Neil's Notebook: Walsh's Goal Sparks Victory
11/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING - After being held without a goal for 85 minutes over the last two games, Michigan State needed a goal in the worst way in the first period on Saturday night.
And Travis Walsh delivered.
Wait. Travis Wash? The Spartan junior defenseman who's known for blocking shots and making good passes to help his team on breakouts from the defensive zone?
And who had not scored a goal during his two-plus seasons at MSU?
Yep, that Travis Walsh.
His slap shot from the left point in the middle took a couple of skips along the ice in front of a screened Ferris State goaltender CJ Motte and went through his legs at 16: 50 of the first period.
The goal ended two droughts - it was the Spartans' first goal in 102 minutes and 26 seconds and Walsh's first goal in his 81st career game.
Walsh and the Spartans went on to have their best games of the season as Michigan State cruised to a 4-1 victory over the No. 14/15 Bulldogs in front of 4,716 fans at Munn Arena.
"I looked to go D to D (defense to defense) with Josh (Jacobs), and at the last second, I decided to throw it at the net. It wasn't a hard shot by any means,'' said Walsh, a 5-foot-11, 181-pounder from Haslett.
"I think it kind of bounced on him (Motte) and I'm not sure if he saw it until the last second. He was definitely screened. JT (Stenglein) and Matt DeBlouw had a screen on him. Our goal was to get guys in front.''
At first, Walsh thought his shot might have been deflected by one of his teammates, thus giving him a key assist instead of the key goal.
"I said to JT, `Did you touch it?' I said to DeBlouw, "Did you touch it?' JT said at first he did and then he said `I'm just kidding.'''
The Spartans (2-4), who lost to FSU 3-0 on Friday and scored only one goal in last weekend's 1-0 and 2-1 defeats at Boston University and UMass-Lowell, respectively, had a wide edge in territorial play for the second straight game against the Bulldogs.
They outshot the visitors 34-21 and could have scored four or five more goals if not for another outstanding performance by FSU senior goalie Motte.
"It feels good that our team got the offense going. Last night, we had lots of chances but the puck wasn't going in. But tonight, we thought we were due,'' said Walsh, who had three shots on goal and played very well defensively. "Anytime you score a goal, you get that jump. Look at (Matt Berry), when he scores a goal, he really gets going.
"For me, it felt good. I'm getting more confidence in my shooting.''
Walsh's goal allowed the Spartans to relax and keep playing hard to create more quality scoring chances.
Just 1 minute and 18 seconds after his goal, MSU made it 2-0 on Mackenzie MacEachern's second goal of the season, as he fired in a rebound. Spartan senior right wing Brent Darnell set it up after he got possession along the left boards and spun around and fired the puck toward the net. The puck seemed to hit Motte and deflect to his left, and MacEachern pounced on it.
Villiam Haag scored his first goal of the season early in the second period, and after FSU cut MSU's lead to 3-1 early in the third period, Berry's power-play goal with 6:20 left sealed MSU's first victory since the first game of the season.
Walsh said the best aspect of his team's victory was "being committed to playing defense and doing all the little things.''
"We talked about doing it before the game and we did it,'' he said. "Everyone was finishing checks, playing defense and we were enjoying it. It was contagious.''
The Spartans have allowed only five goals in their last four games - three last week in two games in the Boston area and two vs. Ferris State.
"The biggest part is Hildy (goalie Jake Hildebrand). He set the tone and made the saves he's made all year,'' Walsh said. "With him behind us, we're working hard to get pucks out of our zone quickly. It's working out well.''
Hildebrand faced only two shots in the first 20 minutes and was thrilled to see his teammates get two quick goals late in the period.
"It takes so much pressure off me, especially with all the close games we've been in the past few weeks,'' he said. "We got the early lead and didn't take our foot off the gas.
"I was very excited for (Walsh). He's one of our best defensemen. He leads our team in blocked shots so it's good to see him get on the other side and put some pucks in the net.''
