Albany, N.Y. --- Minnesota State jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and held on to gain a 4-3 victory over Harvard in NCAA Division I regional semi-final action Thursday in Albany, N.Y.
 
With the win, the Mavericks (36-5-0 overall) advance to the regional championship game and face the winner of tonight's other semifinal game between North Dakota and Notre Dame.  The regional championship game is scheduled for either 4:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. EST Saturday.
 
The Mavericks, who have won 16 games in a row and 25 of their last 26 contests, outshot Harvard by a 19-6 margin in the opening 20 minutes and held a 2-0 lead.
  
Goals from sophomore forward Connor Gregga and senior forward Reggie Lutz got things going for the Mavericks today. Gregga scored his sixth goal of the year at 14:12 of the first when he deflected a shot from Akito Hirose that Harvard netminder Mitchell Gibson never saw with several players blocking his view.  Then Lutz blasted a shot on a one-timer from the top of the right circle for a power play goal at 17:46. The goal, which came on an assist from Hirose, is the 14^th of the season from for Lutz.
 
It became a 3-0 Minnesota State lead at 2:06 of the second on an unassisted goal from junior center Brendan Furry, but the Crimson, who had gone 12-2-2 in the previous 16 games entering this afternoon's game, scored twice before the end of the period to get back into the thick of it.  Sean Farrell bounced the puck off of the back of Dryden McKay's skate on a shot from below the goal line at 16:42 and Alex Gaffney walked out from the corner and scored on the short side at 17:30 to pull Harvard within one of the Mavericks.  Minnesota State owned a 33-16 shot advantage after two periods of action as the score stood 3-2.
 
Sophomore center Ondrej Pavel, who also assisted on Hirose's goal to open scoring in the game, capitalized on an odd-man rush at 5:59 of the third, finishing the play with a shot that beat Gibson high on the glove side. Harvard tallied a six-on-four opportunity at 16:29 to close out the scoring in the game.
 
Hirose finished with three assists in the win, while Pavel had two points on a goal and an assist and sophomore forward Josh Groll chipped in with two helpers.
 
Senior netminder Dryden McKay finished with 19 saves and stands 36-4-0 on the season with the win. His win extends his NCAA Division I men's hockey single-season victories record to 36.  
 
Minnesota State's 16-game winning streak establishes the school record for consecutive wins.   

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