Michigan State University
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Western Michigan
Hockey Rallies To Beat Western Michigan, 3-1
1/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 15, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Sophomore goalie Dominic Vicari made 21 saves and only allowed one goal in Michigan State's 3-1 comeback victory over Western Michigan Saturday, Jan. 15, earning a split of the weekend series.
After losing its fifth one-goal game of the year Friday, Michigan State (12-11-1 overall, 7-9-0 CCHA) turned the tables and won for only the second time this season after allowing the first goal. The Spartans are now 2-7-0 when they allow the game's first goal.
"It was a very, very important game," said head coach Rick Comley. "I've tried all year to protect them and not treat it like it was life or death, but we're just at that point of no return. We either put things together and win these three games at home, or we'll have trouble finishing in the upper division (of the league)."
Western Michigan (10-11-1 overall, 5-10-1 CCHA) started the game with more energy than State, forcing neutral zone turnovers and outshooting the Spartans 5-2 in the opening four minutes. The Broncos took advantage of a turnover deep in the Spartan zone when Paul Szczechura backhanded a rebound into a wide-open net at 1:31, giving the Broncos an early 1-0 lead. Vicari made the initial kick save on the Broncos' Mike Erickson, but the rebound squirted down the middle of the ice and Szczechura was there to bury the puck into the open net.
"Vicari has really played well," stated Comley. "He's been solid and makes big saves when he has to. He had no chance on the goal that he gave up, but he's really turned into a real leader for us. He's only a sophomore, so he's done a real good job."
The Spartans' fourth line helped counteract Western's momentum, working hard and creating Michigan State's first good scoring opportunity of the game. Sophomore Chris Lawrence snapped a cross-ice pass from the corner, barely missing the outreached stick of junior Chad Hontvent on the doorstep eight minutes into the game.
Junior Colton Fretter turned the Spartan pressure into his 14th goal of the season, tying the game at 16:48 of the first period. Fretter carried the puck into the zone on his backhand, skated between the face-off circles with a teammate to his right and left. Fretter faked his shot twice and got two Broncos to go down, then fired the puck top shelf over the blocker of Western goalie Daniel Bellissimo.
Though the Broncos outshot MSU at the onset of the game, State rebounded to outshoot Western 11-8 in the first period.
The Spartans controlled the puck through most of the second period, once again outshooting the Broncos 15-8 and maintaining play in the Broncos' zone. Senior Mike Lalonde scored the eventual game winner early in the period, recording his fourth goal of the season at the 1:52 mark. Linemate Tommy Goebel carried the puck from the corner and fed Lalonde on the doorstep. In one fluid motion, Lalonde accepted the pass and slapped it past Bellissimo far side, giving the Spartans a 2-1 advantage.
Though the Spartans controlled much of the play in the second, the Broncos mustered a late-period attack with the aid of a power play. Western registered two shots and created flurries around the Spartan net, but their first power-play opportunity ended without a goal when sophomore Tyler Howells blocked a shot and cleared the zone.
The Broncos' late-period momentum almost produced a goal when Ryan Mahrle fired a shot past Vicari's blocker and struck the post with less than a minute left in the period.
Shots were at a premium in the final stanza, as the defense for each squad stiffened. Both teams only tallied six shots each in the third, and neither team recorded a shot on goal until the 6:10 mark of the period. The Spartans did not register a shot on goal until almost nine minutes into the period.
 Senior forward Jim Slater tallied the 150th point of his career with an empty-net tally vs. Western Michigan.  | |
The Spartans return to action next weekend when they open a two-game set at Munn Ice Arena against Lake Superior State, Jan. 21-22.
Spartan Notebook
*JR F Chad Hontvet dressed for the third time this season. Hontvet has one assist in two games, tallied on Dec.11 against Notre Dame.
*SO F Chris Lawrence also saw action for the third time this season on Saturday night.
*JR F Colton Fretter has had at least a point in eight of MSU's last nine games, including four multiple-point games.
*SR F Mike Lalonde had his third multiple-point game of the season, tallying a goal and an assist on Saturday. He needs just four more points to reach the century mark as his career totals now stand at 49 goals and 47 assists for 96 points in 139 games.
* SR F Jim Slater's empty-net goal in the third period was his 150th career point. His career point total stands at 58 goals and 92 assists for 150 points in 140 games.
* The "ER" line tallied nine points on the weekend: a hat trick from SO F Drew Miller (on Friday), a goal on Saturday and three assists on Friday from JR F Colton Fretter and an assist each night by FR F Chris Mueller.
*With the win, the Spartans are 6-3 in their last nine games.
*The Spartans are 11-1-0 this season when taking the lead into the third period.
*The Spartans all-time record against the Broncos now stands at 55-22-6. The Spartans have been victorious in five of the last six against WMU, including a four-game unbeaten streak from Mar. 7, 2003, to Jan. 14, 2005.
*Michigan State was victorious for only the second time this season after the opponent scores the first goal of the game. The first time the Spartans won after surrendering the first goal to an opponent was against Notre Dame on Dec. 11, 2004, a 4-1 win for MSU.
* The three stars of the game were:
3) Fretter (goal)
2) Lalonde (goal and an assist)
1) Vicari (21 saves)
