Colorado College seized the momentum from the outset and never looked back on Saturday.  

Fueled by two more tallies off the stick of Rylan Schwartz and a power play that clicked three times on six opportunities, the seventh-ranked Tigers blitzed Minnesota State University, 6-2, to complete a sweep of their two-game WCHA series at the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato, Minn.

With its third consecutive victory and fourth in five outings, CC improved to 11-5 overall and roared into third place in the league standings at 9-5 in conference play.  

Junior defenseman Mike Boivin and Schwartz struck just 93 seconds apart with Mavericks in the penalty box before the game was 10 minutes old. And, although MSU would cut the deficit in half on freshman Jean-Paul Lafontaine's man-up goal with 4:47 left in the opening period, the visitors were off and running.

Schwartz, who has recorded three hat tricks, recorded his fifth multiple-goal performance of the campaign by scoring his second of the night after a perfect feed across the slot from Andrew Hamburg at 4:33 of the middle frame. He now has 16 goals in 2011-12, tying him for the WCHA lead.

Blue-line specialists Eamonn McDermott and Joe Marciano lit the lamp within a 2:39 span early in the third period, while right winger William Rapuzzi added an empty netter with 47 seconds remaining to cap the team's first sweep of the season on the road against a WCHA opponent.  

Schwartz also set up the goals by Boivin and Rapuzzi to finish with four points. Hamburg, meanwhile, tripled his season points total by also teaming up with freshman left wing Scott Wamsganz to assist on Marciano's marker.

It was the first career point for Wamsganz. Boivin and Rapuzzi also picked up an assist apiece. All told, a dozen different CC players collected at least one point.

Colorado College pelted Mavericks netminder Austin Lee with a season-high 44 shots, including 33 through the first two periods. At the other end of the ice, sophomore Josh Thorimbert made 24 saves for the Tigers while improving his season record to 6-1.

Senior forward Michael Dorr beat Thorimbert on a shorthanded breakway at 10:04 of the final session but last-place Minnesota State, now 5-14-1 overall and 2-11-1 in the WCHA, could not close the gap any further.

CC will take Christmas weekend off before opening a six-game home stand on Dec. 30 and 31 with non-conference games against Air Force and Union College.