kwas 3 (Allen 1, Cameron 5) 3:30; 5. UAA-Spencer 7 (Currier 2) 6:36; 6. UAA-Leinweber 3 (Scheid 4, Bailey 3) ppg 7:31; 7. MSU-Hayes 4 (unassisted) ppg 11:30; 8. MSU-LaFontaine 6 (Lehrke 3, Leitner 5) ppg 13:51

Penalties: Spencer, UAA (interference) 4:27; Thauwald, MSU (boarding) 6:55; Bruijsten, UAA (holding) 8:16; Currier, UAA (holding) 9:23; Bailey, UAA (cross-checking) 10:33; Spencer, UAA, major/game misconduct (spearing) 12:54; Gorham, UAA (roughing) 15:26; Gaede, MSU (roughing) 15:26; Lehrke, MSU (slashing) 15:26; Gorham, UAA (tripping) 19:24

 

Third period

Scoring: 9. MSU-LaFontaine 7 (Lehrke 4, Leitner) ppg 2:15; 10. MSU-Schillder 1 (Jokinen 4, McInnis 4) 10:24

Penalties: Crowell, UAA (holding) 2:06; Hayes, MSU, major/game misconduct (contact to the head) 2:31; Bruijsten, UAA, major/game misconduct (checking from behind) 3:37; Karambelas, UAA (interference) 4:22; Bailey, UAA (slashing) 5:13; Cameron, UAA (tripping) 18:22

 

Overtime

Scoring: None

Penalties: Dorr, MSU (tripping) 2:17

 

Summaries

Shots on goal: UAA 3-6-2-2—13, MSU 13-13-18-2—46. Penalties: UAA 13 for 48 minutes, MSU 8 for 27 minutes. Power plays: UAA 2 for 5; MSU 3 for 11. Goalie saves: UAA Gunderson 12-11-16-2—41 (5 GA); MSU Cook 1-1-x—2 (5 GA), Karambelas x-2-2-2—6 (0 GA).

MSU called its timeout at 19:26 of the third period. UAA called its timeout at 2:17 of overtime.

Referees: Matt Ulwelling, Craig Welker. Linesmen: Chris Olson, Sterling Eagan.

Attendance: 2,591