Best of 06-07
Last season was another up and down year for the Mavericks, but there were plenty of great, unforgettable moments. Here are my top ten.
10. (Tie) Mike Zacharias and Dan Tormey each make diving save against Colorado College February 23-24
The last weekend of the regular season gave Maverick fans a glimpse of "what might have been" with the goaltending rotation everyone thought the Mavericks would be able to ride throughout the season, before that plan was derailed by freak injuries to Mike Zacharias and Dan Tormey.
Zacharias got the start on Friday night and made 24 saves. None were more spectacular than a save he made late in second period. A defensive breakdown allowed a CC forward to get the puck all alone in front of the net. The forward deked around Zacharias for what looked like a sure goal, until Zacharias reached behind him and made a diving glove save to prevent the goal. Mick Berge scored late in the third period to give the Mavericks the win on the first night.
Not to be outdone, Dan Tormey came into the game on the second night of the series in the second period, replacing senior Chris Clark. Later that period, with the game tied at 1, a CC player once again found himself alone in front of the net, staring at what looked like an easy goal, until Tormey made an outstanding diving stop to deny him the goal. The Mavericks scored twice later that period and won the game on Senior Night 6-4.
9. Travis Morin scores with 5 seconds left to tie North Dakota February 10
It looked as though the Mavericks were about to finish off another frustrating trip to North Dakota when the Sioux scored a powerplay goal with 3:15 left to take a two goal lead. But Maverick Jon Kalinski scored an extra attacker goal with just 1:13 left, to pull the game within one. With the Mavericks on a powerplay, and the goalie still out for an extra attacker, Travis Morin was able to find the puck in a scrum and score with just 5 seconds left in the game, to stun the Sioux crowd, and help the Mavericks steal a tie.
8. Joel Hanson scores to force tie with Minnesota December 1st
In one of the craziest games on the year, Minnesota State pulled out to a surprising 3-0 lead after the first period at Mariucci Arena. Minnesota responded in the second period with the first of their five powerplay goals to cut the lead to 2. About four minutes later, Minnesota's Blake Wheeler collided with goalie Dan Tormey, knocking off Tormey's glove, and badly cutting the goalie's hand. A fight ensued which resulted in 36 penalty minutes. Back-up Mike Zacharias was forced to enter the game, and the Gophers immediately scored a powerplay goal from an earlier penalty. The Gophers tied the game two minutes later, again on the powerplay.
The Gophers took the lead later that period when linesman Brad Shepherd decided to call a checking from behind penalty on MSU's RJ Linder, and the Gophers scored on the ensuing powerplay. The game looked lost when Alex Goligoski gave the Gophers a 5-3 lead, but MSU's Jon Kalinski answered back 5 minutes later to bring the game within one.
The Mavericks got a powerplay with just under 1:30 left in the game and were able to take advantage. After working the puck around the outside, Travis Morin passed the puck to Joel Hanson at the right point, who fired a one-timer that deflected off goalie Kellen Briggs and into the net. The Mavericks had chances in overtime, but ended up with a tie at Mariucci.
7. Mike Zacharias stops Bryan McGregor on a penalty shot December 16th
The Mavericks had already taken the Friday night battle in their only series against Minnesota-Duluth last year, and were hoping to sweep the critical series. The Saturday game got off to a rough start, however.
Lucas Fransen gave the Mavericks an early lead on a shot from the point, but UMD answered back to tie the game. The Mavericks then lost Steve Wagner and Brian Kilburg to checking from behind penalties in a span of three and a half minutes. The Bulldogs were able to take advantage, scoring on a 5-on-3 goal, and then taking a 3-1 lead early in the second period. The Mavericks answered back with two goals to tie the game at 3.
Shortly after the Mavericks had tied the game, Jon Kalinski tripped UMD's Bryan McGregor, and McGregor was awarded a penalty shot. McGregor skated in on Zacharias and made a deke to his right, but Zacharias anticipated the move, and made the move along with McGregor, giving the Bulldog nothing to shoot at. A penalty shot goal by UMD would have definitely brought all the momentum back to the Bulldogs. Instead, the stop by Zacharias energized the crowd, and the team, and a minute later, Nick Canzanello gave the Mavs the lead on his first career goal, and the Mavericks cruised to a 6-3 win.
