Credit the play of special teams, terrible a night earlier, with making a big difference for Colorado College on Saturday. 

The Tigers rode a power-play goal by senior right wing Stephen Schultz and some gritty penalty killing of their own to a 1-0 victory over Minnesota State University in the finale of their two-game WCHA series at a stuffy Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato, Minn.

Sophomore netminder Joe Howe bounced back from Friday's 5-4 loss to steer aside 35 shots by the Mavericks and backstop the fourth shutout of his collegiate career.

CC snapped a two-game losing skid, evened its league record at 1-1 and improved to 3-2-1 overall despite a five-minute major and game disqualification whistled against sophomore center Rylan Schwartz eight minutes into the third period. Colorado College killed that and four other MSU power plays in the contest.

A wide-open first period showcased the talents of Howe and Phil Cook, his counterpart between the Minnesota State pipes. The teams combined for 31 shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes, including 16 by the Mavericks, but neither was able to light the lamp. 

The Tigers, who failed to capitalize on an earlier power play, made no mistake when they got a second opportunity early in the middle frame. After some nice work around the cage by Schwartz and William Rapuzzi, Schultz converted on a rebound just 29 seconds into the man advantage and provided Howe with all the cushion he would need at the 2:13 mark.

Cook finished with 40 saves after making 39 in Friday's series opener.

After splitting four one-goal decisions on the road the last two weekends, CC now plays six of its next eight games at home and doesn't travel out of state again until early December.