delivered it into the opening behind Lee.

Nursing a 2-0 lead, the Gophers began to favor their defense and dropped back to fend off a several Mavericks attacks. The gap in shots on a goal the "U" had created slowly withered to 15-14 by the close of the period. However, Minnesota State wasn't able to escape into intermission without further damage being inflicted.

With the clock approaching the one-minute mark, Mark Alt found Rau at the left hash mark, where the freshman star stuck his stick out to tip in the Gophers' third goal.

Though momentum appeared soundly on the "U's" side entering the second period, Minnesota State's scrappy play kept the lead in-check. That's when the Gophers' glut of penalties caught up with them.

A cross-checking call found defenseman Justin HollLehrke banking in another goal to draw within one.

Opportunities to tie were there for the Mavericks. However, Patterson and his defense didn't relinquish again.

Turning point

When Lehrke's second goal went in, Minnesota State was on the brink of completing an unlikely comeback.

The Gophers struck a balance though between their attack and dropping down low to prevent the Mavericks from making another run at the tying goal.

Numbers game

22: Combined penalty minutes logged by the two squads in the first period, matching their total from the rest of the game.

4: Number of points Matson tallied this weekend (two goals, two assists).

40: Shots on goal by the Gophers -- 18 more than the Mavericks (22).

4: Years since the Gophers last swept the Mavericks (Nov. 9 and 10, 2007).

Overheard

"It felt like a monkey