Michigan State University
Wisconsin
Hockey Drops Third Straight, 5-1 To Wisconsin
11/26/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 26, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State's hockey team had a half-dozen great chances to score in the first period Friday night against Wisconsin.
The Badgers, meanwhile, had probably half that many. The difference was, Wisconsin converted each of theirs while Michigan State couldn't score, setting the tone for a 5-1 Badger win at Munn Ice Arena.
The loss is fourth-ranked Michigan State's third in a row and drops the Spartans to 10-4-0 overall (still 10-2-0 CCHA). Third-ranked Wisconsin, which beat MSU in the College Hockey Showcase for the first time since the event began in 1993, improves to 11-2-0 (8-2-0 WCHA).
The CCHA's other entry in the College Hockey Showcase, Michigan, fell to Minnesota, 6-1, Friday night in Ann Arbor.
"There's not much you can say after a game like that," said head coach Ron Mason, whose team outshot Wisconsin, 36-23. "We got nothing for what we did, and they were opportunists. They took advantage of every one of our mistakes."
The Spartans have lost three games in a row for the first time since Feb. 4, 10 and 11, 1995. Only Brian Maloney's third-period goal kept MSU from suffering back-to-back shutouts for the first time in school history.
Wisconsin freshman right wing Dany Heatley stole the show Friday night, registering the sixth hat trick in the history of the College Hockey Showcase. Senior center Steve Reinprecht also starred, with a hand in every UW goal before leaving the game in the third period after a heavy hit from MSU's John-Michael Liles.
Despite their offensive heroics, the play of Wisconsin goaltender Graham Melanson was truly the key to the Badgers' win. He made 35 saves, including 12 in each of the first two periods, and had several spectacular stops in the game's first 10 minutes, when MSU was buzzing around the Wisconsin net.
He stopped senior center Shawn Horcoff's blast from the slot in the first, as the puck very nearly trickled through his legs before he reached back and stopped it with his glove hand.
"We've very disappointed, especially since we outshot them almost two-to-one," Horcoff said. "My shot in the first period, if that goes through his legs, you're looking at a very different game."
Just 11 seconds after that save, Wisconsin stormed down the ice as David Hukalo beat junior goaltender Joe Blackburn on a breakaway. Twelve seconds later, Heatley recorded his first goal of the night and a game which looked to be all MSU was 2-0 Wisconsin.
"We are working pretty hard, but the breaks aren't going our way," said Blackburn, who was pulled for the first time in his career at the end of the first period in favor of freshman Ryan Miller. "Give Wisconsin credit. They didn't get a whole lot of chances, but they took advantage of the ones they had."
Heatley added his second of the game on the power play, at the 17:20 mark of the first.
Reinprecht scored on Miller at the 5:59 mark of the second, giving Wisconsin a 4-0 cushion. Heatley finished the hat trick at 5:12 of the third, and MSU was well on its way to its worst home loss since a 6-1 defeat at the hands of Notre Dame Nov. 1, 1997.
Maloney ended Melanson's shutout bid at 10:41 of the third on an MSU power play, patiently putting Liles' rebound past the prone Melanson. But the Badger goalie had made his mark much earlier.
Michigan State looks to end its three-game losing streak tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. against Minnesota in Munn Ice Arena.
