Hockey Drops 5-4 Heartbreaker At Western Michigan

Jan. 15, 2005

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Michigan State hockey dropped a 5-4 heartbreaker to Western Michigan at Lawson Arena, Friday (Jan. 14). In a back-and-forth game that featured heavy checking and hard play by both sides, the Spartans fell just short of the win, putting them at 11-11-1 on the season.

"I thought that five-on-five, we played great tonight," said MSU Head Coach Rick Comley. "We generated 50 shots and lots of great scoring chances. Coming in we knew that their power play could score and they showed us how."

Western Michigan opened the scoring only 1:32 into the first period. With junior defenseman Corey Potter in the box serving a two-minute penalty for interference, the Spartans failed to clear the puck in their zone. Paul Szczechura scored his fourth goal of the season, beating Spartan netminder Dominic Vicari for the 1-0 lead. Michigan State quickly answered 17 seconds later, with defenseman Ethan Graham registering his second goal of the season to tie the game at one.

At the 7:25 minute mark, freshman forward Jim McKenzie took a costly hooking penalty beside the Bronco net, placing WMU on its second power play of the game. Jeff Piece took advantage of the situation, scoring his fifth goal of the season.

Michigan State continued to put pressure on Bronco goaltender Daniel Bellissimo, but the freshman stood strong, stopping State's lone power-play attempt of the period at the nine-minute mark.

WMU went up 3-1 with eight minutes left in the first. Ash Goldie tried to clear the puck out of the Spartan zone, but failed as it was intercepted by the Broncos. Szczechura passed the puck across the goal to Brett Walton, who beat Vicari cleanly.

Colton Fretter equaled his career best with three assists against WMU.

State rallied and answered with 3:42 left in the first. Sophomore defenseman A.J. Thelen took a hard shot from the point and forward Drew Miller knocked it into the Bronco goal. MSU leading scorer Colton Fretter registered the other assist on the play.

The second period opened with Vicari being forced to come up big and make some key saves early. MSU had a great scoring chance of its own five minutes into the period, pushing the puck up ice gaining a three-on-one breakaway attempt. Thelen passed the puck to freshman forward Bryan Lerg, who couldn't put it past Bellissimo's pads.

MSU broke the scoreless second 9:45 into the period, when Bellissimo gave up a rebound off of a Chris Mueller wrister. Miller put the puck into the net, scoring his second goal of the night and knotting the score at 3-3. Fretter received his second assist of the night on the goal.

However, the Broncos came back and took the lead once again with 8:40 left in the period. Kevin Labatte picked up a rebound and shot the puck past Vicari, for his first goal of the game. State went into the lockerroom down by one goal for the second time of the night.

The third period opened on a high note for Michigan State, with Miller picking up his third goal of the night and 11th of the season. The Spartans put pressure on Bellissimo, and Miller took advantage, forcing the puck under the pads of the diving netminder. The goal gave Miller a hattrick on the night, marking the first of his career. Fretter registered his third assist on the evening, and senior captain Jim Slater picked up the second assist on the game-tying goal.

"It's always nice to get some goals, but it's a team game and we just didn't get it done tonight," said Miller. "We have to come out tomorrow night and play 60 minutes of hockey."

Defenseman Ethan Graham tallied his second goal of the season at WMU.

Both teams continued to put steady pressure upon their opposing goaltenders. With 10 minutes left in the game, Vicari came up big for the Spartans making a pad save on a hard Western shot to keep the game tied at 4.

With Potter in the box for the second time of the evening, WMU went on its third and final power play of the game and took advantage once again. The Spartans failed to clear the puck out of their zone, and at 12:36, WMU's Vince Bellissimo tipped a McNamara shot home to give the Broncos a 5-4 advantage.

Michigan State had an opportunity to answer when WMU's Reid Yantzi was called for holding with six minutes left on the clock. The Spartans looked to tie the game with the opportunity at hand, registering numerous solid shots on net, but Bellissimo stopped whatever came his way.

With 1:26 left on the clock, the Spartans pulled Vicari, but could not beat Bellissimo. Michigan State concluded the game with double the shots of Western Michigan as State registered 50 total shots on net, while the Broncos had just 25.

The teams will meet tomorrow night (Sat., Jan. 15) for the final game of their home-and-home series. Gametime is set for 7:05 p.m. at Munn Ice Arena.

Spartan Notebook
* MSU will head back to East Lansing for its next three games, including tomorrow's rematch against Western Michigan. The Spartans were last at home on Dec. 11 when they beat Notre Dame 4-1.

* Sophomore Drew Miller registered three goals on the night, one in each period, giving him the first hat trick of his college hockey career.

* Defenseman Ethan Graham opened scoring for the Spartans, registering his second goal of the season. The last time that Graham lit the lamp was Nov. 5, 2004, in a 4-2 win against Ferris State.

* Junior Colton Fretter continued to pace the Spartans in the offensive category, registering three assists on the night. His three helpers tonight equal his career best. He now leads the team in scoring with 27 points.

* State registered 50 shots on goal for the second time this season. MSU also registered 50 shots in a 5-1 win over New Hampshire (Oct. 17, 2004).