WMU Comes Back To Tie Hockey, 2-2

Friday, January 28

Kalamazoo, Mich.

7:05 PM ET

Michigan State University

Western Mich

1/28/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

Jan. 28, 2000

Notes

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State was dominant in the first period and much of the third and overtime, but could only manage a 2-2 tie at Western Michigan Friday night.

"I'm glad we played as well as we did, or we would have lost," head coach Ron Mason said. "Western Michigan had a lot of energy and played well. We wanted the win, but getting the tie on the road, under these circumstances we have to take that."

The Spartans, who went to overtime for the third time in five games, are now 17-7-2 overall (12-5-1 and alone in second place in the CCHA). Western Michigan is 8-12-3 (7-9-3 CCHA). The two teams play again Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. in Kalamazoo.

Michigan State outshot WMU 6-0 in the overtime period, including a golden opportunity by freshman left wing Brian Maloney, who made a nice one-time shot on a perfect back-door feed by Shawn Horcoff. Maloney's shot was somehow stopped by a sprawling Jeff Reynaert, who made 36 saves in goal for the Broncos.

The Spartans outshot the host Broncos 19-6 in the first period (including 12-1 in the first 10 minutes) and got goals from its two biggest goal scorers - Maloney and Adam Hall - to claim a 2-0 lead.

Maloney scored the Spartans' first goal, as Mike Weaver's shot from the point snuck through WMU goaltender Jeff Reynaert's pads. Maloney pushed the loose puck over the goal line at the 8:51 mark of the first period.

Horcoff and Kalamazoo native Hall hooked up on the Spartans' second goal, as the pair raced down the ice on a short-handed two-on-one. Horcoff held the puck until the Western defenseman went down, then moved around him and fired a perfect pass to Hall on the crease, where he chipped it over Reynaert for his team-leading 16th goal of the season.

"The play started in the defensive zone, when a lot of guys came together in the corner," Hall said. "I fired it around the boards to Horcoff, then saw that there was only one defenseman back. I jumped in the play, and he made a great read on the defenseman to make him go down. He made a nice pass and I just put it in the net."

Western Michigan came back strong in the second, outshooting the Spartans 10-5 and cutting the lead in half. Mike Bishai got the Broncos' goal on the power play at the 16:02 mark of the period, as his shot deflected off of defenseman Brad Fast's stick and past goaltender Ryan Miller. Corey Waring and David Cousineau assisted on the goal.

"We took a lot of penalties," Hall said, "and with this crowd, you don't have to give them much of a reason and they get back in the game. Their goal went in off our defenseman's stick, but if you give them enough chances, something like that is going to go in."

Bishai, Waring and Cousineau combined for the tying goal as well, as Western Michigan drew even at the 11:58 mark of the third period. This time Waring fed Bishai alone in the slot, and he beat Miller along the ice on the far side.

The Spartans had several chances to go ahead in the second half of the third period, including a series with one minute remaining and Hall, Horcoff, Maloney on the ice. Each time, Reynaert came up with the saves.

"I thought we had the better scoring chances than they did in the third period, but that's not the key factor, it's the goals," Mason said. "Late in the game, their goaltender held them in."

In addition to Maloney's chance in the overtime, the Spartans got quality scoring chances from Brad Fast, Steve Jackson and Kris Koski.

"When a goalie is in a zone like that," Mason said, "he is going to make saves like the one he made on Maloney. Brian did everything right - you tell players to shoot high in that situation, but if he'd shot it on the ice, it would have gone in."

With the point, the Spartans move into sole possession of second place in the CCHA ahead of Northern Michigan, which lost at Bowling Green Friday and plays there again Saturday. MSU is three points behind Michigan, which was idle and hosts Ohio State Saturday.