No. 10/7 Hockey Falls To St. Lawrence, 3-1

Oct. 15, 2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State hockey team dropped its regular-season opener Friday (Oct. 15) to the St. Lawrence Saints, 3-1. Senior Ash Goldie (London, Ont.) scored the lone Spartan goal in the first meeting between the teams since 1968. The Saints received a stellar 37-save effort from senior netminder Mike McKenna, while Matt Migliaccio (Wyandotte, Mich.) made 31 saves in the loss.

"It is very frustrating, but I don't question their effort at all," said MSU Head Coach Rick Comley. "In the end, it is going to come down to success on special teams. They blocked a lot of shots. Tonight, we just couldn't get a shot on goal."

MSU finished 0-11 with the man advantage, while St. Lawrence went 2-9 on the power play.

The first 10 minutes of the initial period were relatively even, with both teams killing off multiple power plays. But, the Spartans quickly gained the momentum and the lead at 10:54 of the first.

Freshman Peder Skinner (Isle-aux-Morts, Newfoundland) cut down the left side and put a solid wrist shot in on McKenna. Although the first rebound by Jim McKenzie (Woodbury, Minn.) was denied, Goldie was waiting on the doorstep to slam the second attempt home, giving MSU the 1-0 advantage. The goal was Goldie's 27th of his career. For Skinner and McKenzie, the assists were their first collegiate points.

Senior Matt Migliaccio stopped 31 shots vs. St. Lawrence.

The Saints tied the game at 1-1 at the 14:06 mark of the first period. Andrze Sandrzyk took a feed from Drew Magnall and slipped the puck by Migliaccio for a power play goal. The goal with the man advantage was St. Lawerence's first in 18 attempts this season.

St. Lawrence took a one-goal lead just 37 seconds into the second period on a tip in from Kyle Rank.

Both teams remained scoreless for the remainder of the second period. The Green and White were unable to capitalize on four power play opportunities during a span of 13 minutes in the session.

Michigan State had countless opportunities down the stretch of the third period, but were unable to solve McKenna. This included a disallowed power play goal by Mike Lalonde (Chetwynd, B.C.) at the 12:36 mark, and a shot in the slot from Skinner that rang off the post.

"We got better as the game went on, we just couldn't finish," said Comley

The Saints sealed the deal, 3-1, with an empty net goal at 19:20 of the third by Rank.

The Spartans return to action Sunday, Oct. 17 at 2:05 ET when they take on the No. 7/8 New Hampshire Wildcats.