Michigan State University
Notre Dame
Hockey Claims Second Place With 5-3 Win
3/4/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 4, 2000
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Senior center Shawn Horcoff capped a successful Senior Night with the CCHA scoring title as the Michigan State hockey team defeated Notre Dame, 5-3, Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena.
With the win, the Spartans closes out the regular season in second place in the conference and will face ninth-seeded Miami in the best-of-three first round of the CCHA Tournament next Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Munn Ice Arena.
Horcoff had three assists and junior right wing Rustyn Dolyny had two goals and an assist in a penalty-filled game which featured 16 Michigan State power plays and 11 Notre Dame power plays. Both teams had three power-play goals and the Irish finished with 52 penalty minutes (including a 10-minute misconduct), while the Spartans had 28.
"Tonight was a difficult game," said Horcoff, who had three assists to finish with one more point in conference play (44) than Michigan's Mike Comrie (43). "You aren't going to get many like that. But he called it both ways, and he made the right calls. It wasn't like those weren't fouls, because they were."
For the fourth straight game and the sixth time in eight games, Michigan State's opponent scored first. Ben Simon got the Irish on the board at the 8:20 mark of the first period.
Michigan State answered back with a pair of goals just 1:11 apart. Sean Patchell scored the first on a rebound of a John Nail shot at the 11:01 mark.
The Spartans then scored on their third power play of the game, as Dolyny recorded his first of the night on assists from freshman defenseman John-Michael Liles and Horcoff.
From there, the Spartans rolled in the second period, picking up three goals, including two on the power play, before Notre Dame goaltender Tony Zasowski was replaced by Jeremiah Kimento.
Dolyny got his second on a five-on-three opportunity, taking the time to move to the high slot before firing a slap shot past Zasowski.
Seldom-scoring defenseman Jon Insana recorded his third of the season on a soft shot from the right point which eluded Zasowski, as Horcoff and freshman Brian Maloney picked up assists.
That assist turned out to be the deciding factor in the CCHA scoring race, although Horcoff downplayed the achievement after the game.
"It was a great Senior Night, but the scoring title was the least of the reasons why," Horcoff said. "For that, I've got to give credit to my teammates, especially Brian Maloney and the way he has come in and played as a freshman and Adam Hall, who is just a goal-scoring machine in front of the net."
Hall proved that at the 15:27 mark of the second period, putting home a Dolyny rebound to make it 5-1.
Dolyny, for his part, was impressed with Horcoff's accomplishment. He brought it to his teammates' attention in the locker room after overhearing it during the announcement of the game's three stars.
"It's a tremendous accomplishment," Dolyny said. "It's fitting, too, because he has been the most dominant player night in and night out that I have seen this year. It's really not an easy thing to do, especially on a team like ours which is defensive minded."
Notre Dame recorded a pair of third-period power-play goals to make the final 5-3, but Michigan State's damage had been done in the first two stanzas. All that was left were a series of whistles and a parade to the penalty box.
The Spartans now prepare to meet Miami in the CCHA first-round series next Friday, Saturday and (if necessary) Sunday. Tickets are available ($14 general public, $6 students) at the MSU Athletic Ticket Office or by calling 800-GO STATE.
In the RedHawks, MSU faces a team which defeated the Spartans twice in Oxford, Ohio, in November.
"We are happy to be at home, that's the most important thing," head coach Ron Mason said. "It's a team we haven't played in a long time, so it should be an interesting series. They will certainly have our full attention after they beat us twice."
CCHA FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS
#1 Michigan hosts #10 Western Michigan
#2 Michigan State hosts #9 Miami
#3 Lake Superior hosts #8 Bowling Green
#4 Northern Michigan hosts #7 Nebraska Omaha
#5 Notre Dame hosts #6 Ferris State
