Neil's Notebook: Wolverines Stop Spartans in Hockey City Classic
2/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com
CHICAGO - College hockey coaches are always preaching to their teams about good puck management and strong defensive zone coverage.
Michigan State had both a week ago Friday in a 2-1 victory over Michigan at Joe Louis Arena. It was the key to the Spartans' biggest win of the season.
What about on Saturday, in an ice-delayed outdoor game at Soldier Field?
Well, not so much
The Spartans' defensive coverage and overall puck management were not up to standards and the combination opened the door for the Wolverines to gain a little revenge. Michigan broke open a close game with two goals in the second period - both due to defensive breakdowns - and went on to a 4-1 victory in the Coyote Hockey City Classic front of announced crowd of 22,751.
"It was definitely sloppy, and part of it was that our ability to control the puck was not as good coverage and you'd hope for,'' MSU coach Tom Anastos said of his team's play in the defensive zone. "A lot of has to do with your opponent. They did a good job of forechecking.''
Michigan State watched U-M take a 1-0 lead 1:43 into the game, which started an hour-and-a-half later than original 8 p.m. (EST) start time, because poor ice conditions in the afternoon delayed the start of the Miami-Western Michigan game from 4 to 5:40 p.m.
The Spartans held off Michigan's first-period intensity and were starting to play better in the second period. But the Wolverines took advantage of some MSU turnovers to take a 3-0 lead on goals 4 minutes and 32 seconds apart by defenseman Cutler Martin and center Andrew Copp at 13:16 and 17:47.
That left the Spartans (10-12 overall, 4-4-2-2 Big Ten) in a hole they couldn't dig out it.
"On their second goal, we got a couple of guys caught on a long shift. It's a long change (in the second period) to get off,'' Anastos said. "We made a mental error and the puck ends up in our net.
"On the third goal, we make a big turnover. We were moving, we had control of the puck and we make a turnover - an unforced error - and we don't cover the puck out front.
"It wasn't up to the standards of our expectations. But I give them (Michigan) credit. They played hard.''
In last week's win over Michigan, Michigan State's played excellent defense in all zones - defense, offensive and neutral zones. The Spartans controlled the puck more in U-M zone in that game and managed the puck well, preventing the Wolverines from quick transitions.
"We did a really good job last week and tonight at times, I thought we were pretty good,'' MSU junior right wing and captain Mike Ferrantino said. "But Michigan did a good job at getting in on the forecheck, so credit them for that.''
Michigan State goaltender Jake Hildebrand (33 saves) said he was screened on the first two goals, both by U-M defensemen - Michael Downing, on a one-timer off a perfect pass shot from the top of the left circle along the boards, and by Martin, from the left point in the middle of the ice and through a maze of players.
"I was trying to look around and couldn't find the puck,'' he said. "I think on the second goal that it might have hit something. They put everything to the net and got good point shots.
"They were trying to create havoc in front and just throw pucks on net. I don't think they did that as much last weekend.''
Offensively, MSU created a few quality scoring chances here and there but couldn't sustain pressure in the Wolverine zone and get the puck to the net. U-M goalie Zach Nagelvoort stopped 31 shots, gave up few rebounds and didn't have to make any spectacular saves.
The Spartans' only goal came on a rebound that Nagelvoort couldn't find early in the third period. Matt DeBlouw tapped the puck past Nagelvoort at 5:51 and gave his team, now down 3-1, some hope. MSU worked hard the rest of the game but couldn't solve the Michigan defense, which was very good in its own zone.
"They did a much better job at managing the puck,'' Anastos said. "They were way better at creating danger in front of our net and ultimately creating some goals, better than we were.''
THE SHOT CHART: Left wing Joe Cox, who plays on a line with Mike Ferrantino and Villiam Haag, led MSU in shots on goal with six. Ryan Keller had six and Ferrantino and Matt DeBlouw each had four shots on goal.
Even though Michigan freshman standout center Dylan Larkin didn't have a point, he was still one of the best players on the ice, if not the best. The 2014 Red Wings' first-round draft pick had eight shots on goal and was on the ice when Justin Selman sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 18:48.
Meanwhile, MSU had an unusually low number of blocked shots with 10, while U-M blocked 18 shots. Neither team scored a power-play goal. Both teams were 0-for-3.
ICE, ICE MAYBE: Both MSU coach Tom Anastos and Michigan coach Red Berenson and players from both teams said the Soldier Field ice was a lot better Saturday that it was Friday afternoon and early evening.
But the puck was still bouncing around the ice and hard to control -- for both teams.
"It's outdoor hockey. You have to play a simplistic game and we talked about that all week,'' Anastos said. "But they executed better than we did.