6. Jon Kalinski scores in overtime against Notre Dame October 14th
The Mavericks season got off to a rough start in South Bend with a 6-1 loss. They tried to turn things around two nights later at home, and were able to take the game to overtime against the Irish. Travis Morin drew a penalty late in overtime, and with just 15 seconds left, Jon Kalinski got the puck to the right of goalie David Brown. Kalinski charged towards the net and flipped a perfect shot over Brown's shoulder and into the top of the net to give the Mavericks a dramatic overtime win at home.
It may not have meant much at the time, but the win ended up being MSU's most impressive of the season, as the Irish went on to be one of the best teams in college hockey, and goalie David Brown went on to be a Hobey Baker finalist.
5. Jon Kalinski scores in overtime against Nebraska-Omaha January 16th
The Spirit of the Maverick Trophy may not mean a lot to most people, but it still would have been embarrassing if MSU had lost it. After tying the initial contest in Mankato 4-4, and being tied 2-2 after 60 minutes of regulation in Omaha, the Mavericks had to score in overtime to retain the trophy(UNO held the tiebreaker due to scoring more goals on the road).
Jon Kalinski had already been turned away by UNO goalie Jeremie Dupont on a number of breakaways earlier in the game, but he saved his best for when it counted most. UNO was controlling the puck in the MSU zone, until a pass back to the point jumped over Juha Uotila's stick and Kalinski was off to the races. Kalinski came in on Dupont's left, and skated across the front of the net and slipped the puck between Dupont's legs to give the purple Mavericks the win, and the rights to the Trophy for another year.
4. Geoff Irwin scores in overtime against Michigan Tech February 3rd
In a critical late season series against Michigan Tech, MSU tied the Huskies on the first night of the game, and looked as though they'd tied the Huskies on the second night. With a minute and a half left in overtime, the Mavericks were controlling the puck in MTU's zone, when forward Jon Kalinski went down with an injury. Goalie Rob Nolan froze the puck and MSU was given a face-off to Nolan's left. Freshman Trevor Bruess won the draw cleanly back to fellow freshman Geoff Irwin, who fired a quick shot that Nolan never saw, as it sailed into the back of the net.
The overtime goal gave MSU two critical points, as well as held MTU to one point on the weekend. It also gave MSU the tiebreaker over MTU in the league standings, which seemed important as the two teams were so close in the standings. Had it not been for Minnesota tanking in the last game of the season to Tech, MSU would have finished in 7th place ahead of the Huskies due to that goal.
3. Travis Morin shocks St. Cloud
It wouldn't be a Maverick season without an improbable comeback. There were many on the season, but none were better than this one. After Joel Hanson gave the Mavericks a first period lead against the rival Huskies, St. Cloud responded with four unanswered goals to give them a 4-1 lead, with 17 minutes left in the third period. The lead looked safe, especially with All-American goalie Bobby Goepfert in net for the Huskies. With the lead being so comfortable, Husky Matt Hartman decided it was time to exact a little revenge by taking a nasty slash to an MSU defenseman behind the play, which drew a two minute penalty.
Mick Berge started the comeback on that powerplay with a snap shot that bounced off a Husky defenseman and into the net after Goepfert moved towards the initial shot, and was crossed up by the deflection. Joel Hanson netted his second powerplay goal of the night with a nice wrist shot from the top of the circles that deflected off the post and in.
The Mavericks were back in the game, but still needed a break to tie the game against Goepfert, and they got it when Jerad Stewart scored "the magic bullet goal" off an ugly shot that somehow took a couple right turns, before deflecting off a Husky defender, off of Goepfert and into the net.
Not content with the tie, the Mavericks continued to buzz around Goepfert, until Travis Morin picked up a puck along the right circle. Goepfert had gone down the ice, leaving Morin only one place that he could put the puck. Morin fired a perfect shot into the top of the net that popped the water bottle off the net. The Mavericks were able to hold onto the lead, and cement the win with a Jon Kalinski empty-net goal.
The win kept MSU's streak of wins at the National Hockey Center alive, and thanks to a tie the following night, gave MSU a winning record against the Huskies again.
2. Senior Night February 24th
The Mavericks won on Senior Night for the 6th consecutive year. It was an emotional night, especially for the outgoing seniors: Chris Clark, Kurtis Kisio, Lucas Fransen, Chad Brownlee, and Travis Morin. The team was given a great ovation as they skated around the ice one last time, and an even bigger cheer as the seniors stood at center ice one last time to say goodbye to the fans.
1. Anthony Ford Night November 4th
The game that night was disappointing, but largely an afterthought compared to the beautiful pre-game ceremony that saw Ford's #99 jersey retired and hung along the wall of Maverick greats. The lights were turned down, but I doubt there was a dry eye in the house. It was a very moving, very special "bigger than hockey" moment.
