Championship favorites Minnesota State dominated St. Thomas and is now, for the third time in four years, the Mason Cup will call Mankato home. This performance sealed the Minnesota State Mavericks’ dominant season and prepared them for their 10th National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament. 

Despite going in tied at two and St. Thomas having two of the league’s goal leaders in Cooper Gay and Liam Malmquist, Minnesota State’s head coach, Luke Strand, stated there was “zero panic” in the locker room before the start of the third period. This kind of confidence is why the Mavericks were the cup favorites in the first place.

The Mavericks also secured an automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey tournament. According to Minnesota State Athletics, the Maverick’s last appearance in the tournament was short ending with a loss against St. Cloud State University during the 2022-23 season. The season before (2021-22) the Mavericks made some history reaching their first-ever Division I National Championship game, but ultimately lost 5-1 to Denver University.

The Mavericks will start their journey in the tournament this Friday, March 28, facing off against fourth-seed Western Michigan, at 5 p.m est, in Fargo, North Dakota.

The full NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey bracket can be seen here.