By Shane Frederick
Free Press Staff Writer
MANKATO —
When Minnesota State goaltender Phil Cook was pulled from Saturday night’s game, third-stringer Evan Karambelas just assumed that Austin Lee would be grabbing his stick and heading out to the Mavericks net.
“I honestly didn’t think I’d be going in there,” said Karambelas, a redshirt freshman. “But when (coach Troy Jutting) called my name I got a big adrenaline rush. I just wanted to go out there and do the best I could to keep the team in it.”
Making his first collegiate appearance, Karambelas entered the game at the 7:31 mark of the second period with the Mavericks trailing Alaska Anchorage 5-1. He stopped all six shots he faced the rest of the way as his teammates rallied for four goals and tied the game.
“I knew that we’d be coming back and would be excited, so I just didn’t want to let in a goal,” Karambelas said. “If we play 60 minutes like that every game we’re going to win a lot of hockey games.”
The Mavericks outshot the Seawolves 46-13, but Anchorge scored on five of its first seven shots to chase Cook from the game.
“The shots kind of lie on that,” the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Karambelas said. “We gave up 13 shots, but the quality shots at the start that we gave up were some good quality shots and you can’t blame Phil or anyone in net for those going in. I definitely think when I went in the guys played with some energy and we tightened it up.”
Karambelas made one fantastic save in the second period, moving across the crease to stop a back-door play. It was a “huge save” at a “critical time,” coach Troy Jutting said. Karambelas also stopped two shots in overtime.
Injury update
Will the Mavericks ever get fully healthy?
Defensemen Cameron Cooper and Brett Stern returned to the lineup on Friday night, but Stern left Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury.
Also, forward Adam Mueller took a big hit along the boards on Friday and did not play Saturday. Johnny McInnis moved up to Mueller’s left wing position on the top line and finished with two assists.
Meanwhile, junior co-captain Tyler Elbrecht, who has not played since breaking his arm in the Mavericks’ first game of the season, tweeted on Friday that he has been cleared for contact and should participate fully in practice starting today.
Asked Friday night if that means he’ll play this coming weekend against Minnesota, Elbrecht said, “That’s not my decision.”
Penalty parade
The Mavericks and the Seawolves combined for 21 penalties for 75 minutes on Saturday, committing three majors and game misconducts along the way.
Anchorage’s Mickey Spencer was kicked out of the game for spearing Eriah Hayes midway through the second period. Early in the third, Hayes was booted for a contact-to-the-head penalty, but that major was quickly negated when the Seawolves’ Mitch Bruijsten was given a major for checking from behind.
The Mavericks ended up 3 for 11 on the power play, while the Seawolves were 2 for 5 with the man advantage.
Loose pucks
With a goal and an assist on Friday and another goal on Saturday, Hayes extended his scoring streak to six games. The junior forward now has four goals and five assists for nine points. … Zach Lehrke’s short-handed goal on Friday was MSU’s third of the year, equaling the team’s total from a year ago. … Before scoring five goals against the Mavericks on Friday, Anchorage had a total of seven goals in its first eight WCHA games.
