Hockey Beats Ferris State, 4-2

Nov. 5, 2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State hockey team (3-4 overall, 2-3 CCHA) topped Ferris State 4-2 on Friday night, Nov. 5, at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans scored three goals in the first six minutes of the game and cruised to their second conference win of the season.

MSU got another solid effort from Drew Miller (East Lansing, Mich.), who started the scoring blitz, and Colton Fretter (Harrow, Ont.). With yet another two points, Fretter continues to be on fire, as he has at least one point in all six games he has played in, compiling a team-leading 4-4-8 points. Michigan State also received a 27-save performance by Dominic Vicari (Clinton Township, Mich.) in the win.

"Ferris State had a good win on the road at Bemidji State and then they had a tremendous win over Michigan. They work hard and they skate well," said MSU head coach Rick Comley. "We managed to get them in a hole and they fought through that. You can't let yourself get down when they score a couple of goals. It was a very hard-fought game."

The scoring was fast and furious in the opening minutes of the game, with a total of four goals scored in the first six minutes. Miller got MSU's first goal at the 2:51 mark on the power play. Miller received a passed from Jim Slater (Lapeer, Mich.) and snuck in from behind the net. Goaltender Mike Brown, who was looking for the pass across the crease, was frozen by the quick shot from Miller. The puck trickled past his left pad and into the net. Fretter also picked up an assist on the goal.

Slater's assist also leaves him with 2-5-7 points, second on the team behind Fretter.

Miller's goal gives him goals in back-to-back games for just the second time in his career.

It took the Spartans just 11 more seconds to go up 2-0. Bryan Lerg (Livonia, Mich.) won a clean face-off directly back to Ash Goldie (London, Ont.). Goldie fired a one timer that found its way over the glove of the screened netminder and into the net.

Goldie now has three goals on the season, putting him second on the team in that department.

The assist for Lerg was his first career collegiate assist.

Ferris State cut the lead in half at the 4:20 mark of the first. Jeff Legue charged in one-on-one and muscled the puck past Vicari's left pad for goal.

But, MSU answered that goal 1:22 later. After taking a pass from freshman Jim McKenzie (Woodbury, Minn.), David Booth (Washington, Mich.) showed some impressive stick work and snapped a quick backhander past Brown to extend the lead to 3-1.

The assist broke a three-game point drought for McKenzie.

The Bulldogs cut the lead back to one at 15:23 of first. In a play that was almost identical to Michigan State's second goal, Matt Stefanishion fired a snap shot directly from the from the face-off win. The puck just barely reached the back of the net after slipping through Vicari's five-hole.

The first 10 minutes of the second period was characterized by the Green and White's perseverance on the penalty kill. MSU killed three penalties total, including two five-on-three attempts for Ferris State.

Defenseman Ethan Graham scored his first goal of the season vs. FSU.

State carried that momentum deep into the second period when they took a 4-2 lead at 19:29. In an excellent series of quick passing, Fretter, who was charging the net, dropped the puck to Chris Mueller (West Seneca, N.Y.). Mueller found a wide-open Ethan Graham (Xenia, Ohio) in the left face-off circle. Graham fired a twisted wrist shot past Brown for his first goal of the season. The goal was State's first second-period goal in five conference games this season.

The goal was also Graham's first point since March 12, 2004 against Ferris State in the first round of the CCHA Playoffs. Mueller's assist now gives him one assist in three consecutive games.

For the second straight game, the Spartans had to witness one of their key players go down with an injury. Late in the third, Tommy Goebel (Parma, Ohio) was tripped up by Stefanishion, and suffered a laceration of his left leg. Goebel was helped off the ice, while Stafanishion was given a five-minute major, and a game misconduct.

The Spartans and Bulldogs complete the second half of the home-and-home series tomorrow night, Nov. 6, in Big Rapids, Mich.