Neil's Notebook: Top Line Delivers in Opener
10/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING - Matt Berry, the No. 1 star of the hockey game, summed up the night for him and his Michigan State teammates with his last comment to the media in the Spartan dressing room.
"That was fun game to play in,'' Berry said.
Fun, indeed, for not only the players, but for the coaches and fans because of a successful season-opening game at Munn Arena on Friday.
The Spartans have been searching for a go-to forward line to help boost offensive production, and on Friday, they found one with Mike Ferrantino at center with Mackenzie MacEachern on left wing and Berry on the right side.
The unit combined for three goals and four assist for seven points in MSU's 5-3 victory over Massachusetts in front of 5,841 fans.
Berry scored the Spartans' first and last goals and had one assist. MacEachern's goal in the second period gave MSU the lead for good at 3-2, and he also had one assist. Ferrantino picked up two assists.
"We were put together pretty early and so we've been working in practice, getting used to cycling and playing down low,'' said Berry, a 5-10, 165-pound senior from Canton. "We feed off each other pretty good. We all play aggressively down low and I think that helps.
"I score most of my goals from around the net, and it helps having them out there. They work down pretty well, and we found a way to get good chances.''
The trio combined for 11 shots on goal - Berry had five, MacEachern four and Ferrantino two.
The line played with good energy and speed and moved the puck well and created turnovers.
The Ferrantino-MacEachern-Berry line will try to continue to create and finish well as MSU (1-0) faces the Minutemen (0-2) in the non-conference series finale at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Munn Arena.
"We had a good week of practice, working on a lot of different things,'' said Ferrantino, the 5-foot-8, 175-pound junior captain from Plymouth. "I played with Berry a lot last year so we know each other pretty well. With Mac, we talked through some things this week in practice.
"The three of us are good at communication. They're fun players to be with.''
Fun and productive, at least for the Spartans' season debut.
"Mac and I like being in the corners and Berry is as pure of a goal-scorer as you can get,'' Ferrantino said. "If we can keep doing that, (Berry) should have a few (goals).''
Berry scored on a deflection of a Ferrantino shot just 3:37 into the first period to give MSU a 1-0 lead, and he converted from the left circle midway through the final period, boosting his team's lead to 5-2, with MacEachern assisting.
MacEachern's power-play goal from close in at 12:23 of the second period gave the Spartans a 3-2 lead. Berry drew an assist on the goal. Ferrantino assisted on Berry's first goal with the initial shot at the net and he earned an assist on sophomore JT Stenglein's rebound goal late in the opening period.
"All our lines produced tonight, but I hope we can be a go-to line and continue it all season,'' said MacEachern, a 6-2, 199-pound sophomore from Troy. "They're good players and we seem to know where each other is. We communicate pretty well.
"When we get off the ice, we go over things and talk about what we can do better.'' MSU's other three lines didn't pile up points like the Ferrantino unit, but each had a strong game and did well in creating scoring chances.
Friday's other forward lines included Thomas Ebbing centering left wing William Haag and Joe Cox on right wing; freshman Dylan Pavelek at center with Stenglein on left wing and Brett Darnell on right wing, and DeBlouw centering Ryan Keller on left wing and Justin Hoomaian on right wing.
Darnell, however, was ejected with a game misconduct for a major penalty for hitting from behind, 12 minutes into the first period. Since Darnell didn't receive a game-disqualification penalty, he'll be eligible to play in Saturday's series finale.
But with Darnell out, Anastos was forced to double shift some right wings. Joe Cox saw a lot of action with Pavelek and Stenglein, along with regular duty on a unit with Ebbing and Hayes and stints penalty killing and on the power play.
"I liked our depth tonight. We had all four lines going and it wasn't like one line did it all,'' MacEachern said. "Our defense blocked shots and the penalty killing was huge. "The biggest surprise (of the night) might be the No. 2 penalty unit - with me on it (with Ferrantino). It's my first year.''
MacEachern and Ferrantino were strong on the PK during UMass' two power-plays in the opening period - a two-minute man advantage, followed by one for five minutes. They used their speed and quickness to create a few good short-handed scoring chances.
Anastos said part of reason Ferrantino and MacEachern ended up on the same forward line was he wanted to use them together as a penalty-killing unit. Berry was added to hopefully make for a dangerous unit in 5-on-5 situations and on the power play.
