MANKATO, Minn. – The No. 7 Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks completed the weekend sweep on Saturday night, defeating the Alaska Nanooks hockey team 3-1 in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association contest at the Verizon Center in downtown Mankato. Alaska drops their overall record to 0-7-1 and 0-2-0 in conference play, while Minnesota State improves to 5-1-0 overall and 2-0-0 in league matchups.
In their second conference game of the season, Minnesota State walks away from the weekend earning six WCHA points with back-to-back wins, while the Nooks remain pointless in the league standings.
Sophomore forward
Max Newton opened up the scoring on Saturday, netting Alaska's first and only goal of the weekend at the 4:01 mark of the first period. Newton found himself alone in the MSU offensive corner and walked to the net along the goal line before roofing the puck upstairs on his backhand for his first goal of the season.
Newton's tally was assisted by freshman defenseman
Chris Jandric, who earned his fifth assist of the season and who continues to lead all Alaska Nanooks in scoring with five points.
Penalties continued to plague the Nanooks on Saturday, as MSU's Ian Schied scored back-to-back power play goals 1:50 apart to give the Mavs a 2-1 lead.
After a scoreless second period, Mankato's Jared Spooner netted his first goal of the season at the 14:21 mark of the third to seal Alaska's fate.
Junior goaltender
Anton Martinsson collected 34 saves against the Mavericks, including 26 saves in the last 40 minutes straight. On the other end of the ice, MSU's Mathias Israelsson collected 13 saves.
The Alaska Nanooks hockey team will enjoy a bye-week before hitting the road once again to take on the Lake Superior State Lakers in a two-game conference series on Friday, Nov. 9 and Saturday, Nov. 10 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Puck-drop both nights is set for 3:07pm AKT.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
