Michigan State University
Michigan
Hockey Blanks Michigan, 2-0
12/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 6, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State hockey team shut out Michigan, 2-0 at Munn Ice Arena on Saturday, Dec. 6. The win avenged the Spartans 2-0 loss on Friday, Dec. 5, in Ann Arbor. MSU freshman goaltender Dominic Vicari (Clinton Township, Mich.) tallied his second career shutout, the first coming on Oct. 31, against Ferris State.
"The defense played great and the forwards really helped out," said Vicari. "I'm becoming more patient and starting to see the play develop better."
The Spartans drew first blood with just over three minutes remaining in the opening period. With Michigan goalie Al Montoya caught out of position on a Spartan power play, sophomore defenseman Corey Potter (Mason, Mich.) fired a shot that sailed over the net and ricocheted off the glass and bounced back in front of the net. Junior forward Mike Lalonde (Chetwynd, B.C.) was in position to knock the puck past the goaltender into the net, giving MSU a 1-0 lead. It was the Spartans first power-play goal in their last 15 attempts.
 Junior forward Mike Lalonde scored MSU's first goal on the power play at the 16:33 mark of the opening stanza.  | |
Freshman Tommy Goebel (Parma, Ohio) had Michigan State's best scoring chance in the first period on a breakaway. Wolverine netminder Montoya, who made 15 saves on the evening, got a shoulder on Goebel's shot deflecting it wide of the goal.
Michigan's first great scoring chance came 15 minutes into the second period. With the Spartans caught on a line change, Wolverine forward T.J. Hensick had a one-on-one opportunity with Vicari . A quick move to Vicari's glove side never had him fooled and the score remained 1-0.
Other action in the second period in the Spartan zone included a flurry of shots on Vicari, who made several acrobatic saves to keep the puck clear of the goal. On the opposite end MSU nearly netted it's second goal, in a scramble in front of the Michigan goal, with the puck caught in the feet of Montoya.
The Spartans came out flying the third period. Deep in the Michigan zone, the puck popped off the sideboards to sophomore forward David Booth (Washington, Mich.) in the slot who rifled a wrist shot through Montoya into the net. The goal came just 48 second into the third and was unassisted. Friday night's game in Ann Arbor was Booth's first game back since a four-week absence due to a knee injury. He was moved up to MSU top line for Saturday's game and had an immediate impact.
"It was good to score," said Booth. "The biggest thing was to get the win. That was the best."
The Spartan defense played strong, fending off many UM scoring chances in the third period. The Spartans power play and penalty kill units played well, netting one goal and killing several penalties. Vicari stopped 65 shots in both games against Michigan allowing only one goal. It was his first two consecutive starts since Nov. 20, due to splitting time with Matt Migliaccio (Jr., Wyandotte, Mich.)
"These were two very even teams I thought," said Comley. "It was a very emotional win for our guys to bounce back like that. Michigan has such outstanding speed, but we really hung with them this weekend. It was such a lift to get Booth back because of his speed, and he can shoot the puck so darn well. Both teams got very good goaltending as well; Dominic (Vicari) played outstanding. He made it look so easy tonight with great saves and played with poise. Just wait until we come back on (Dec. 17), I think you will see a much better hockey team."
The Spartans return to action for their final game before a holiday break on Dec. 17, against the USA 18 and under team. The game will be held at Munn Ice Arena at 7:05 p.m.
