Michigan State University
Michigan
Hockey Falls To Michigan, 2-0
12/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 5, 2003
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - For the first 58:27 of the Michigan State-Michigan hockey game, it was a goaltending exhibition between MSU freshman netminder Dominic Vicari (Clinton Township, Mich.) and Michigan sophomore goalie Al Montoya. However, Michigan's Eric Nystrom's fourth goal of the season at the 18:33 mark of the third period gave the Wolverines the 1-0 led en route to a 2-0 shutout at Yost Ice Arena on Friday night.
"That was a tight, even hockey game," said MSU head coach Rick Comley. "To have it 0-0 that late in the hockey game, it definitely looked like the first goal was going to win it going into the third period. Both teams played hard and battled."
Vicari finished with 36 saves, including 13 in both the first and third periods. Montoya stopped 23 shots, including 10 in the final stanza.
"Both Montoya and Vicari made some big saves," commented Comley. "We just couldn't get the puck in. There were a couple times tonight, I felt if we could have gotten a goal - Michigan would have been in trouble. We just have to find a way to get the puck into the net."
Neither team could capitalize in the opening two periods as the Wolverines held a 13-to-7 edge in total shots in the first period and a 10-to-6 advantage in the middle stanza.
The third period was up-and-down action all the way with each team having several scoring chances. Vicari made two big saves just four minutes into the third period to keep the game at zero.
Michigan State had an opportunity with a little over eight minutes left as Adam Nightingale (Cheboygan, Mich.), Brock Radunske (New Hamburg, Ont.) and Ash Goldie (London, Ont.) were involved in a scrum in front of Montoya but couldn't poke the puck past him.
The Wolverines sealed the win with an empty-net tally by T.J. Hensick with just one second remaining.
"It just seems we can't buy a win," said Vicari. "We are getting out opportunities and we just have to bear down and hope for the best."
Michigan State and Michigan return to East Lansing on Saturday (Dec. 6) for a 7:05 p.m. face-off at Munn Ice Arena.
Spartan Notebook
* Sophomore forward David Booth returned to the Spartan line-up after missing the last eight games with a knee injury.
* Michigan State has scored just two goals in its last three games.
* The Spartans are 0-for-14 on the power play, dating to the Nov. 21 Wayne State game.
