Michigan State University
Nebraska-Omaha
Nebraska-Omaha Routs MSU Hockey
10/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 27, 2001
OMAHA, Neb. - It wasn't a good weekend to be a No. 1 team visiting the state of Nebraska.
Just hours after the University of Nebraska dispatched of Oklahoma, the pole sitter in the first BCS poll of the college football season, Nebraska-Omaha sent Michigan State - the nation's top-ranked college hockey team - back to East Lansing with the sting of two losses.
The opportunistic Mavericks (5-1-0 overall, 2-0-0 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) took advantage of a myriad of Spartan mistakes en route to an 5-1 win in front of a sellout crowd of 8,134 at Omaha's Civic Auditorium. The series sweep is the first for MSU (3-2-1, 3-2-1 CCHA) since the Green and White dropped a pair at Miami.
Much like Friday's contest, the Spartans controlled play early, attempting the first six shots on goal thanks in part to three first-period power plays opportunities. MSU couldn't capitalize on the man advantage, however. The Mavericks lauched a flurry of their own midway through the first with the next six shots on net. Junior goaltender Ryan Miller (East Lansing, Mich.) was able to keep UNO at bay until late in the frame when Andrew Wong, who had three assists in Friday's Maverick victory, notched the game's first goal just prior to the first intermission. The UNO centerman was stoned in his first shot on goal after taking a feed from linemate Aaron Smith, but got the rebound and slid it past Miller with 1:59 left in the period.
Michigan State's special-teams woes carried over into the second period. Instead of capitalizing on their fourth power-play chance of the evening, the Spartans instead watched Nebraska-Omaha's David Brisson gather a loose puck in the neutral zone and fire a shot from inside the far faceoff circle that rattled between Miller's pads and into the net for a shorthanded goal 2:21 into the second period.
The Mavericks took a 3-0 lead with 5:11 left in second period, capitalizing on a sloppy clearing attempt by a Spartan defender which ended up right on the stick of Wong, who dropped the puck to Smith. His shot - just the second of the second period for UNO - pinballed between Miller's legs and across the goal line. MSU, meanwhile, fired 14 second-period shots at Nebraska-Omaha netminder Dan Ellis - who came into the series with a saves percentage roughly equivalent to the value of the Canadian dollar in th e U.S. - to no avail.
For the first time in his two-plus seasons in a Spartan uniform, Miller was chased from a game early when Gus Groslie scored his third goal of the season 7:51 into the third period to give the Mavericks a 4-0 lead. The Spartans avoided the shutout when junior defenseman Brad Fast (Fort St. John, B.C.) notched his second goal of the season - a shorthanded tally - with 8:43 left in regulation on assists by freshman center Jim Slater (Lapeer, Mich.) and senior wing Adam Hall (Kalamazoo, Mich.).
Scott Turner provided the final margin of victory for UNO with a power-play goal with 2:13 left in the third period.
The Spartans start a season-long, seven-game homestand next week when they welcome Bowling Green to Munn Ice Arena for a two-game league set. Thursday's game will face off at 7:05 pm EST with Friday's contest set to begin at 6:35 p.m.
