Neil's Notebook: Darnell Leads Spartans' Bounce-Back Effort

Dec. 7, 2014

By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com

EAST LANSING - Less than 24 hours after watching Michigan State's series opener against Minnesota from the stands as a healthy scratch, Brent Darnell got back into the lineup Saturday and had arguably the best game of his Michigan State career.

The senior right wing scored two goals - one of the highlight-reel variety - and had six shots on goal and made a major impact all game as the Spartans played their best game of the season in a 3-3 tie and 2-1 Big Ten shootout victory against the No. 3/6 Gophers.

With a bit of a new lineup, MSU rebounded from Friday's embarrassing a 5-0 loss to Minnesota, outplaying one of the best teams in the nation from start to finish in front of an announced crowd of 5,477 at Munn Arena.

The Spartans (5-9-1, 1-2-1-1 Big Ten) held a 45-24 edge in shots against the Gophers (9-4-1, 1-0-1-0), including 7-1 in overtime.

"You always have to be ready to go. I was ready,'' said Darnell, a 6-foot, 196-pound forward from Canton, Mich.

Darnell, who now has three goals and one assist for four points in 12 games, found himself at right wing on a line with Thomas Ebbing and Ryan Keller. Tanner Sorenson, who played the right side with Ebbing and Keller on Friday, moved to the top line with Mike Ferrantino and Joe Cox.

On Saturday, senior right wing Matt Berry and sophomore left wing JT Stenglein were scratched. MSU went with 11 forwards and seven defenseman, with sophomore defenseman Brock Krygier inserted into the lineup.

"On Friday, Minnesota had three special teams goals early and we never recovered,'' Darnell said. "If our team starts good, that gets the ball rolling. We got off to a strong start and kept it going.

"That goal by (Mackenzie MacEachern) late in the first period was really big. We had a good response (after suddenly losing a 1-0 lead and going down 2-1). Anytime you get a goal in the last minute, it gives you momentum coming out for the next period.''

Darnell's first goal - on a power play - gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead 2:21 into the first period. Villiam Haag's shot from the top of the left circle was blocked in front of the net, but Darnell got control of the rebound, and with a defenseman on his heels, he found the puck, spun around and slid it into the net.

MSU outshot Minnesota, 15-8, in the opening period but the visitors managed to take a 2-1 lead on goals by sophomore left wing Connor Reilly at 15:39 and Chad Rau (power play) at 17:37. Rau's goal came on a tip-in of Reilly's bullet-like shot from the right circle.

But the Spartans answered quickly to tie it with 24 seconds left in the period. On a 2-on-1 rush, set up by a long pass from defenseman John Draeger and a good bounce, Joe Cox drove in on the right side and hit MacEachern with a pass into the middle.

MacEachern rifled the puck past Minnesota goalie Adam Wilcox to the far left corner for his fifth goal of the season. MacEachern also had six shots on goal.

Darnell's second goal was the type that lifts fans out of their seats and puts smiles on the faces of teammates and coaches.

Center Matt DeBlouw carried the puck into the Gophers zone and dropped it back to Darnell, who was 10 feet inside the blue line. Darnell drove to the net from the middle, swerved left to get around Gopher center Kyle Rau, went wide to avoid defenseman Brady Skjei and scored from a wide angle on the right at 10:18 of the middle period.

"It was at the end of a shift and I went in on on Rau, my old roommate (from the U.S. Hockey League),'' Darnell said. "I went around him, faked a shot, went wide and knew I had to shoot, so I had to get it up quick. I think it hit the top of his glove, went off the bar and in.''

Darnell said he and Rau had a good laugh about the play in the handshake line after the game.

"He gave me a friendly jab. I'm sure he wasn't very happy about it,'' Darnell said. "We had a good laugh about it. He's a heck of a player, one of the best in the nation. He's a very respectful, humble kid.''

Darnell had several other good scoring chances in a bid to get his first career hat trick. His red-hot night fired up his teammates.

"That was unbelievable,'' MSU junior captain Mike Ferrantino said of Darnell's flash-and-splash goal. "He was really flying tonight, really motivated after sitting out last night.

"We just said `Give him the puck.' He's finding a way every time he touches it, so let him keep shooting.''

MSU coach Tom Anastos liked the way Darnell responded to getting back in the lineup but wants to see consistency.

"He was an impact player. So my question for him is `Why not every night?'' Anastos said. "We're not looking to keep guys out of the lineup. We want difference makers in the lineup.''

Darnell came into the game with two goals and two assists in eight games against Minnesota.

"I know he gets fired up to play against Minnesota - I think he played with a lot of those guys in juniors,'' Anastos said. "But we need him to visualize guys in Gophers uniforms every time we play (against other teams). Because, he was a big factor in this game.''

Darnell also got a chance to take part in the shootout and almost gave MSU a 2-0 lead to start the second round. But his wrist shot to the left corner hit the post and bounced away.

"I came in with a little speed, then hit the brakes and tried to make (Wilcox) move back a little and tried to throw one low blocker and catch him off guard,'' he said. "I thought I did but it's a game of inches.''

BEST OF THE SEASON: Spartan players and coaches agreed that Saturday's game was MSU's best of the season and the most exciting. It was still a tie and not a victory in the overall record but it was a high-end effort and the Spartans forechecked tenaciously and created quality chances.

