Michigan State University Athletics
Hockey Suffers 1-0 Loss To Notre Dame
12/4/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 4, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Perhaps the toughest thing about losing a 1-0 game is looking back at the opportunities that you should have converted.
Saturday night at Notre Dame, the Michigan State hockey team worked hard and earned at least two golden opportunities that stuck with the Spartans after their loss.
The first, an apparent power-play goal by freshman defenseman John-Michael Liles with 1:26 remaining in the first period, was called back when referee Don Cline said senior center Shawn Horcoff was in the crease. The second came more than 40 minutes later, as freshman left wing Brian Maloney hit the crossbar with just 16 seconds left in regulation.
In between the two, Notre Dame managed its lone goal on a rebound at the 14:54 mark of the third period, and it turned out to be enough for the 1-0 win.
?We scored a great goal in the first period, but the official says someone was in the crease,? head coach Ron Mason said afterwards. ?We should be able to overcome a call like that, though. Then we get great chances down the stretch, but they don?t go in. It?s kind of typical, the ways things are going for us lately.?
The fifth-ranked Spartans have lost four of their last five to drop to 11-5-0 overall (10-3-0 CCHA). Notre Dame is 6-7-2 (4-5-2).
The two teams meet again Sunday night at 7:05 p.m. at Munn Ice Arena.
?We have to bounce back, that?s the bottom line,? Mason said. ?We played hard enough tonight, we just didn?t get anything for it.?
The Spartans dominated for long stretches of the first period and had a terrific chance on Liles? apparent goal. He got the puck at the point, moved to his left, and fired a snap shot high over goaltender Tony Zasowski, who had gone to the ice.
Horcoff, who was on the right wing side of the net engaged with an Irish defenseman, appeared on video replays to be pushed into the crease. Cline waved the goal off.
?I thought we played really, really well in the first period,? Mason said. ?It was a beautiful goal, and a great play by John-Michael Liles. It was a split-second, knee-jerk reaction by the referee -- a tough call for him. That took a lot of momentum away from us.?
?That would have been a great momentum builder for us,? Horcoff said of the goal that wasn?t. ?I had one foot in the crease, but I was pushed in, and there was no interference with the goalie whatsoever. Those calls are going to happen, but it?s frustrating. We still should have overcome that.?
Momentum turned towards the Fighting Irish and they had the better chances in the second period, including two very good saves by Miller in the first six minutes. The first came when Connor Dunlop elected to shoot on a two-on-one 4:35 into the period, as Miller gobbled it up and did not allow a rebound.
Less than a minute later, David Inman was set up alone in the slot with a nice pass from behind the net, but Miller again made the save and covered up.
Michigan State?s best chance of the period did not result in a shot on goal, as Sean Patchell took a pass off the right wing boards and raced in on a partial breakaway on Zasowski. Notre Dame defenseman Evan Nielsen did a great job of backchecking, however, diving to the ice and poking the puck away from Patchell just as he was about to shoot.
Michigan State had some good chances early in the third period, as the Spartans began to take control of the game again. Zasowski made a great save on Andrew Bogle when he shot a Troy Ferguson rebound near the midway point of the period.
The Spartans got more chances on a power play around the 12:00 mark of the period, but Zasowski was again up to the task.
?Their goalie played really well,? Horcoff said. ?We had some great chances and he made the saves.?
At 14:54, Notre Dame ended the scoreless tie on a rebound goal. Ryan Clark took a high shot from the point which was stopped by freshman goaltender Ryan Miller, but the rebound squirted out to the right side of the net. Ryan Dolder was there to put it away for the 1-0 lead.
MSU kept swarming, outshooting Notre Dame 15-7 in the third. With 16 seconds and Miller on the bench for an extra attacker, Maloney slipped out from behind the net on the right side and put a shot off the crossbar.
?We were just trying to get everything to the net,? Maloney said. ?(Damon Whitten) had the puck behind the net and gave it to me as I came around the side. The goalie had been going down all night, so I tried to put it high. I guess it was just one or two inches too high.?
The Spartans and Irish have a rematch Sunday night at Munn Ice Arena at 7:05 p.m.
