Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Lake Superior State (at Joe Louis Arena)
Spartans, Lakers Skate to 2-2 Tie
2/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 25, 2006
Detroit - Michigan State completed the regular season on Saturday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, skating to a 2-2 stalemate with Lake Superior State. Senior Colton Fretter and junior Drew Miller scored for the Spartans, who conclude the regular season with a 20-10-8 overall record, and are 14-7-7 in CCHA play. LSSU goalie Jeff Jakaitis made 45 saves for the Lakers, who were outshot 47-17 in the contest.
Michigan State held a 14-3 edge in shots in the first period, thanks in large part to a flurry to start the game. The Lakers had the game's first great scoring chance, when Jason Miller came out of the penalty box and went in one-on-one on Jeff Lerg. The freshman was up to the task, as Miller's offering went low, stick-side and was kicked aside harmlessly.
Lake Superior State took a lead at 9:11 of that opening frame, getting on the board with a power-play tally. The play originated with Nathan Ward moving the puck in off the wall into the left faceoff circle and throwing the puck netward. Trent Campbell had camped out on the doorstep, and redirected the puck over the right leg pad of Jeff Lerg for his 13th goal of the season.
The teams skated through a scoreless middle frame, but the Spartans were generating chances, again outshooting the Lakers by a wide margin (12-6) in the period. It took just over 40 minutes for the Spartans to find the scoreboard, as they got a timely goal from Colton Fretter at the 3:19 mark of the third. Chris Snavely got the puck to Daniel Vukovic at the blueline, who didn't see a clear passing lane. He opted to throw the puck off the rearboards to the right of Laker goalie Jeff Jakaitis; the puck was corralled by Fretter deep in the zone and popped past the netminder for the senior's tenth goal of the season, and his first in 11 games.
The Spartans took a 2-1 lead at 12:29 while skating on the power play; Drew Miller was able to redirect a shot off the back boards into a wide-open right side of the net at 12:29, with assists credited to Tyler Howells and Snavely. Before the public address announcer could announce the goal, the Lakers had gained the equalizer at the other end. Just eight seconds after the Spartans had taken the lead, sophomore Dan Eves took advantage of a MSU turnover and put the puck over the left shoulder of Lerg for his seventh goal of the season.
Neither team would solve the goaltenders over the balance of regulation, and Michigan State headed to an extra period for the 12th time this season, a school record. The Spartans attacked from the opening whistle, generating a pair of shots within the first 45 seconds. Despite spending a majority of the extra five minutes of gametime in the offensive zone, Jakaitis kept the Spartans at bay.
MSU has earned a first-round bye in the playoffs, and will be idle until March 10-12, when it will host a quarterfinal round at Munn Ice Arena.
Spartan Notebook
* The 2-2 tie with Lake Superior State moves MSU's record to 20-10-8, 14-7-7 on the season. State ends the regular season on a nine-game unbeaten streak (6-0-3) dating back to Jan 27. against Michigan. The unbeaten streak is the second-longest active streak in college hockey.
* With the tie, the Spartans finish with 35 points, good for second place in the CCHA. It is the highest finish for head coach Rick Comley since coming to East Lansing in 2002-03.
* The Green and White are now 59-29-10 all-time against the Lakers in a series that dates back to 1980. The Spartans are unbeaten in the past seven meetings (5-0-2) spanning back to Jan. 4, 2003. In neutral-site games, like today at Joe Louis Arena, State holds a 7-6-1 advantage.
* By going to overtime on Saturday afternoon, Michigan State set a school record for most extra-session games in a season with 12. The previous mark of 11 was held by both the 1986-87 and 1991-92 squads.
* Colton Fretter's goal, which tied the game at 1-1 early in the third, marks the third straight contest he has a point (1-2-3), and the fourth in five games (1-3-4). It was the senior's first goal in 10 games.
* Chris Snavely also extended his point streak to three games with assists on both of the Spartan goals. The Lancaster, Pa., native has 1-3-4 points during that span, tying the longest point streak of his career set Dec. 27, 2003 through Jan. 2, 2004. It was Snavely's first multi-point effort of the season.
* Daniel Vukovic had the primary assist on Fretter's 10th goal of the season, his first point in 15 games dating back to Jan. 7 against Wayne State.
* The marker at 3:19 of the third also broke a Spartan goal-less drought of 70:44 going back to the second period of Thursday night's victory at Lake Superior State.
* Captain Drew Miller's goal extended his goal-scoring streak to three games, and his point streak to a career-best six. He has 4-2-6 points in those games, dating back to Feb. 4 against Notre Dame. The goal also ties Miller for the team lead in goals (13) and points (34).
* Tyler Howell's point streak hit four games with a helper on Miller's tally. He has 1-5-6 points in those games.
