Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
0-0-1
Maine
0-0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Maine | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Spartans Tie Maine in Season Opener, 3-3
10/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
PORTLAND, MAINE - The Michigan State hockey team tied Maine, 3-3, in the opening game of the 2015-16 season on Friday night in the Ice Breaker Tournament in Portland, Maine. Freshman Zach Osburn scored twice for Michigan State, which came back from one-goal deficits on three occasions.
"I thought it was a pretty good game," said MSU head coach Tom Anastos. "I thought both teams competed really hard. It was difficult to get into any flow because of all the special teams play. Some was good from our perspective and some not so good, but I liked how hard we competed."
There were a total of 32 penalty minutes in the game, 22 of which went to Maine as MSU went 3-for-11 on the power play.
"With so much special teams play it can be tough with a lot of guys sitting on the bench," said defenseman Travis Walsh. "But I thought we handled that well."
With 2:12 to play in the third period and the Black Bears leading 3-2, Maine's Blaine Byron was whistled for interference, giving MSU its 11th power play of the night. The Spartans took advantage for the third time of the game as Osburn notched his second goal of the evening to tie the game, 3-3. With MSU goaltender Jake Hildebrand on the bench for the extra attacker, the Spartans kept pressure in the Maine end and Osburn took the puck from Mason Appleton and rifled a shot through that snuck past Maine' goaltender Matt Morris from near the top of the left circle.
"I saw I had shot and I took it," said Osburn. "I was hoping for a tip, but fortunately it just went right in."
Both teams had chances in the overtime session, but neither could generate the tiebreaker. Maine won the three-round shootout, which took place for the Ice Breaker Tournament scoring purposes.
The Black Bears took a 1-0 lead just over three minutes into the game when Will Merchant swept in a loose puck off a rebound on the power play.
The Spartans evened the game on the power play with 4:47 to play in the first when Osburn scored his first-career goal. Osburn gathered the puck in the high slot off a feed from JT Stenglein and snapped it past Morris. Thomas Ebbing also picked up an assist on the goal.
Following a power play where Maine held the puck in the MSU zone nearly the entire two minutes, the Black Bears kept the pressure on and took a 2-1 lead when Brian Morgan redirected a point shot into the net just past the midway point of the second period.
The Spartans had several quality chances to retie the game in the second period, but the Black Bears killed three consecutive penalties, including over one minute of 5-on-3 time.
Michigan State fought back early in the third when Joe Cox backhanded home a rebound on the power play at the 3:50 mark, tying the game, 2-2.
Maine retook the lead with a shorthanded tally at the 7:08 mark when Byron converted a 2-on-1.
The Spartans outshot the Black Bears in all three periods and by a total of 36-29 for the game.
The Spartans will play game two of the Ice Breaker Tournament on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. when they meet Lake Superior State at Cross Insurance Arena.
