Spartans Advance In CCHA Tournament
3/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 9, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State jumped out to a four-goal lead as the Spartans beat Bowling Green 4-2 to close out a Central Collegiate Hockey Association first-round, best-of-three playoff series in front of 5,896 at Munn Ice Arena Saturday. With the win, MSU advances to next week's CCHA Super Six at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
The Spartans (26-7-5 overall, 18-6-4 CCHA) play a yet-to-be-determined opponent in Saturday's semifinals and could be the top remaining seed if Michigan loses its first round series with Lake Superior State. The Wolverines and Lakers each have one win in their best-of-three series, with the decisive game tomorrow in Ann Arbor.
"I thought we held our own with them," said MSU coach Ron Mason. "It was critical to score first, which we did. And we did convert on the power play - we finally got two power-play goals. There was a lack of discipline on their behalf which allowed us to break it open."
Junior wing Steve Jackson (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) opened the scoring 3:43 into the first period on a play he started deep in the Bowling Green zone, forcing a Falcon defender to give the puck away by pressuring him behind the net. Freshman center Lee Falardeau (Midland, Mich.) picked up the turnover and fired a shot from the far half-boards that BGSU goaltender Tyler Masters stopped, but couldn't control the rebound. Jackson crashed the net and poked the loose puck through a logjam in the crease for his fifth goal of the season.
MSU got the lone goal of the second period thanks to a parade of Falcons to the penalty box which resulted in four Spartan power plays in the frame. State capitalized on its second man-advantage opportunity when junior John-Michael Liles (Zionsville, Ind.), aided by a Bowling Green defender's skate, cranked a shot from just inside the blue line that got past Masters 7:50 into the period.
"I was kind of down on myself," said Liles. "I kept missing the net and finally got one off some guys skate in the net. You take them however you can get them and it still counts as a goal."
The Spartans opened a four-goal edge with two goals 77 seconds apart in the third period. Freshman Jim Slater (Lapeer, Mich.), sprung on a breakaway by a Jackson pass from deep in the defensive zone, made a pretty move on Masters for his 11th goal of the season and fourth point of the weekend 5:17 into the period.
"It's that time when big players step up and I like to think of myself as one of the big players," said Slater. "From Ryan (Miller) right out to the forwards, we controlled the game. We outshot them, we drew penalties, we did everything right that we wanted to do tonight and we came out with a win."
Senior defenseman Andrew Hutchinson (Hudson, Ohio) scored during a 5-on-3 MSU advantage at 6:34 on a drive from inside the far faceoff circle.
Bowling Green (9-25-6 overall, 7-18-3 CCHA) got late goals from Marc Barlow and Grady Moore to cut into the Spartan lead and spoil the shutout bid of junior goaltender Ryan Miller (East Lansing, Mich.), who made 22 saves on the night. Masters stopped 30 shots for the Falcons.
The Spartans were without the services of Brian Maloney (Bassano, Alta.), who sustained two broken ribs and a bruised kidney after crashing into the boards in the second period of Friday's MSU win against Bowling Green and will miss the rest of the season.
