Michigan State University
Bowling Green
MSU Hockey Settles For Series Split With Bowling Green
12/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 3, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - The Michigan State hockey team lost at Bowling Green, 4-2, on Saturday, Dec. 3. Sophomore forward Bryan Lerg (Livonia, Mich.) tallied his fourth goal of the weekend, but it was not enough as the Spartans fell to 6-7-2 overall and 3-5-3 in CCHA play.
The Falcons jumped out to an early 1-0 as junior forward Rich Meloche fired a shot through a screen and past Spartan goaltender Dominic Vicari (Clinton Township, Mich.) at the 4:06 mark in the first period.
Michigan State answered with a goal of its own 1:23 later, with a power-play goal just 6 seconds into Michael Hodgson's penalty. Sophomore forward Jim McKenzie (Woodbury, Minn.) tipped junior defenseman Tyler Howells' (Eden Prairie, Minn.) blast from the point past Bowling Green's Jimmy Spratt as the Spartans tied the score at 1-1. Forward Colton Fretter (Harrow, Ont.) also assisted on the play.
Bryan Lerg nearly staked the Green and White to a 2-1 lead at 11:12 of the first period when he executed a perfect two-on-one with Jim McKenzie (Woodbury, Minn.), but the puck slid off of Lerg's stick and just wide of an empty net as the score remained tied, 1-1.
Vicari made the save of the night at 14:11 of the first period. With the Spartans shorthanded due to a David Booth (Washington, Mich.) hooking penalty, BGSU forward James Unger found himself alone in the slot. Unger wound up for a slap shot but fanned on it, sending a knuckling shot towards MSU's junior netminder. Vicari quickly recovered his position and snagged the floating puck with his glove for one of his eight first-period saves.
Bowling Green picked up a power play goal 6:20 into the second stanza to take its second lead of the night. Falcon forward James Unger took a pass from Alex Foster and bull rushed the Spartan net, sliding the puck between the legs of Vicari before bowling over the Michigan State goalie. After a video review, the goal was allowed to stand.
Lerg netted his fourth goal of the weekend on a power play at the 9:27 mark as the sophomore collected a pass from Howells, deked Spratt, who had drifted very far off his line, and slid the puck in to pull the Spartans even at 2-2.
The Falcons jumped ahead for the third time in the game after a harmless dump-in was bobbled by Vicari. Bowling Green's Derek Whitmore knocked the loose puck out of the air towards the front of the crease, where it was deposited for a 3-2 BGSU lead at 14:23 in the second period.
An apparent game-tying goal by McKenzie was waved off by referee Steve Piotrowski, who ruled the net was off its moorings prior to the puck crossing the goal line.
Bowling Green's John Mazzei put his team on top by two with a nifty backhander at 7:22 of the third period to put the game out of reach at 4-2.
Michigan State returns to action next Friday, Dec. 10 in the first game of a weekend series at Alaska-Fairbanks. The Spartans and Nanooks face-off at 11:05 p.m. EST, inside the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.
Spartan Notebook -
· Tonight's game marked a homecoming for Michigan State assistant coach Tom Newton, who played at Bowling Green from 1975-89.
· Saturday marked the first time since Feb. 7, 1997, that the Spartans took to the ice without a captain, when they dropped a 5-2 decision to Western Michigan. Junior forward Drew Miller missed the Dec. 3 contest due to a shoulder injury. Michigan State also played without assistant captain Jared Nightingale for the second-straight night.
· Junior defenseman Tyler Howells' goal marked Michigan States first power-play goal since Captain Drew Miller scored in a 3-1 loss to Wisconsin during the College Hockey Showcase. The goal was Howells' sixth of the season, tripling his total from his freshman and sophomore campaigns.
· Bowling Green's Rich Meloche scored early in the first period to snap goaltender Dominic Vicari's shutout streak at 108:58. The junior from Clinton Township, Mich., had not allowed a goal since the first period of a Nov. 29 contest vs. Minnesota.
· The Falcon's second goal came via the power play and was the first man-advantage goal the Spartans have allowed since a Nov. 18 loss at Western Michigan. The Nov. 18 contest also marked the last time the Green and White tallied multiple power-play goals, MSU had two extra-man strikes in tonight's contest.
· Sophomore Bryan Lerg netted his fourth goal in two games, marking the first time all season the Livonia, Mich., native has found the back of the net in consecutive games. Lerg had managed just two goals in the season's first 15 games.
