Michigan State University
Miami (Ohio)
Michigan State Hockey Falls At Miami, 4-1
1/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 8, 2005
OXFORD, Ohio - Michigan State hockey fell at Miami (Ohio), 4-1, Saturday (Jan. 8) in its final match of a two-game series. The loss snapped the Spartans' four-game winning streak, which started Dec. 11.
The first period opened on a similar note to Friday night's game, with a penalty being called very early. Michigan State forward Jim Slater headed to the box just 19 seconds into the game after being whistled for goaltender interference while fighting for position in front of Miami's net and goalie Charlie Effinger. The Spartans were sharp in their first penalty kill of the night, with MSU netminder Dominic Vicari stopping each shot that came his way.
MSU had a great opportunity with 13 minutes remaining in the first as senior Kevin Estrada skated hard to the Miami net, made a great move to fake out the defense, but Effinger was solid, stopping his hard-fought attempt.
Miami broke the scoreless tie and took a 1-0 lead with 1:20 left on the clock when Matt Christie came up with the puck in a scramble in front of the Spartan net and fired a wrister from the slot that beat Vicari. It marked Miami's first goal of the weekend series.
The second period opened with a bang for Miami as it took a 2-0 lead only 28 seconds into the stanza. With junior David Booth still in the penalty box serving his two minutes for tripping called with 30 seconds left in the first period, Miami's Ryan Jones tipped in a shot from the left point, beating Vicari cleanly.
Michigan State answered at the 1:43 mark of the second with Adam Nightingale chipping in a shot from Booth, who made the play by pushing the puck up ice through traffic.
Miami continued to pepper MSU with shots on net, but Vicari stood firm and stopped a blast from the point with just 13 seconds left in the second to maintain the 2-1 deficit as the teams headed to the locker rooms for the second intermission.
MSU had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the opening minutes of the third period. Five minutes into the final stanza, Nightingale made a bid for his second goal of the game, but the shot hit the crossbar above Effinger.
The Spartans continued to force the action in Miami's defensive zone, looking for a goal to knot the game at 2-2, but Effinger survived the pressure and kept the lead for his RedHawks.
Miami extended its lead to 3-1 at the 15:17 mark of the third as Jones posted his second goal of the night, shooting the puck right through the Spartan netminder's five-hole. Michigan State pulled Vicari with 3:26 left on the clock in a final attempt to rally from the two-goal deficit. Even with the extra skater, Effinger held State scoreless in the closing moments.
Miami scored an empty net goal with 7.5 seconds remaining to secure the victory.
Michigan State returns to the ice next weekend for a home-and-home series against Western Michigan. The Spartans travel to Kalamazoo for Game 1 Friday, Jan. 14 at 7:35 p.m. Michigan State entertains the Broncos for Game 2 at Munn Ice Arena on Saturday, Jan. 15, with face-off set for 7:05 p.m.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)