Captain Michael Ferrantino felt a sigh of relief when Walsh's shot found the back of the net.
"We talked about it before the game, that getting the first one would be huge, especially because with the way it went in was the we had hoped,'' he said. "It was get in front of him (Motte) and find a way to get the puck to skip in the ice and get into the net.
"Good for Travis for scoring his first goal. We're happy for him.''
But no longer can his teammates tease Walsh about looking his first career goal.
"I guess we'll have to find something else,'' Ferrantino laughed.
Coach Tom Anasatos said Walsh and his defensive partner, freshman Josh Jacobs, had their best game of the year.
"Both guys did as good of a job working together as they have all season,'' he said. "It was nice to see it go in for Walshie. Once he scored, he got more shots to the net and kept pucks in play.
"Getting that first goal was good for Walshie and our team. It was a big confidence boost.''
BEST OF THE SEASON: There was no question about it. The 4-1 victory over Ferris State was the Spartans' best game of the season. MSU controlled the play, made accurate passes, created good scoring chances, finished well and was good killing penalties and moving the puck on the power play.
"That was the best 60 minute we've put together all season,'' MSU captain Mike Ferrantino said. " We won a lot of 1-on-1 battles, we were able to get our backcheck going the way we wanted and create some turnovers from them off their rush and go the other way.
"I don't think it was so much our passing as our support for each other. We made it easy on ourselves by making little five-foot passes. We had more than one option on every play.
"The best thing was that the puck bounced for us. It went in. Guys were squeezing their sticks last night and getting kind of frustrated. But we stuck with it and were able to get chances and good bounces.''
Coach Tom Anastos liked his team's approach before the game and consistency during it.
"Our guys came in very businesslike today and believed in each other and in the process of getting better. They stayed with it,'' he said. "Coming out of the weekend, there was a lot of positive growth.
"The difference tonight was we did a better job in our shot selection. On Friday, we threw lots of shots at (FSU goalie CJ Motte) but a lot of them were (high) and he gobbled them up. That's one heck of a goalie.
"Tonight, we tried to be better at putting pucks to the net and keeping them in play and to create traffic in front. We forced him to make better saves than lost night. We presented some things before the game and the guys responded well.''
UP NEXT: The Spartans will play six of their next seven games on the road, starting with next weekend's non-conference series at New Hampshire.
The Wildcats (2-4) are coming off two losses against UMass-Lowell, 2-0 at home and 8-2 on the road.
"They're a skilled team and play on a big (Olympic-sized) sheet,'' Ferrantino said. "We didn't pick up a road win on our first trip so to get a win would really help our confidence.''
Said Anastos: "They're play fast and really well on home ice. We've played good teams up until this point and it's another good team that we'll play.''
After facing UNH, Michigan State plays one game at home against No. 5 Boston College on Nov. 14. Then it's back on the road for the Big Ten-opening series at Ohio State, Nov. 20-21 (Thursday-Friday) and two non-conference games at Princeton, Nov. 28-29.
The Spartans' next home "series" is against Minnesota, Dec. 5-6.
BIG TEN UPDATE: Michigan's first trip to Houghton since 1983 did not turn out to be one to remember. The Wolverines (2-5) got swept by Michigan Tech, 4-1 and 6-2. The Huskies are 6-0.
Meanwhile, No. 1 Minnesota (5-1) rallied for a 4-3 win in overtime over St. Cloud State (3-3) on Saturday to earn a split in the non-conference series. The Huskies outplayed the Gophers on Friday, 4-1.
Ohio State (2-3-1) defeated Canisius, 4-1, on Saturday, after playing the Golden Griffins (4-3-1) of Atlantic Hockey to a 3-3 tie in the series opener on Friday. Penn State (5-1-2) swept Bentley (3-4), 3-2, 3-2, on Thursday and Friday.