"It was difficult to pass the puck out there, particularly with long passes. The reason they were more effective than us is they did a better job of creating shorter passes. It's as simple as that.''
MSU skated on the ice on Friday but didn't go through a normal practice because the ice wasn't very good.
"Last night, there were more chips and kind of holes in the ice,'' MSU center Michael Ferrantino said. "Tonight, it was just a little soft. The ice was better than we thought it was going to be. I don't think it was much of a factor.''
Both coaches were concerned that the ice wouldn't be playable and the game would be postponed until Sunday, or rescheduled at a later date in Ann Arbor. It was Michigan's home game.
Anastos came to rink early Saturday to skate on the ice himself to see if it had improved since Friday night. Early Saturday afternoon, rink officials learned that a there was a compressor issue. That resulted in delaying the start of each game by 1 hour and 40 minutes.
"After Friday night, I didn't think that there was much hope that we'd have ice that was good enough to play on,'' Anastos said. "They did a good job of working hard to get the ice into the condition they did. The ice came a long way.
"When we got on the ice on Friday night, we blew the whistle and told the guys that we were going to take pictures and that they'd have some free time. We didn't practice. I wasn't all that hopeful about playing, but I didn't tell our team that.''
When the Spartans on Saturday heard about the first delay to 8:40 p.m., they altered their pre-game schedule. And did it again when the start was pushed back to the eventual 9:40 p.m. (EST) faceoff.
"We anticipated that there might be delays. It's kind of like a rain delay in baseball,'' Anastos said.
Berenson said he was thankful the ice improved and the game went on as scheduled.
"There was doubt in my mind when we were at the hotel and got a call that the game was being pushed back (40 minutes) and then again (60 minutes),'' he said. "I don't know what time it would have been for them to say they couldn't play the game
"I felt the ice would get better once the sun went down. They had a lot of issues but we got a break, and I'm glad we played the game.''
STILL A GOOD EXPERIENCE: Even though there were problems with the ice, delays and that the attendance wasn't very good, Anastos still thought it was a good experience for his players and the program.
"In the end, losing sucks, but you can't take away the experiences for the kids,'' he said. "We do this for the players. It's nice to have the fans and we had a strong contingent of fans who came here and enjoyed the city.
"I got to meet with lots of kids and donors who were in town and alumni. That's the great part of doing special events. In the end, the players will have a great experience to remember for the rest of their lives.''
Michigan State is now 1-2-2 in outdoor games, 1-2-1 against Michigan.
BACK IN CHICAGO: Michigan State was making its first appearance in Chicago in 19 years. The last time the Spartans played here was a two-game series against Illinois-Chicago on Jan. 26-27, 1996. MSU won both games, 7-3 and 3-0, at the Pavilion on the UIC campus.
Chad Alban earned the shutout in MSU's last game against the Flames. UIC dropped hockey after the 1995-96 season.
The Spartans' record in Chicago is now 20-4-1.
IN THE CLASSIC OPENER: /b>Miami built a 4-0 lead through two periods and then held on for a 4-3 victory in a National Collegiate Hockey Conference game. The Broncos scored two goals within 37 seconds to cut the RedHawks' lead to 4-2, added another goal with 45 seconds left, but couldn't tie it in the final seconds. Miami, ranked No. 8 in the nation, went 3-0-1 against WMU in regular-season play, also winning the shootout in the tie game.
UP NEXT: The Spartans return home to face Penn State at 7 p.m. on Friday and at 6 p.m. on Saturday. After the Nittany Lions series, MSU hits the road for four straight games - at Wisconsin, Feb. 20-21 and at Minnesota, Feb. 26-27 (a Thursday-Friday series).
IN THE BIG TEN: Saturday's loss dropped the Spartans (16 points) into fourth place in the conference as Minnesota (14-9-3, 5-2-3-0) completed a sweep of Ohio State - 4-2 on Friday and 6-2 on Saturday - to climb ahead of MSU by two points.
Michigan (16-8-0, 8-2-0-0 Big Ten) stayed in first place, now with 24 points, two ahead of Penn State (15-7-4, 7-2-1-0) after the Nittany Lions swept last-place Wisconsin, 5-2 and 4-1. PSU is four points up on Minnesota but the two teams still have four games against each other over the final five weeks of the regular season.
Ohio State (7-14-2, 2-8-0-0) is in fifth place with six points, two ahead of Wisconsin (2-18-4, 0-8-2-2).
All Big Ten teams have played 10 games, with 10 games remaining.
A spotlight series in the Big Ten next weekend matches Michigan and Minnesota on Friday and Saturday at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. In addition to the PSU at MSU series, Wisconsin visits Ohio State.
