Michigan State University
Minnesota
Spartans Take Down No. 14/15 Minnesota, 4-2
2/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS - The Michigan State hockey team defeated No. 14/15 Minnesota, 4-2, on Friday night at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. Ryan Keller had a goal and an assist while Jake Hildebrand made 22 saves as the Spartans (14-14-2, 7-5-2-2) earned a series split with the Gophers.
"I thought tonight showed the resiliency we have," MSU head coach Tom Anastos said. "Minnesota is a really good team and they don't lose very much at home. I thought it was a really strong 60 minutes by our team tonight."
After outshooting the Gophers, 14-7, in the opening period and generating several quality chances, the Spartans were rewarded just 44 seconds into the second when defenseman John Draeger gave MSU a 1-0 lead.
After a flurry around the Minnesota (18-11-3, 9-4-3-0) net, Matt Berry got the puck to defenseman Rhett Holland, who had worked his way to the corner. Holland threw the puck out front to Draeger, who caught it and spun to his right and backhanded it under Minnesota goaltender Adam Wilcox.
"He works his tail off every day and it was nice to see him get rewarded," Anastos said.
The Gophers struck back when Kyle Rau tied the game at the 4:09 mark. After an acrobatic save by Hildebrand, Rau pushed the rebound home to knot the game.
After killing the first Minnesota power play of the game, the Spartans gained momentum and followed minutes later by getting the go-ahead goal with 1:18 to play in the second.
Similar to the first MSU goal, it was a Spartan defensemen getting involved down low in the Minnesota zone as Ron Boyd was able to get the puck to Ryan Keller just off the top of the crease to Wilcox's right. Keller turned and fired the puck and it snuck through Wilcox to give the winger his third goal in as many games.
The Spartans extended their lead to 3-1 at the 7:04 mark of the third on a rebound goal by Michael Ferrantino.
Joe Cox forced the puck ahead to Keller along the left side in the neutral zone, who picked it up and raced ahead 2-on-1 with Ferrantino. Keller snapped a shot from the left side that bounced off the facemask of Wilcox and out to the top of the crease. Ferrantino drove to the net on the play while fending off a backchecker and poked the rebound into the net.
A holding call to Josh Jacobs gave Minnesota its second power play of the night and the Gophers capitalized to pull within a goal with 4:24 to play when Rau got his second of the game.
Thomas Ebbing sealed the win as he scored on the power play with 37 seconds remaining to make the final score 4-2.
The Spartans will return home next weekend to host Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday at Munn Ice Arena. Puck drop is 7 p.m. both nights.
