Michigan State University
Miami
Hockey Beats Miami 5-1 To Advance In CCHAs
3/11/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 11, 2000
EAST LANSING, Mich. - For the second straight night Michigan State used a balanced offense and limited Miami's chances at the other end, giving the Spartans a 5-1 win and a two-game sweep of the RedHawks in their first-round CCHA Tournament series.
The Spartans (25-10-4 overall, 18-8-2 CCHA) advance to Joe Louis Arena, where they will meet a yet-to-be determined foe in the CCHA semifinals Friday night, March 17. Miami ends its season with a 13-20-3 record (10-15-3 CCHA).
"Winning twice here really helps us," MSU head coach Ron Mason said. "Now we're sitting in much better shape heading into next weekend and, hopefully, looking ahead to the NCAA tournament."
Michigan State, after getting five of six goals Friday night from players with fewer than 10 goals, got three more of that sort Saturday mixed in with goals from Shawn Horcoff and Rustyn Dolyny. The Spartans have chased the opponents' starting goaltender in three straight games and have scored at least five goals in each of those games.
"It's great for us at this point of the season to start getting some bounces offensively," said junior left wing Sean Patchell, who had a goal for the third straight game and added an assist. "It does a ton for our confidence and takes a little pressure off Horcoff's line."
The good bounces that went the Spartans' way were obviously seen differently in the opposing locker room.
"The keys tonight were giveaways and bad bounces," said Miami head coach Enrico Blasi, who closed out his first season at the helm of his alma mater. "I'm proud of how our guys played tonight. They battled tonight and we were better than last night, but the better team definitely won."
Michigan State's first goal came on the power play as Miami starting goaltender David Burleigh got caught behind the net and the puck eluded him. Patchell took it and pushed it ahead to freshman center Troy Ferguson, who netted his third goal of the weekend and just his fifth of the year.
Miami answered right back just 25 seconds later with a deflection goal by Ernie Hartlieb, just his third goal of the year but his second of the weekend. He tipped Steve Hildenbrand's shot from the point past MSU freshman goaltender Ryan Miller, who started both games of a weekend series for just the second time this year.
Another power-play goal gave the Spartans a 2-1 lead at the 13:29 mark of the first period. Adam Hall pounced on a loose puck and fired a backhander on Burleigh, who made the save. The rebound went to Brian Maloney, however, and he fed it from the left circle across the slot to Shawn Horcoff, who one-timed it into the net.
Michigan State's third goal brought a bit of controversy as the first period ended, and also likely spelled the end of Miami's hopes. Sophomore defenseman Andrew Hutchinson took a pass from Rustyn Dolyny just inside the Miami blue line and, with the clock ticking down, fired a slapshot at Burleigh. Burleigh got part of his glove on it, but the puck trickled behind him and crossed the goal line just as the clock hit zero.
"I had the puck and Brad Hodgins was creaming at me to shoot," said Hutchinson, who has 11 of his 12 points since Christmas including six in the last six games. "I had no idea how much time was left, and after I shot it I had no idea it went in. I had turned back to cover the point."
The officials consulted before awarding the goal to MSU, giving the Spartans a 3-1 lead entering the second. They built on that with a slapshot by Dolyny that got through Burleigh's pad.
Patchell finished the scoring with 42 seconds remaining, finishing a centering pass from Andrew Bogle to make it 5-1.
Michigan State now awaits the results of Sunday's CCHA first-round games to find out its semifinal opponent for the 8:05 p.m. game next Friday at Joe Louis Arena. If Northern Michigan beats Nebraska Omaha, the Spartans face NMU. If UNO beats NMU Sunday, the Spartans face the winner of the Notre Dame-Ferris State game.
