Four of Minnesota State’s six goals came from newcomers as the Mavericks downed the Toronto Jr. Aeros 6-1 in an exhibition game at All Seasons Arena Saturday.
MSU head coach Jeff Vizenor emphasized scoring in his recruiting class this season as he got two goals from freshmen and two from sophomore transfer Melanie Salatino.
“She did some things this team hasn’t seen in a while,” Vizenor said of Salatino, who comes to the Mavericks via Wisconsin-Superior. “She was a goal-scorer at Superior, that was her job, and here it’s the same thing.”
The hosts got on the board at 9:06 of the opening period when senior Tristin Stephenson scored an unassisted goal to start a three-goal run in under four minutes. Freshman Amber Sharratt and junior Amanda Osborn gave MSU a 3-0 lead before the Aeros got on the board for the first time on their three-game WCHA trip when Caitly Ruddy scored with 6:24 to play in the opening period.
Salatino scored an unassisted goal in the second period and rounded out the game with a power-play goal with 17 seconds to play in the game, 11 seconds after freshman Devan Nichols had made the score 5-1.
MSU outshot the Aeros 40-16 but Vizenor credited the territorial domination with the team’s play in the offensive zone.
“We did a great job pressuring them in their zone,” he said. “Our defense pinched at the right time and we kept the puck down there.”
The Mavericks begin regular-season play Oct. 11-12 when they host Ohio State in both teams’ WCHA opener.
