Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Complete Sweep of No. 5 Western Michigan
11/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 12, 2011
Kalamazoo, Mich. - Michigan State got a two-goal effort from Mike Merrifield, d Torey Krug had a goal and an assist, and MSU got another outstanding goaltending performance from sophomore Will Yanakeff to complete a sweep of No. 5 Western Michigan, 4-2.
"I thought that we needed two things coming into the weekend: poise, and toughness," said head coach Tom Anastos, who has seen his team win four straight and five of its last six games. "I was very impressed with our team this weekend. Even when things did not go our way, there was no panic. We stayed composed, and just kept working hard. I'm very proud of this team right now."
The Spartans earned their first CCHA sweep of the season and its first two victories over ranked opponents of the season. Yanakeff had 28 saves for his third straight victory.
For the second night in a row, the Spartans opened the scoring early in the opening frame. Off a goalmouth scramble, Mike Merrifield extended his goal-scoring streak to four games, as he was able to get a stick on the puck and flip it over the leg pad of Nick Pisellini. Greg Wolfe and Lee Reimer had the assists.
The Spartans kept Western off the board until nearly 15 minutes into the second period. The Broncos ended up on a three-on-one break after a Spartan defenseman lost his footing in the neutral zone, and Derek Roehl finished off a pass from JJ Crew over the glove hand of Yanakeff. An extended period of discussion with the game officials followed, as one of the WMU players had thrown Chris Forfar's stick across the defensive zone prior to the break the other way, but the goal stood and play continued.
Torey Krug helped the Spartans to back-to-back goals in the first half of the third period to push the MSU a 3-1 lead. His first goal came on a five-on-three at 2:54, as he and Brock Shelgren slid the puck back and forth at the top of the slot. Krug's first shot from the right side was blocked by a Bronco defender, but Krug collected his own rebound and sniped a shot from the high slot. At 7:57, Krug jumped in as the puck squirted off the wall and up to the top of the left circle. His slapshot found its way through traffic, and Brett Perlini got a stick on it to redirect it past Pisillini to give MSU the 3-1 advantage.
Three minutes later, the home team jumped back into the game. With Pisellini headed to the bench on a delayed penalty call, winger Kyle O'Kane buried a pass from Justin Kovacs, shooting from parallel with the hash marks inside the left circle. The goal counted, and the bonus to the Broncos was the ensuing power play. The Spartans killed it off, and play continued.
A hard-work play resulted in a bit more cushion for MSU at 12:26. Reimer carried the puck up the right side, paused with the puck, firing it to the far side for a crashing Merrifield. Merrifield buried it at the left post.
The teams traded penalties late in the frame, but even with pulling Pisallini for an extra skater for the final two minutes of regulation, Western could not break down the Spartan defense or Yanakeff.
Michigan State will be on the road again next weekend, traveling to Marquette, Mich. for a series with Northern Michigan. Both games will be at 7:35 p.m.
NOTES: The Spartans swept their first road CCHA series since January of 2008 (Ohio State) ... MSU had not swept back-to-back series since Dec. 2007, when MSU downed Lake Superior on the road and won both in a home-and-home series with Ferris State ... The Spartans shut down Western Michigan on the penalty kill, keeping WMU off the board in three chances ... Yanakeff made 28 saves a night after making a career-best 38 stops ... Greg Wolfe and Lee Reimer each have a career-best five-game point-scoring streak ... Mike Merrifield has six goals in the last four games ...
