Neil's Notebook: Spartans Bow Out of Big Ten Tournament

March 21, 2015

By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer

DETROIT - Michigan State's season of development and progress came to a disappointing end on Friday night in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament at Joe Louis Arena.

The Spartans' quest to reach the conference title game fell short in a 4-1 loss to Michigan in a game which MSU was outplayed but not decided until midway through the third period.

The Wolverines ruined Michigan State's hopes for a comeback with two goals within 4 minutes and 36 seconds to turn a 2-1 lead into a three-goal edge and went on to end MSU's season.

"I thought (Michigan) was really good tonight and we were unable to match that pace and intensity and didn't execute very well,'' MSU coach Tom Anastos said.

The Spartans, who close out their season at 17-16-2, fell behind 1-0 midway through the first period, but tied the game on Matt Berry's power-play goal at 8:41 of the second period. And for a brief stretch, MSU had the momentum.

But the Wolverines (22-14) came right back and turned a Michigan State turnover into a 2-on-1 rush and a crucial goal by TJ Compher just 4 minutes and 55 seconds after Berry's goal to go up 2-1.

"One of the reasons our goals against have been so low all season is we've given very few odd man rushes, and tonight we just gave up too many,'' Anastos said. "We didn't take care of the puck. That goal hurts us because we finally starting to generate a little bit of momentum.''

MSU goaltender Jake Hildebrand had another outstanding game, keeping his team within striking distance until midway through the third period. Hildebrand was credited with 45 saves, although the 23 stops in the opening period seemed a bit excessive.

Hildebrand made 37 saves, several of the spectacular variety, last Saturday in a 2-1 victory over U-M in Ann Arbor.

"I don't think there were too many differences (in Michigan's game),'' Hildebrand said. "They're a very skilled team and they just executed tonight.''

Michigan goalie Steve Racine made 26 saves but didn't face many high-quality chances.

"We had a few good scoring chances but not nearly enough,'' MSU junior center and captain Mike Ferrantino said. "They did a good job of keeping us to the outside, they defended well and got sticks on pucks and made it hard for us to get to the net.''

MSU's only goal came on one of its best power-play efforts of the season, highlighted by strong puck possession and movement. The Spartans controlled the puck in the U-M zone for the full 1 minute and 38 seconds before Berry converted in front of the net for his 12th goal of the season and the last of his four-year career.

"I thought after we scored that we would make a push to take the lead, but they came back hard and scored a couple of shifts later,'' Berry said. "Michigan played hard. We just couldn't find a way to get in front of their goalie get pucks to the net.''

With the victory, the Wolverines advance to Saturday's Big Ten championship game against Minnesota at 8 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena. The Gophers advanced with a 3-0 victory over Ohio State in Friday's first semifinal.

At stake Saturday is an automatic berth into the 16-team NCAA Tournament. Michigan has to win to make the NCAA tourney while the Gophers could get an at-large big if they lose. But there are no guarantees for Minnesota.

Meanwhile, the Spartans will look back on their season as one of progress after a strong second half that enabled them to be in contention for first place on the final night of the regular season.

The Spartans finished in second, two points behind first-place Minnesota and one ahead of third-place Michigan.

"My first two seasons here, we knew it was going to be a process and this year, halfway through the season, I felt that was kind of the turning point,'' Hildebrand said. "This (loss) leaves a bad taste in our mouths but it shows how much work we have to do over the summer to not have this feeling.''

Sophomore forward Joe Cox believes the program is headed in the right direction and that the development MSU has shown this season has to be in better next year and the seasons ahead.

"Right now, I'm kind of down because we let the seniors down for how much they gave us,'' Cox said. "I thought we had a lot more to give and farther to go this season, but now it's time to continue to build and come back next season, with a stronger team.''

Ferrantino believes the Spartans are on track to be even better in the seasons ahead.

"I think we're a lot of further ahead than we were last year at this point,'' he said. "We were able to put together a good little stretch but it didn't go far enough.

"We have to keep pushing to get a little better. We'll get better in the offseason and we'll be back next year.''

The Spartans went 10-5 over their last 15 games, dating back to Jan. 23.

FAREWELL SENIORS: Three seniors played their final game for Michigan State on Friday - forwards Matt Berry and Brent Darnell and defenseman Ron Boyd. Senior forward Tanner Sorenson and senior walk-on goalie Zack Cisek, both of whom were healthy scratches Friday, also ended their Spartan careers.

Berry led the Spartans in scoring with 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points in 29 games. He shared the team lead in goals with Mike Ferrantino, who had 12 goals in 35 games.

Darnell was MSU's sixth-leading scorer with seven goals and 19 points. Boyd was the second-highest scoring defenseman with one goal and eight assists for nine points in 35 games. Sorenson, a healthy scratch most of the season, had one goal and one assist in 12 games.

D-ZONE ISSUES, TURNOVERS HURT: Just when Michigan State appeared to gaining some momentum on Friday, things went the other way quickly because of costly turnovers and problems in its own zone.

"We just couldn't manufacture enough tonight in any part of the game,'' Anastos said. "I give (Michigan) credit - they played a really good game.

"Where I thought we had trouble the most was in our own zone down low. I didn't think we were able to shut them down. When you're in your zone for a while and can't shut down plays, all of a sudden you get it out, dump it and you have to change lines. You never build any momentum. We weren't able to contain them down low.''

HILDEBRAND BOWS OUT IN STYLE: Once again, junior Jake Hildebrand, the Big Ten player and goalie of the year, was at the top of his game with another standout performance.

He made enough big saves to keep MSU in contention until two quick goals midway through the third period put the game out of reach.

"You can't rely on your goaltender to make that many saves on a consistent basis,'' Anastos said. "We gave up shots too easily.

"He's been phenomenal. I thought he was very good tonight,'' Anastos said. "He really played well.''

POSTIVES OUTWEIGH NEGATIVES: Despite not having an opportunity to play in the Big Ten title game, or an NCAA berth, Michigan State's season was one of improvement and development by many players.

"At the beginning of the season, if you were telling me that we'd (finish second) and get a bye in the tournament and we'd be playing Michigan in the semifinals, I would have taken that in a heartbeat,'' forward Joe Cox said.

"These guys worked hard, especially in the second half to make that happen.''

Cox said the team made its biggest improvement in its defensive game.

"I thought all year that we had a really solid defensive game and that worked out and into our offense,'' Cox said.'

"One of the things we have to work on is entering the (offensive zone), getting shots on net, and overall offensive possession. We need more development.''

"We started off as not the best team. We really came together in the second half and made a good push for first place,'' Berry said. "We finished second, which isn't what we wanted. But we got a bye and it would have been nice to finish it here at the Joe.

"The biggest difference is everyone bought in and stated playing for each other,'' Berry said. "We got a couple of big wins that swung things in our favor, and we kept building off that in the second half of the season.''

TITLE SHOWDOWN: No. 1 seed Minnesota (22-13-3) and No. 3 seed Michigan (22-14) collide for the conference championship at 8 p.m. Saturday (Big Ten Network) at Joe Louis Arena. There is no third-place game.

The Gophers and Buckeyes have played four times this season with each team sweeping at home.

The Wolverines defeated Minnesota, 4-3 in overtime and 7-5, on Jan. 9-10 at Yost Arena. But the Gophers got revenge on Michigan by winning twice at Xcel Energy Arena, 6-2, 2-0.

Gophers junior goaltender Adam Wilcox had an outstanding game in Friday's semifinals with a 3-0 win over pesky Ohio State. Wilcox made 39 saves.

The 16-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced on the NCAA Selection Show at noon Sunday on ESPNU.