Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Nebraska-Omaha (CCHA Super Six Quarterfinals)
Hockey Blanks Nebraska-Omaha, 5-0, In CCHA Quarterfinals
3/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 17, 2005
DETROIT - Behind a 33-save performance by sophomore netminder Dominic Vicari (Clinton Township, Mich.), Michigan State skated to a 5-0 blanking of Nebraska-Omaha in the CCHA Super Six Quarterfinals at Joe Louis Arena on Thursday (March 17). With the win, MSU moves on to face Ohio State in the CCHA Super Six Semifinals on Friday, March 18, at 8:05 p.m. Friday's early game pits Michigan against Alaska Fairbanks at 4:35 p.m.
"We played really well from start to finish," said MSU head coach Rick Comley on State's performance. "That early power-play goal was huge for us. Our big players stepped up as they have the last few weeks. We were very focused and it was a solid win for us."
MSU opened up an early 1-0 lead, just 3:28 into the game, on a power-play marker by Colton Fretter (Jr., Harrow, Ont.). The play was set up by the Spartans' hard work and crisp passing. Senior captain Jim Slater (Lapeer, Mich.) worked the puck down to Drew Miller (So., East Lansing, Mich.), who was down low along the boards and Miller thread a pass back to Fretter at the point, who walked in and one-timed a shot that beat UNO netminder Chris Holt for his 20th tally of the season.
Another power-play tally by the Spartans made it 2-0 at the 10:31 mark of the opening stanza. Jim McKenzie (Fr., Woodbury, Minn.) sent home a Slater rebound for his 11th goal of the season.
The Spartans continued to carry the play, early in the second period as Tommy Goebel (So., Parma, Ohio) gave the Spartans a 3-0 advantage with his fifth goal of the season at the 6:17 mark of the second period. With the teams playing 4-on-4, Goebel took a feed from Slater and poked the puck past Holt for a goal in his second straight game.
 Freshman defenseman Daniel Vukovic tallied his first career goal in State's 5-0 win over UNO.  | |
Forward Chris Muller (Fr., West Seneca, N.Y.) closed out the scoring for the Spartans with his second goal of the season, an empty-net tally at the 18:42 mark of the third period as Holt was pulled for the extra attacker. All told, Holt finished with 37 stops in a losing effort.
Meanwhile, Vicari was sharp for the Spartans with his 33 stops. He recorded eight saves in the first period, 14 in the second and 11 in the third en route to No. 2 star of the game honors. Tonight's game also marked his fifth shutout of the season and the 12th of his career.
"We play as good as Dom (Vicari) plays and, again, he played very good tonight," said Slater. "We follow him."
Michigan State (20-15-4 overall) finished 2-for-7 with the man advantage while UNO was 0-for-6.
Spartan Notebook
* The Spartans are 14-5-2 when scoring the first goal of the game.
* JR F Colton Fretter tallied his 20th goal of the season with a power-play marker in the opening stanza. In doing so, it marked the second consecutive year that State has had a 20-goal scorer as Mike Lalonde (Sr., Chetwynd, B.C.) tallied 22 goals one year ago.
* With his three-point night, SR F Jim Slater now has 5-12--17 totals in the last nine games, including five multiple-point games.
* SO F Tommy Goebel, who had just three goals in his first 36 games, has now tallied a goal in back-to-back games (vs. Miami, March 12 and vs. UNO, March 17).
* With a goal and two assists, SO F Tommy Goebel recorded his third multiple-point game of the season and his first since he picked up three helpers against Lake Superior State (Jan. 21).
* FR D Daniel Vukovic registered his first career goal as a Spartan at the 11:12 mark of the second period.
* State is 14-3 when scoring four or more goals this season.
* FR F Jim McKenzie now has 10 goals in the last 12 games.
* With his empty-net goal, FR F Chris Mueller scored his second goal of the season and his first since Nov. 14, 2004, game vs. Cornell - a span of 27 games.
* SO G Dominic Vicari has five shutouts this season to rank sixth on MSU's single-season blankings list. In addition, it also marked his 12th career shutout to move him into a tie for second on MSU's career list with Chad Alban (1994-98).
* JR D Corey Potter, who picked up a pair of assists, equaled his career-best with his two-point night. His two-point performance marked just the second time in his career (first - Jan. 4, 2003 vs. Lake Superior State) that he has registered two points in a game.