10. (Tie) Mike Zacharias and Dan Tormey each make diving save against Colorado College February 23-24
The last weekend of the regular season gave Maverick fans a glimpse of "what might have been" with the goaltending rotation everyone thought the Mavericks would be able to ride throughout the season, before that plan was derailed by freak injuries to Mike Zacharias and Dan Tormey.
Zacharias got the start on Friday night and made 24 saves. None were more spectacular than a save he made late in second period. A defensive breakdown allowed a CC forward to get the puck all alone in front of the net. The forward deked around Zacharias for what looked like a sure goal, until Zacharias reached behind him and made a diving glove save to prevent the goal. Mick Berge scored late in the third period to give the Mavericks the win on the first night.
Not to be outdone, Dan Tormey came into the game on the second night of the series in the second period, replacing senior Chris Clark. Later that period, with the game tied at 1, a CC player once again found himself alone in front of the net, staring at what looked like an easy goal, until Tormey made an outstanding diving stop to deny him the goal. The Mavericks scored twice later that period and won the game on Senior Night 6-4.
9. Travis Morin scores with 5 seconds left to tie North Dakota February 10
It looked as though the Mavericks were about to finish off another frustrating trip to North Dakota when the Sioux scored a powerplay goal with 3:15 left to take a two goal lead. But Maverick Jon Kalinski scored an extra attacker goal with just 1:13 left, to pull the game within one. With the Mavericks on a powerplay, and the goalie still out for an extra attacker, Travis Morin was able to find the puck in a scrum and score with just 5 seconds left in the game, to stun the Sioux crowd, and help the Mavericks steal a tie.
8. Joel Hanson scores to force tie with Minnesota December 1st
In one of the craziest games on the year, Minnesota State pulled out to a surprising 3-0 lead after the first period at Mariucci Arena. Minnesota responded in the second period with the first of their five powerplay goals to cut the lead to 2. About four minutes later, Minnesota's Blake Wheeler collided with goalie Dan Tormey, knocking off Tormey's glove, and badly cutting the goalie's hand. A fight ensued which resulted in 36 penalty minutes. Back-up Mike Zacharias was forced to enter the game, and the Gophers immediately scored a powerplay goal from an earlier penalty. The Gophers tied the game two minutes later, again on the powerplay.
The Gophers took the lead later that period when linesman Brad Shepherd decided to call a checking from behind penalty on MSU's RJ Linder, and the Gophers scored on the ensuing powerplay. The game looked lost when Alex Goligoski gave the Gophers a 5-3 lead, but MSU's Jon Kalinski answered back 5 minutes later to bring the game within one.
The Mavericks got a powerplay with just under 1:30 left in the game and were able to take advantage. After working the puck around the outside, Travis Morin passed the puck to Joel Hanson at the right point, who fired a one-timer that deflected off goalie Kellen Briggs and into the net. The Mavericks had chances in overtime, but ended up with a tie at Mariucci.
7. Mike Zacharias stops Bryan McGregor on a penalty shot December 16th
The Mavericks had already taken the Friday night battle in their only series against Minnesota-Duluth last year, and were hoping to sweep the critical series. The Saturday game got off to a rough start, however.
Lucas Fransen gave the Mavericks an early lead on a shot from the point, but UMD answered back to tie the game. The Mavericks then lost Steve Wagner and Brian Kilburg to checking from behind penalties in a span of three and a half minutes. The Bulldogs were able to take advantage, scoring on a 5-on-3 goal, and then taking a 3-1 lead early in the second period. The Mavericks answered back with two goals to tie the game at 3.
Shortly after the Mavericks had tied the game, Jon Kalinski tripped UMD's Bryan McGregor, and McGregor was awarded a penalty shot. McGregor skated in on Zacharias and made a deke to his right, but Zacharias anticipated the move, and made the move along with McGregor, giving the Bulldog nothing to shoot at. A penalty shot goal by UMD would have definitely brought all the momentum back to the Bulldogs. Instead, the stop by Zacharias energized the crowd, and the team, and a minute later, Nick Canzanello gave the Mavs the lead on his first career goal, and the Mavericks cruised to a 6-3 win.
6. Jon Kalinski scores in overtime against Notre Dame October 14th
The Mavericks season got off to a rough start in South Bend with a 6-1 loss. They tried to turn things around two nights later at home, and were able to take the game to overtime against the Irish. Travis Morin drew a penalty late in overtime, and with just 15 seconds left, Jon Kalinski got the puck to the right of goalie David Brown. Kalinski charged towards the net and flipped a perfect shot over Brown's shoulder and into the top of the net to give the Mavericks a dramatic overtime win at home.
