Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Sweep Buckeyes with 3-2 Win
2/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 4, 2012
Columbus, Ohio - All-America candidate Torey Krug earned first star honors for the second straight night with a goal and an assist, senior Brett Perlini and sophomore Greg Wolfe each had a pair of helpers as Michigan State earned a sweep of No. 10 Ohio State with a 3-2 victory on Saturday. Will Yanakeff made 33 saves on the heels of a 41-save performance on Friday, and freshman Matt Berry had his second goal in as many nights.
The Spartans improved to 15-11-4, which matches MSU's win total from last season. In the CCHA, MSU is now 10-9-3-2, and is tied for seventh place with Lake Superior State. The Spartans are now 4-1-1 against top-10 teams this season, and now turn their attentions to a home-and-Joe series with Michigan next weekend. The Wolverines are coming off a sweep of Miami this weekend.
MSU got on the board first, at 9:14. Off a faceoff win, Krug corralled the puck at the left point, and dished off to Matt Berry at the far post for the freshman's second goal of the weekend.
The Spartans doubled their lead just under two minutes into the middle frame. Skating four-on-four, a series of nifty passes brought the Spartans into the offensive zone, and Brett Perlini had a shot from the right side that was saved by Heeter. The rebound came into the slot, where Greg Wolfe backhanded it back out to Jake Chelios at the top of the left circle, and his shot beat Heeter for the sophomore's second goal of the season.
Perlini and Wolfe-teamed up to set up another power-play goal, this time by Krug, to extend the Spartans lead to 3-0 at 13:25 in the second period. Perlini kicked it out to Wolfe at the left point, and Krug was at the top of the slot moving to the right for his eighth goal of the season and fifth point of the weekend. Less than a minute later, however, Ohio State got the goal back off the stick of Tanner Fritz, who was set up by Max and Ryan Dzingel at 14:23. Fritz added a second in the period with under a minute remaining at 17:49 to cut the Spartan lead to a goal, as he was set up by Dzingel and McCormick again.
The third period was a scoreless affair, despite the home team desperate to snap their nine-game winless streak and a 10-4 edge in shots. The Spartans got a huge lift with their defensive effort, as MSU killed off three penalties and the final minute of 6-on-5 action. Krug, Trevor Nill, and Brock Shelgren came up with big blocked shots in the final two shifts as the Buckeyes pressed for an equalizer with Heeter on the bench.
The Spartans, who rebounded with a sweep of the Buckeyes after suffering a sweep last weekend at Ferris State, now prepare for a huge two-game set with archrival Michigan next weekend. The teams will play on Friday at Munn Ice Arena, then take their acts to Joe Louis Arena for its annual game in Detroit.
NOTES: MSU recorded its 15th victory of the season, matching last year's win total ... MSU had its second power-play goal in as many games and third in four contests. Before the Ferris series, MSU had gone seven games (and 28 attempts) without an extra-man tally ... The Spartans had power-play goals in back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 10 and Dec. 29 against Michigan and Michigan Tech, respectively ... The Spartans last had multiple power-play goals in the same game in the Dec. 9 loss at Michigan ... Michigan State has scored 94 goals in 30 games this season, and is on pace to surpass the 98 scored last year ... Krug earned first star honors in both games, finishing with two goals and three assists (including the game-tying goal on Friday and the game-winner on Saturday) ... Matt Berry had goals in both games against the Buckeyes this weekend, and now has a career-best four-game point scoring streak (3g, 1a) ... Berry's goal was his ninth of the season, tops among freshmen and tied for second on the team overall. Last year, Jake Chelios had eight goals, a freshman best. The previous year, Derek Grant had 12.
