Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Lake Superior
Hockey Blanks Lake Superior, 3-0
2/4/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 4, 2000
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State traveled to Lake Superior needing a win to snap a two-game winless skid and to keep pace in the race for the CCHA regular-season title. The Spartans turned in a stifling performance at both ends of the rink, shutting out the Lakers, 3-0, in Sault Ste. Marie.
"We needed these two points, especially at this time of year," said head coach Ron Mason, whose team ran its winning streak against the Lakers to 10 games. "Tonight I thought we played better defensively in our own zone and we controlled the rush pretty well."
Freshman goaltender Ryan Miller stopped 22 shots in his first return to the city where he played junior hockey for three years with the Soo Indians. It was Miller's fifth shutout of the season and the sixth for the team, tying a single-season school record originally set in 1997-98.
"I didn't imagine myself coming in here and getting a shutout by any means," Miller said. "I was a little nervous coming in tonight, I'm just glad it finished up well. We really needed a win tonight."
Junior forward Rustyn Dolyny got things started for the second straight game for the Spartans, scoring on the power play at the 11:24 mark of the first period. Senior center Shawn Horcoff and freshman defenseman John-Michael Liles moved the puck around to Dolyny, who one-timed it from the left wing circle into a virtually open net.
"We wanted to go out there and keep it simple," said Dolyny, who switched back to his natural position of right wing with the return of sophomore Joe Goodenow at center. "We worked hard and it worked out well for us. Personally, I like playing right wing better. I can cycle down low a little more, and Goode, Damon (Whitten) and I worked well out there together."
The Spartans had several other quality chances in the first period - many of them also on the power play - as they fired 21 shots on goal, a season-high for one period. Meanwhile, Miller turned aside 11 shots on the other end.
Sophomore forward Joe Goodenow made it 2-0 MSU with his first goal of the season. Goodenow missed the first 26 games of the year with a hip injury suffered in the summer and just returned last Saturday.
"My timing is still off, my balance is still off," Goodenow said. "So it was nice to get that first one. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll get everything together."
His goal, at 16:47 of the second period, came as he moved out of the corner and was not picked up by a Laker defenseman. Goodenow kept moving and fired a wrist shot from the slot into the top right corner of the net, beating LSSU goaltender Jayme Platt and sending his water bottle flying.
"I came out of the corner and wanted them to stay back," Goodenow said, "so I made a few head fakes to make them think I was passing the puck. I got a little room and just fired it."
Horcoff finished the scoring on an empty-net goal in the third - and tied Wisconsin's Steve Reinprecht for the national scoring lead in the process. Horcoff now has 10 goals and 34 assists (44 points) in just 28 games.
The Spartans and Lakers meet again Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena at 7:30 p.m.