It may not have meant much at the time, but the win ended up being MSU's most impressive of the season, as the Irish went on to be one of the best teams in college hockey, and goalie David Brown went on to be a Hobey Baker finalist.
5. Jon Kalinski scores in overtime against Nebraska-Omaha January 16th
The Spirit of the Maverick Trophy may not mean a lot to most people, but it still would have been embarrassing if MSU had lost it. After tying the initial contest in Mankato 4-4, and being tied 2-2 after 60 minutes of regulation in Omaha, the Mavericks had to score in overtime to retain the trophy(UNO held the tiebreaker due to scoring more goals on the road).
Jon Kalinski had already been turned away by UNO goalie Jeremie Dupont on a number of breakaways earlier in the game, but he saved his best for when it counted most. UNO was controlling the puck in the MSU zone, until a pass back to the point jumped over Juha Uotila's stick and Kalinski was off to the races. Kalinski came in on Dupont's left, and skated across the front of the net and slipped the puck between Dupont's legs to give the purple Mavericks the win, and the rights to the Trophy for another year.
4. Geoff Irwin scores in overtime against Michigan Tech February 3rd
In a critical late season series against Michigan Tech, MSU tied the Huskies on the first night of the game, and looked as though they'd tied the Huskies on the second night. With a minute and a half left in overtime, the Mavericks were controlling the puck in MTU's zone, when forward Jon Kalinski went down with an injury. Goalie Rob Nolan froze the puck and MSU was given a face-off to Nolan's left. Freshman Trevor Bruess won the draw cleanly back to fellow freshman Geoff Irwin, who fired a quick shot that Nolan never saw, as it sailed into the back of the net.
The overtime goal gave MSU two critical points, as well as held MTU to one point on the weekend. It also gave MSU the tiebreaker over MTU in the league standings, which seemed important as the two teams were so close in the standings. Had it not been for Minnesota tanking in the last game of the season to Tech, MSU would have finished in 7th place ahead of the Huskies due to that goal.
3. Travis Morin shocks St. Cloud
It wouldn't be a Maverick season without an improbable comeback. There were many on the season, but none were better than this one. After Joel Hanson gave the Mavericks a first period lead against the rival Huskies, St. Cloud responded with four unanswered goals to give them a 4-1 lead, with 17 minutes left in the third period. The lead looked safe, especially with All-American goalie Bobby Goepfert in net for the Huskies. With the lead being so comfortable, Husky Matt Hartman decided it was time to exact a little revenge by taking a nasty slash to an MSU defenseman behind the play, which drew a two minute penalty.
Mick Berge started the comeback on that powerplay with a snap shot that bounced off a Husky defenseman and into the net after Goepfert moved towards the initial shot, and was crossed up by the deflection. Joel Hanson netted his second powerplay goal of the night with a nice wrist shot from the top of the circles that deflected off the post and in.
The Mavericks were back in the game, but still needed a break to tie the game against Goepfert, and they got it when Jerad Stewart scored "the magic bullet goal" off an ugly shot that somehow took a couple right turns, before deflecting off a Husky defender, off of Goepfert and into the net.
Not content with the tie, the Mavericks continued to buzz around Goepfert, until Travis Morin picked up a puck along the right circle. Goepfert had gone down the ice, leaving Morin only one place that he could put the puck. Morin fired a perfect shot into the top of the net that popped the water bottle off the net. The Mavericks were able to hold onto the lead, and cement the win with a Jon Kalinski empty-net goal.
The win kept MSU's streak of wins at the National Hockey Center alive, and thanks to a tie the following night, gave MSU a winning record against the Huskies again.
2. Senior Night February 24th
The Mavericks won on Senior Night for the 6th consecutive year. It was an emotional night, especially for the outgoing seniors: Chris Clark, Kurtis Kisio, Lucas Fransen, Chad Brownlee, and Travis Morin. The team was given a great ovation as they skated around the ice one last time, and an even bigger cheer as the seniors stood at center ice one last time to say goodbye to the fans.
1. Anthony Ford Night November 4th
The game that night was disappointing, but largely an afterthought compared to the beautiful pre-game ceremony that saw Ford's #99 jersey retired and hung along the wall of Maverick greats. The lights were turned down, but I doubt there was a dry eye in the house. It was a very moving, very special "bigger than hockey" moment.
posted by Chris at 3:21 PM
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