Hockey Falls At Northern Michigan, 4-1

Oct. 23, 2004

MARQUETTE, Mich. - Northern Michigan used a pair of first-period goals en route to a 4-1 win over Michigan State on Saturday night (Oct. 23) at the Berry Events Center. With the 3-2 win on Friday, NMU recorded its first series sweep of the Spartans since the 1982-83 season.

"We didn't come out with the same jump that we should have come out with," said assistant captain Drew Miller. "We had some moments of brilliance and some good chances, but overall, I didn't think we worked as hard as we could. We need to get back to practice this week and really work hard."

Northern Michigan (3-1-0 overall, 2-0-0 CCHA) jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period on a pair of power-play goals. NMU's first goal was a rebound shot by Patrick Murphy after State failed to clear the defense zone. The second tally was a Jamie Milam blast from the point that beat Dominic Vicari (So., Clinton Township, Mich.) during a 5-on-3 man advantage.

The second period saw plenty of action as both teams had chances, including the Spartans with four power-play attempts. Forward Peder Skinner (Fr., Isle-aux-Morts, Newfoundland) had two brilliant chances with the man advantage, including being stoned by NMU netminder Tuomas Tarkki as he was wide open to the right of the NMU netminder.

Jim Slater scored State's lone goal on the power play in Saturday's 4-1 loss to NMU.

MSU finally beat Tarkki as Jim Slater (Sr., Lapeer, Mich.) tallied his second goal of the season on the power play just 45 second into the final stanza. Colton Fretter (So., Harrow, Ont.) took a shot that was blocked by an NMU defender and Slater picked up the puck and buried the shot past the NMU netminder to pull State within one (2-1).

Just when it seemed that the Spartans had found some momentum, back-to-back MSU penalties gave the Wildcats a 5-on-3 man advantage. Milam found the net once again as he took a Darin Olver pass and one-timed a shot from the blueline that beat Vicari for a 3-1 Wildcat advantage. NMU made it 4-1 on a goal by Mike Santorelli at 13:23.

Vicari finished with 29 saves, while Tarkki recorded 37 saves.

The big difference in the game was the power play. The Spartans were just 1-for-11 with the man advantage, while the Wildcats were 3-for-8.

"Northern was great tonight," said MSU head coach Rick Comley. "They deserve all the credit in the world. Their ability to score on the power play was probably the difference in the game."

Michigan State (1-2-0 overall, 0-1-0 CCHA) returns to Munn Ice Arena to face Nebraska-Omaha in a two-game set, Oct. 29-30. Face-off is set for 7:05 p.m. both nights.

Notebook
* Prior to tonight, the last time the Spartans were swept on the road was Nov. 15-16, 2002 when Ohio State took a pair in Columbus picking up 5-2 and 4-1 wins.

* MSU holds a 23-18-2 edge in the all-time series with NMU. However, NMU has won six of the last seven games between the schools.

* Tonight's game marked the fourth straight contest that State has had six freshmen dressed for the game. In addition to blueliners Jeff Dunne and Daniel Vukovic, forwards Bryan Lerg, Jim McKenzie, Chris Mueller and Peder Skinner saw action.