Hockey Falls to Nebraska-Omaha 5-2, Splits Weekend Series

Oct. 30, 2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State hockey team dropped a 5-2 decision to Nebraska-Omaha Saturday (Oct. 30), after beating UNO by the same identical score last night. The Mavericks were led by sophomore goaltender Chris Holt with 28 saves on the night, and Dave Thomas, who pitched in two goals. The Spartans received goals from sophomores Drew Miller (East Lansing, Mich.) and Tommy Goebel (Parma, Ohio), while Colton Fretter (Harrow, Ont.) extended his point scoring streak to five games with an assist on MSU's first goal.

"I thought we had a great week of practice and a good outing last night, but we just couldn't answer the bell tonight," said head coach Rick Comley. "We had a couple of early scoring chances, and couldn't convert. But overall, I don't think we played with any emotion with exception of a 10 minute stretch in the third period."

Both teams came out fast and full of energy in the opening minutes of the game, but it was UNO who struck first at 10:53 of the opening period. David Phillips snuck right into the slot, untouched, and fired a quick wrist shot through Vicari's five-hole for the 1-0 lead.

A scary moment occurred for the Spartans when sophomore netminder Dominic Vicari (Clinton Township, Mich.) was violently crashed into by Scott Parse, who was trying to break away from the grasp of Jeff Dunne (Grover, Mo.). After lying motionless on the ice for several moments, Vicari was helped to the locker room and was replaced by senior Matt Migliaccio (Wyandotte, Mich.). Vicari made six saves before the injury, while Migliaccio finished with 16 stops.

Parse drew another Maverick power play by driving hard to the net at 1:49 of the second. Then, at 3:23, UNO capitalized on the man-advantage opportunity when Parse tipped an initial shot from the point by Kaleb Betts, giving Nebraska-Omaha the 2-0 lead.

The Mavericks took a 3-0 lead at 12:22 of the second period. Just seconds after an MSU power play expired, UNO broke in on a three-on-two chance and got a goal from Bryan Marshall on a wrist shot that found its way past Migliaccio's blocker.

Nebraska-Omaha went up by four just 2:24 later. Thomas broke in shorthanded and slid the puck past Migliaccio's left pad for the goal.

After a relatively even first 15 minutes of the third period, the Spartans finally solved Holt. After two solid opportunities by Chris Mueller (West Seneca, N.Y.) and Fretter, a mad scramble ensued in front of the net. Miller found the puck in the pile, and slammed a rebound home at 15:10, cutting the lead to 4-1.

The assist for Fretter gives him a five-game point streak after being a healthy scratch in the first game of the season. He has totaled 4-2--6 points during that stretch.

Mueller's assist also gives him points in back-to-back games, after an assist last night on Fretter's goal.

Sophomore forward Tommy Goebel tallied his first goal of the season vs. UNO.

Michigan State then cut the lead to 4-2 just 42 seconds later. Goebel stole the puck in the neutral zone and raced down the right side of the net. At the top of the circle, he fired a twisted wrist shot that caught Holt flatfooted, and soared over his right shoulder.

The goal also gives Goebel points in back-to-back games after an assist last night. He now has 1-4-5 points in his past five games.

But, the Mavericks sealed the deal at 18:56 of the third when Thomas scored his second goal of the night into an empty net, making it a 5-2 game.

The Green and White return to action next weekend, Nov. 5 and 6, when they take on the Ferris State Bulldogs. Face-off time for Friday is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. at Munn Ice Arena, and will be aired on Fox Sports Detroit. On Saturday, the series moves to Big Rapids.

Spartan Notebook
* Senior goaltender Matt Migliaccio last played in two consecutive games in Jan. 2004, when he backstopped the Spartans to a sweep of Ohio State in Columbus Jan. 23-24.

* The last time the Spartans allowed a shorthanded goal at Munn Arena was on March 13, 2004 against Ferris State, a 5-3 win for the Spartans.

* The Spartans had their five-game win streak against the Mavericks snapped on Saturday night.

* Sophomore forward Tommy Goebel scored his first goal of the season, unassisted at 15:52 of the third period.

* Michigan State is 0-2 in the game following a victory.

* The Spartans went 0-for-7 on the power play on Saturday, after scoring two power-play goals on Friday, one of which was their game winner.

* The Spartans allowed a power-play, an empty net and a shorthanded goal in Saturday night's loss.

* Junior forward Colton Fretter has had at least one point in the last five games he's played in after assisting on the Spartans' first goal - a career best. With that point, Fretter moved into a tie for the team lead with six points (4-2-6). His four goals also pace the Spartan offense.

* Michigan State is now 8-2-0 all-time in games played on Oct. 30.