Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
2-6-0
Ferris State
3-8-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferris State | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Michigan State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Spartans Drop Series Opener With Ferris State
11/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 10, 2016
EAST LANSING - The Michigan State hockey team fell, 4-1, to Ferris State on Thursday night at Munn Ice Arena in the first of two games between the teams this weekend. The Bulldogs made good on three power-play chances which turned out to be the difference in the game.
FSU goaltender Justin Kapelmaster stopped 31 of 32 Spartan shots including several quality opportunities with MSU trying to get back in the game.
"I thought our guys competed hard but we didn't execute well enough," MSU head coach Tom Anastos said. "I thought part of that was because of our frustration level that built up during the course of the game."
Ferris State's Mitch Maloney was credited with the first of Ferris State's three power-play goals when a rebound bounced around of him in front and past a falling Ed Minney 8:01 into the first period.
A pair of MSU penalties in the opening minute of the second period quickly put the Spartans in a hole and the Bulldogs took advantage. Gerald Mayhew made it 2-0 at the 1:24 mark with a high shot off the right side of the crease on a 5-on-3. Just 40 seconds later Joe Rutkowski found the back of the net, putting the Spartans in a 3-0 hole.
The Spartans (2-6) got on the board at the 7:12 mark with their own goal on the man-advantage as Villiam Haag got his third of the season on the power play.
Mason Appleton collected the puck on the right hash mark near the boards and fed it down to Patrick Khodorenko below the goal line. Khodorenko made a short, perfect pass to Haag at the top of the crease who directed the puck low past Kapelmaster.
The Spartans outshot the Bulldogs 11-7 in the second period and had a handful of prime scoring chances the rest of the way, but couldn't get any more pucks past the FSU netminder.
"You have to score more than one goal to win," Anastos said. "We had 72 attempts on net, they blocked 20; we need to find more ways to get pucks to the net and create traffic."
FSU's Corey Mackin sealed the Bulldogs' win with an empty-net goal with 1:17 to play.
The Spartans and Bulldogs (3-8-1) will complete their home-and-home series on Saturday in Big Rapids at 7 p.m.
Michigan State honored the 1966 National Championship team during Thursday's game with nearly 20 members of the program's first national championship squad on hand. The 1966 Spartans will also be recognized at Saturday's football game vs. Rutgers.