"From the start of the game to the end, that was our best game of the season, no doubt,'' Anastos said. "I told the guys after the game that this standard (of play) is something we should have as an expectation.''

The Spartans looked like a team determined to rebound from Friday's poor overall effort in the 5-0 loss. MSU came out with great energy, they skated hard and set the pace - a fast pace - and kept it up for a full 65 minutes.

"We were sick to our stomach's about last night. I had trouble sleeping,'' junior center and captain Mike Ferrantino said. "We wanted to come out and give an honest effort and give ourselves a chance to win. We focused on the first 10 minutes and to get off to a better start. I thought we did a good job staying out of the penalty box, although they did get two power-play goals.''

Minnesota had only two power plays but the Gophers are so dangerous they scored twice - on just two power-play shots. Minnesota scored went 3-for-7 on the power play on Friday and is now at 34 percent, No. 1 in the nation.

"Our crack penalty kill has cracks in it,'' Anastos said. "So we have to get back at that. They did some damage to us.''

The Spartans' penalty-killing, up until this weekend a major team strength, probably was the only flaw in their game on Saturday.

"What I liked about our team was not just how hard we played but in dealing with the highs and lows of the game,'' Anastos said. "We did a poor job with that last night. This was a good step. We kept coming.

"We outshot them 15-8 in the first period and I thought we were dictating play, but suddenly we were down 2-1. You talk about key moments, MacEachern's goal at the end of the first period, which tied it, was really key. We could go into the (dressing) room feeling pretty good, instead of being a goal behind. I liked our energy and the tenacity we played with.''

SAVE OF THE SEASON: Junior goaltender Jake Hildebrand saved the game for the Spartans with a brilliant, point-blank glove save on Minnesota's Seth Ambroz with 2:46 left in overtime.

The Gophers' Travis Boyd won a battle for a loose puck behind the net, turned and passed it right on the stick of Ambroz just outside the crease. Ambroz's one-timer was to the right corner of the net but Hildebrand reached to his left and blocked the shot with his catching glove.

The puck dropped free and MSU defenseman John Draeger and forward Villiam Haag managed to clear it out of danger.

"I tried to block the pass with my stick and missed it,'' Hildebrand said. "Then I just pushed off to get over (to the left). It hit in the middle of my glove and came right out. I didn't know where it was.''

Surprisingly, that was Minnesota's only shot on goal in overtime.

"That was an unbelievable save,'' MSU coach Tom Anastos said. "I still don't know how he stopped it.''

Hildebrand, who gave up five goals on Friday and wasn't at his best, had a solid game on Saturday. He made 24 saves and gave up only one goal on six shots in the shootout.

"He was tracking the puck very well tonight. I had a lot of confidence in the shootout,'' Anastos said. "We needed some timely saves.

"I think Jake's going through a bit of a change as a goaltender. In his first two seasons, he saw a lot of shots every game, but now he's not facing that many shots with this team. We're not giving up 35-38 shots a game. It's probably more like 18-28, and not as many quality shots. But when we do, some are doozies. Tonight, he was on his game.''

SHOOTOUT REVIEW: The Spartans shot first and Mike Ferrantino scored on a backhander and got his team and the crowd fired up. After Minnesota's Kyle Rau was stopped by Hildebrand, Darnell opened the second round by hitting the left post. Defenseman Mike Reilly of the Gophers missed from a wide angle giving MSU's Joe Cox a chance to win it to start round three, but Cox's shot went wide to the right.

Seth Ambroz then got a little revenge on Hildebrand when he scored on a backhander to tie it 1-1 and keep Minnesota alive.

In round four, Villiam Haag of MSU and Justin Kloos of Minnesota missed, and Tanner Sorenson of the Spartans and Travis Boyd of the Gophers failed to convert in the fifth round.

Finally in round six, Matt DeBlouw turned out to be the shootout hero as the Spartan junior center beat Minnesota goalie Adam Wilcox with a wrist shot to the right corner, and Hildebrand made an alert pad save on a fast-skating Connor Reilly to clinch the victory for MSU.

Connor Reilly, with two goals and an assist, was named the No. 1 star of the game, with Darnell No. 2 and Mackenzie MacEachern of MSU No. 3.

The shootout win gives MSU two points in the Big Ten standings and Minnesota earns one in the shootout loss. The Spartans and Gophers played in two shootouts last season, with MSU winning both - one at Munn Arena and one in Minneapolis.

IN THE BIG TEN: Penn State earned its first Big Ten series sweep in two seasons with a 4-2 victory over Wisconsin on Saturday in Madison. The Nittany Lions (9-4-2, 3-1 Big Ten) won the series opener on Friday with a 5-2 victory over the struggling Badgers (1-10-1, 0-2).

Teams earn three points for a victory, two for a shootout win and one for a loss in a shootout.

Penn State is in first place with 9 points, Michigan is second with 6 points, MSU is third with 5, followed by Minnesota (4), Ohio State (3) and Wisconsin (0). The Nittany Lions and Spartans have played four Big Ten games. U-M and OSU have played three and Minnesota and Wisconsin have played only two.