Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Miami
Special Teams Leads Hockey Past Miami, 6-2
3/10/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 10, 2000
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The postseason proved to be a special time for the Michigan State hockey team Friday night, as the Spartans scored three power-play goals and two short-handed goals en route to a 6-2 win over Miami in the first game of their best-of-three CCHA Tournament first-round series.
Michigan State, the home team and No. 2 seed in the CCHA Tournament, scored the first six goals of the game and led 6-0 midway through the third period. Ninth-seeded Miami's two goals made for the 6-2 final and gave the RedHawks some life entering game two of the series Saturday night.
Freshman center Troy Ferguson highlighted the night with both short-handed goals, just his third and fourth goals of the year. His two SHGs set a single-game CCHA Tournament record.
"We take a lot of pride in our special teams, especially the penalty kill," Ferguson said of the MSU power play and penalty kill, both of which rank in the nation's top 10. "We work a lot on those situations in practice, and it showed tonight."
"Special teams was so critical to those game," said head coach Ron Mason, whose team improved to 24-10-4 while Miami fell to 15-19-3. "Obviously that was what blew it open."
The two teams were fairly even in the first 10 minutes of the game, as they combined for just three shots on goal. The Spartans got the first power play, however, and junior left wing Sean Patchell capitalized at 11:05 of the first. Patchell's slap shot from the right point found its way through a crowd in front and past Miami goaltender David Burleigh.
The Spartans opened up a 2-0 lead with just 42 seconds remaining in the first. While on a 4-on-3 power play freshman defenseman John-Michael Liles and senior center Shawn Horcoff controlled the puck up high. Horcoff, near the top of the right-wing circle, fired a pass below a Miami forward to junior right wing Rustyn Dolyny, at the top of the left-wing circle. Dolyny's one-timer beat Burleigh for the 2-0 advantage.
"That was an NHL shot and an NHL pass," Mason said. "It's hard to get a shot off on a pass that hard. It was a great effort all the way around."
"I wasn't trying to aim it anywhere, I just wanted to get it on net, maybe hope for a rebound," Dolyny said. "It was just a great pass from Horc and I think we caught them a bit off guard."
"I thought the first 15 minutes were pretty even, then they got a couple of power-play goals," Miami head coach Enrico Blasi said. "The same with the second, until one of our young men came around behind the net and gave Joe Goodenow a Christmas present."
The gift in question was a giveaway from behind the Miami net 4:11 into the second, as Goodenow forechecked for the Spartans. He took the puck and fired on an unsuspecting Burleigh for the 3-0 lead.
Just over three minutes later, Ferguson got into the act as he took the puck from the RedHawks at the Miami blue line. He raced in on Burleigh shorthanded, made a move to his backhand and lifted it into the net.
"It felt a lot like practice," Ferguson said. "Every day at practice I take a bunch of those on (Ryan) Miller - breakaways from the blue line. I don't score much in practice, but it's always good to go against one of the best."
The Spartans' second-team All-CCHA goaltender wasn't too busy through the first two-thirds of the game, as he made three saves in the first period and five in the second.
Junior left wing Damon Whitten gave Miller a five-goal cushion 12:38 into the second and chased Burleigh in favor of Andy Marsch with Michigan State's third power-play goal of the night. Whitten poked home a rebound on Patchell's original shot to make it 5-0.
"Our power play is really dangerous right now," Mason said. "It's been really helpful lately, and it was good tonight that both of our units got goals. This time of year it really takes the pressure off your top players when some other people can get some goals for you."
Ferguson added his second shorthanded goal 9:33 into the third period. Ferguson and freshman left wing Brian Maloney were on a two-on-one, and after Maloney elected to shoot, Ferguson put home the rebound.
"Certainly, any time you give up shorthanded goals it deflates you and your confidence goes down," said Blasi, whose team was held to five shots in five power plays. "Any time you give up shorthanded goals it's a problem."
Miami showed resiliance in the final 10 minutes, ending Miller's bid for a school-record seventh shutout with a pair of goals. Junior right wing Ernie Hartlieb got the first, his second of the season, as he fought off two MSU defensemen to get to the rebound of his own shot and put it home.
Less than two minutes later, freshman defenseman Matt Medzecz put a shot through Nick Jardine's screen to make it 6-2.
"In the third period they really picked up the intensity and created a couple of goals," Mason said. "We have to be aware of that, because that will really give them some life going into tomorrow night."
The two teams meet again Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. at Munn Ice Arena. The third game of the series, if necessary, is set for 7:05 p.m. Sunday.
The Michigan State Athletic Ticket Office is open Saturday in Jenison Field House from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for fans to purchase tickets for Saturday night's game ($14 public, $6 students).
