Mens College Hockey: Huskies edged by Minnesota State, 4-2

Mankato, Minn. - The St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (4-5-2, 2-2-1 WCHA) suffered a tough 4-2 setback at Minnesota State University (3-6-0, 2-3-0 WCHA) at the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato, Minn. on Nov. 11.

SCSU and MSU traded goals in the first period with the Huskies earning a 1-0 lead at 13:31 with a goal by freshman forward Brooks Bertsch (Dubuque, Iowa). Assists on the play by Bertsch were provided by senior defender Sam Zabkowicz (Greendale, Wis.) and senior forward Jared Festler (Little Falls). The goal was Bertsch's first collegiate goal at St. Cloud.

MSU charged back to tie the score at 1-1 with a marker by J.P. Burkemper at 18:59 of the first. Eriah Hayes and Zach Lehrke had assists on the play.

The Mavericks pushed the lead to 2-1 with an unassisted goal by Zach Palmquist. The eventual game winner was then notched by Eli Zuck at 10:08. His shorthanded goal was assisted by Cameron Cooper and Joe Schiller.

In the third period, SCSU got back into the action with a goal by sophomore forward Cory Thorson (Crystal). Sophomore linemate Mitch MacMillian (Penticton, B.C.) gained the solo assist on the play.

Thorson capped a rink-long drive up ice by going top shelf on the MSU goalie to gain the goal. This was Thorson's second goal of the 2011-12 season.

To finish the game, Cooper scored at 3:55 with an assist by Lehrke to make it 4-2.

In the contest, MSU outshot the Huskies 38-36. Freshman goalie Ryan Faragher (Fort Frances, Ont.) made 34 saves in the contest, while Austin Lee had 34 saves for MSU.

On the power play, SCSU and MSU were both 0-of-5.

The Huskies and Mavs will finish the series on Saturday, Nov. 12 with a 7:07 p.m. game at the Verizon Wireless Center in downtown Mankato. Fans can watch the game live on Charter Channel 87 in St. Cloud. They can also listen to the game live on KNSI AM 1450 (www.1450knsi.com) or KVSC FM 88.1 (www.kvsc.org).

Courtesy: Tom Nelson/St. Cloud State University Athletic Media Relations