Michigan State University
Alaska-Fairbanks
Hockey Loses Heartbreaker To Alaska Fairbanks In Overtime, 5-4
2/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 14, 2004
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA - The Michigan State hockey team dropped a heartbreaking 5-4 overtime decision to Alaska Fairbanks at the Carlson Center on Friday night. The Spartans overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to send the game into overtime on an A.J. Thelen (Fr., Savage, Minn.) goal with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.
However, UAF scored the game winner on an Aaron Voros goal at the 2:59 mark of overtime. Cory Rask sent a shot into the Spartan zone that hit the glass and bounced right out to Voros, who was alone in the slot for his 12th goal of the season.
"It was a very tough game," said Mike Lalonde. "UAF came at us with a lot of speed and a lot of enthusiasm. It was a heart-breaking goal to give up. It took a bad bounce off the glass and right to the guy in the slot. You can blame anybody or do anything about it. We just have to come back tomorrow."
Michigan State (17-15-1 overall, 13-9-1 CCHA) open up an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Colton Fretter (So., Harrow, Ont.), just 1:28 into the game. Fretter took a feed from Kevin Estrada (Jr., Surrey, B.C.) in the neutral zone and broke into the zone and fired a shot just inside the blueline that beat UAF netminder Preston McKay.
The Nanooks (14-14-1 overall, 13-11-1 CCHA) tied the game at one on a goal by Nathan Fornataro at the 6:06 mark of the opening period. UAF controlled play in the offensive zone and passed the puck back to Fornataro, who fired a shot that beat Dominic Vicari (Fr., Clinton Township, Mich.).
Junior forward Mike Lalonde (Chetwynd, B.C.) gave MSU a 2-1 lead at the 17:47 mark. Jim Slater (Jr., Lapeer, Mich.) intercepted a Nanooks clearing pass and slid the puck over to Lalonde, who was left uncovered near the face-off circle. Lalonde fired a shot that beat McKay for his team-best 17th goal of the season.
It took the Nanooks a span of just 1:25 in the second period to take a 3-2 lead. Tom Herman started the scoring at the 5:42 mark on a 2-on-1 breakaway to tie the game at two. Curtis Fraser gave UAF the 3-2 lead with his 12th goal of the campaign as he scored off a MSU turnover.
UAF jumped out to a 4-2 advantage on a goal by Corbin Schmidt at the 13:17 mark to close out the second in the second period.
The Spartans opened the third period with two quality-scoring chances as Slater and Brock Radunske (Jr., New Hamburg, Ont.) both had opportunities in front of the net. However, Lalonde finally capitalized with his second goal of the game as he tipped in an A.J. Thelen (Fr., Savage, Minn.) shot from the point for his 18th goal of the campaign.
Michigan State continued to apply pressure over the final six minutes as Slater had a shot that hit the outside post and the Lee Falardeau (Jr., Midland, Mich.) line had several point-blank shots that were stopped by McKay. All told, MSU outshot the Nanooks 24-to-7 in the third period and 47-to-30 for the game.
"I thought we matched up well and really dominated play, except for a lapse in the second period that really hurt us," commented Lalonde. "We came back from a 4-2 deficit and that showed a lot of courage."
Vicari finished with 25 saves for the Spartans, while McKay recorded 43 stops.
The two teams close out their two-game set tomorrow (Sat., Feb. 14) with an 11:05 ET face-off.
Spartan Notebook
* Junior forward Mike Lalonde tallied his team-leading 17th and 18th goals of the season vs. UAF. Lalonde has tallied at least one goal in three of MSU's last four games. It also marked his third multiple-goal game of the season and his first since Nov. 21 vs. Wayne State.
* Sophomore forward Colton Fretter tallied his first goal in eight games with MSU's first goal of the game. Fretter has four points (1-3-4) in his last three games.
* With a pair of assists tonight, junior forward Jim Slater has six points (one goal, five assists) in his last three games, an average of 2.0 points-per-game.
* The Spartans have had 47 shots on goal in each of their last two games (vs. LSSU, 2/7 and at UAF, 2/13).
