Michigan State University
Ohio State
Hockey Falls To Ohio State, 5-0
10/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 17, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State hockey team suffered a heart-breaking 5-0 loss to Ohio State at Munn Ice Arena on Friday night (Oct. 17). With the loss, MSU falls to 1-2 overall, 0-1 in the CCHA, while OSU improves to 3-2 overall, 2-1 CCHA.
The Buckeyes started the scoring at 7:56 in the first period when sophomore Dan Knapp put a shot past Spartan netminder Matt Migliaccio. Knapp took the feed from linemate Dave Steckel to give Ohio State the early 1-0 lead.
At 13:12 in the first, Ohio State continued the scoring when Nate Guenin planted an unassisted shot above Migliaccio's right shoulder, giving the Buckeyes a 2-0 lead at the end of the one.
Michigan State head coach Rick Comley said his team played hard, but had trouble coming back from a sluggish start.
"We started okay and came out playing the body," remarked Comley. "We had an awful lot of trouble penetrating and making anything happen and getting anything of any quality. We had a couple guys start slowly and that cost us early."
Ohio State kept Michigan State on its toes throughout the night with forceful defense and potent scoring opportunities. The Buckeyes added security in the second period by adding another goal at the11:58 mark as senior Paul Caponigri scored the goal with assists from Knapp and Reed Whiting.
Ohio State's offense continued to capitalize on Michigan State by sealing the net with a goal at 15:38 in the third period. Junior J.B. Bittner laced the shot past Migliaccio with an assist from freshman Matt Beaudoin.
The Buckeyes held Michigan State 0-4 on the power play. Last week, Ohio State held Notre Dame scoreless on four power-play chances, and continued the penalty kill with the Spartans.
With less than five seconds remaining in the contest, Michigan State allowed another Ohio State goal from junior Lee Spector, sealing the Buckeye's win at 5-0.
Senior captain Jim Slater said despite the disappointing loss, he thought his team played with a lot of effort and poise,
"I actually thought we played well," commented Slater. "We started off looking good, but you just can't win without scoring any goals. I thought we had some chances, but they buried their (chances), and we didn't."
Migliaccio stopped 25 shots for MSU, while Mike Betz finished with 24 saves.
The Spartans host the Buckeyes tomorrow night (Saturday, Oct. 18) at Munn Ice Arena. Face-off is 7:05 p.m.
Spartan Notebook
* MSU lost the services of assistant captain Adam Nightingale, who suffered a concussion with 2:42 remaining in the first period.
* MSU is 0-3-2 in its last five meetings with the Buckeyes.
* OSU's 5-0 win marked the Buckeyes' third-ever win in East Lansing and the team's first since Jan. 25, 1997.
