Mavericks blow 3-goal lead, lose after player ejected
The Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks are still winless at the NCAA tournament.
MSU blew a three-goal lead and lost to the Providence Friars 6-3 in the East Regional on Saturday.
The Mavericks scored three goals in the first 11 minutes of game from Charlie Gerard, Jake Jaremko and Nick Rivera to go up 3-0 but then the Mavericks went limp.
The Friars added one tally at the end of the first and two more in the second frame to tie things up at 3.
It was first time since mid-January that MSU had given up three goals.
With the game tied after two periods, the tide shifted for good in the third when Mavericks defenseman Connor Mackey was called for a game misconduct for contact to the head, and Providence earned a five-minute major power play.
The Friars netted two goals on the man advantage from Tyce Thompson and Josh Wilkins, with Jason O'Neill securing the empty-netter to solidify the win.
Coming into the game, the Mavericks had made the NCAA tournament six times – including the No. 1 overall seed in 2015 – but have never collected a win in those appearances.
It has not been a good run for Minnesota-based schools at the NCAA tournament. On Friday evening, the St. Cloud State Huskies – who were the No. 1 overall seed for the second straight year – lost to 16-seed American International.
The only hope left for the State of Hockey is Minnesota Duluth who plays Bowling Green at 3 P.M. in the Midwest Regional on Saturday.
With the win, Providence moves onto the regional final and will play the winner of Northeastern and Cornell.
