Michigan State University
Nebraska-Omaha
MSU Hockey Falls at Nebraska-Omaha
10/26/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 26, 2001
OMAHA, Neb. - The Michigan State hockey team battled for more than 56 minutes to take a lead in their game against Nebraska-Omaha Friday. Unfortunately for the Spartans, games are 60 minutes long.
Shane Glover scored his second goal of the night with 1:08 remaining to propel the host Mavericks (4-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) to a 4-3 win over the Spartans (3-1-1, 3-1-1) in front of a racuous sellout crowd at the Civic Arena in Omaha. The goal capped an entertaining, free-wheeling game that saw a combined 65 shots on goal.
The sequence started when Spartan goaltender Ryan Miller (East Lansing, Mich.) made a save on an Aaron Smith shot and steered the rebound into the far corner. Andrew Wong picked up the carom and fed Glover as he drove uncontested toward the MSU net, notching his third goal of the year.
Junior Brian Maloney (Bassano, Alta.) gave MSU its first lead of the evening with 3:33 left in regulation. Linemate Jim Slater (Lapeer, Mich.) drove around a UNO defender and got a backhand shot on net. The Mavericks' Dan Ellis made the initial save but Maloney was there to bury the rebound and put the Spartans ahead 3-2.
Nebraska-Omaha tied the score just 49 seconds later when Gus Groslie battled his way out front from behind the Spartan net and slid the puck past Miller.
"Normally when we get ahead with three minutes to go we expect to win," said MSU coach Ron Mason. "They got the tying goal and then we made an uncharacteristic error to turn it over in our zone and basically gave them the winning goal."
The Spartans controlled the flow early, launching 10 shots before the host Mavericks could muster an attempt on the MSU net. Nebraska-Omaha took its first shot a little more than nine minutes into the first period and scored on the second shot of the night just 15 seconds later. A drive off Smith's stick hit traffic in the slot. Glover dove and beat a sprawling Miller to the puck, swatting it into the Spartan net from his stomach.
Jeff Hoggan, the CCHA's leading scorer entering the weekend, gave Nebraska-Omaha a two-goal edge with a power-play goal at 11:41. With MSU's Andrew Hutchinson (Hudson, Ohio) in the penalty box serving a two-minute minor for cross checking, Hoggan collected the rebound off a shot by teammate Andrew Wong and flicked it past Miller for his sixth goal of the season.
Mike Lalonde (Chetwynd, B.C.) narrowed the UNO edge to 2-1 with his first goal at 15:14. The freshman wing corraled an errant clearing attempt in the high slot and rifled a wrist shot over the glove hand of Maverick netminder Dan Ellis at 15:14.
The pace of the game slowed considerably in the second period, although both teams had a handful of prime scoring chances. The Spartans attempted eight shots on goal after taking 18 shots in the first period while the Mavericks took four shots on goal after a 15-shot opening frame.
State evened the score early in the third period on a goal by freshman Duncan Keith (Penticton, B.C.). The CCHA's leading rookie scorer took advantage of a long rebound off an Adam Hall (Kalamazoo, Mich.) shot and fired the puck through traffic, sneaking it past Ellis' outstretched left leg at 2:11.
MSU and Nebraska-Omaha meet Saturday for the series finale at the Civic Auditorium. Faceoff is set for 8:05 p.m. EDT.
"We'll see what kind of resiliency we have tomorrow," said Mason. "It's going to be an awfully tough task to come back after giving them the momentum in the series."
