Phillips’ 43 saves gives No. 3 Michigan Tech a tie with No. 2 Minnesota State

MANKATO, Minn. — Jamie Phillips made 43 saves as No. 3 Michigan Tech held on for a 1-1 tie with No. 2 Minnesota State on Friday.

Phillips stopped all 18 shots he faced in the third period and two more in overtime for the Huskies (24-7-2, 19-4-2 WCHA), who remained one point behind the Mavericks (23-6-3, 19-3-3) in the race for the WCHA regular season title.

“He was just outstanding,” Michigan Tech coach Mel Pearson said of Phillips. “He was the reason we got one point out of here.”

Senior Jean-Paul Lafontaine scored his fifth goal of the season on a power play in the first period for Minnesota State.

“At this time of the year you need your seniors, you need your upperclassmen to be difference-makers,” Mavericks coach Mike Hastings said.

Reid Sturos scored on a rush in the second period to tie the game for Michigan Tech, which was outshot in every period except overtime, in which it held a 5-2 advantage.

“They’re the No. 1 ranked team in the PairWise for a reason. You could see that,” Pearson said. “I thought they brought their A game and I thought we brought our C game. We have to play a lot better tomorrow, and we will.”

Here are highlights from Minnesota State’s broadcast:

[youtube_sc url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEThzh3zNr4]