"Mac hasn't played much with those two guys but he plays with lots of energy, and I think they're adapting to each other,'' Anastos said.
FINALLY, OPENING WITH A WIN: The Spartans' victory was Anastos' first in a regular-season opener in four seasons. In his first season as coach - 2011-12, MSU opened with a 5-2 loss to Boston College in the Ice Breaker Tournament in Grand Forks, N.D. The next season, the Spartans lost 5-1 at Minnesota, and last year, they suffered a 5-2 defeat at Massachusetts.
The last time MSU won its first game of the season was on Oct. 9, 2009 -- 6-1 victory over Clarkson at Munn Arena.
DROUGHTS END: Matt DeBlouw, a junior center, scored a key goal three minutes into the third period to boost MSU's lead to 4-2. Linemate Ryan Keller made a great defensive play to break up a potential shot on goal by the Minutemen and chipped the puck back to DeBlouw, who headed back down the ice. He drove down the left wing and let go with a shot from the left circle that eluded UMass goaltender Steve Mastalerz.
The goal was DeBlouw's was his first since March 17, 2012, at Miami, ending a 23-game goal drought. DeBlouw had 10 goals as a freshman but none as a sophomore.
"I didn't know what to do (after scoring). Do I put my arms up or what?'' DeBlouw said. "It was a weird feeling after not scoring for a year-and-a-half. I'm just glad Keller got back on the backcheck and made a great play to chip (the puck) up to me. I saw the short side and tried to shoot it in that area.''
DeBlouw's game Friday was arguably better than any game he played as a sophomore. It started with a crunching, well-executed check on Minutemen defenseman Ben Gallagher behind the net in the UMass zone in the first period.
"I think what I can bring to the game on a regular basis is hitting guys and getting the crowd into it,'' he said.
Anastos believes DeBlouw can be a key contributor if he learns to play a certain way consistently.
"We're trying to get him to play on the attack. He sometimes plays a conservative mode and falls back," the Spartan coach said. "It's like having the mentality `I don't want to get beat,' but I want him to have the mentality that `I'm going to beat somebody.'
"He showed some emotion (after the goal). I like seeing that from him because whenever he plays with that emotion, I think he can be a real good player. We need to find some consistency from Matt because he has a lot of skill. That was a very positive step forward.''
Meanwhile, sophomore JT Stenglein has now scored as many goals in one game this year as he did in 15 last season. Stenglein made a nice play driving from the left wing into the middle and picking up his own rebound and tapping the puck into an empty net in the first period to give MSU a 2-0 lead.
Stenglein, a high-scoring forward in junior hockey, struggled to earn a regular spot in the lineup last year. His only goal in 2013-14 was against American International on Nov. 1, 2013.
FIVE-GOAL SURGE: Coach Tom Anastos said the best thing he liked about Friday's game - other than the victory - was scoring five goals. He even thought his team could have had more.
"The five goals - I thought that was encouraging,'' he said. "I don't like giving up three goals, but our special teams played well and we played everybody.''
The Spartans averaged only 2.19 goals per game last season and only scored five or more goals in three games - five against American International College, eight vs. Princeton and five against Wisconsin. All three were victories and came at Munn Arena.
"This should give us a confidence boost. Our team knows it's making progress in many areas, but you still want to see the puck go into the net,'' Anastos said. "Tonight, we started out with a two-goal lead and then gave it up. You don't like to see that but I liked how we fought back.''
FRESHMEN GET THUMBS UP: Anastos was impressed by the first-night performances by three freshmen - defensemen Josh Jacobs and Carson Gatt and forward Dylan Pavelek.
"My initial reaction was that they were factors in the game,'' Anastos said. "Jacobs had a real good game and did all the things we talked about and he played in all situations.
"Carson Gatt did the same thing . . . he did a good job of moving the puck. He got caught on one goal, but as I remembered, he responded well. I thought Pavelek was really good, especially in the offensive zone and down low. He made some nifty plays behind the net to set guys up. The freshmen made nice contributions for the first game.''
BIG TEN UPDATE: Michigan opened its home season with a stunning 5-1 loss to unranked New Hampshire. Wisconsin suffered its second shutout in three games with a 2-0 loss to Northern Michigan in Green Bay. Ohio State opened a home-and-home series with Miami with a 5-1 loss in Columbus. And Penn State saw a 3-1 disappear in the third period as the Nittany Lions and Alaska-Anchorage played to a 3-3 tie.
