Jake Jackson scored his second goal of the game 15 minutes, 7 seconds into overtime, and the Michigan Tech men's hockey team beat host and third-ranked Minnesota State Mankato 2-1 on Sunday night to win their best-of-three WCHA playoff series.
Patrick Munson made 41 saves for Michigan Tech (21-16-5), which will visit Northern Michigan on Saturday in the WCHA championship game. The winner gets an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, taking away an at-large bid for the 16-team field.
The WCHA will have two teams in the NCAA tournament, as the Mavericks (29-9-1) will receive an invitation when the field is revealed Sunday.
Jackson gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead in the second period, but Zeb Knutson tied it for Minnesota State later in the period on a power play.
No. 1 St. Cloud State 4, Miami (Ohio) 3: Mikey Eyssimont scored his second goal of the game 8 minutes, 14 seconds into overtime, and the host Huskies (24-7-6) rallied to beat the RedHawks (12-20-5) and win their best-of-three NCHC playoff series.
St. Cloud State came back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1. Eyssimont's first goal Sunday came late in the second period and pulled the Huskies within 3-2, and Judd Peterson tied the score with 5:52 remaining in regulation.
Ryan Larkin made 38 saves for Miami, which was outshot 42-22.
The NCHC semifinals are Friday at Xcel Energy Center. St. Cloud State will play North Dakota in one semifinal, with No. 4 Denver — a 6-1 winner at home over Colorado College on Sunday — facing Minnesota Duluth in the other.
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