DeRidder Stops 37 in 2-2 Tie at UML

GAME CAPSULE

Michigan State and UMass Lowell skated to a 2-2 tie on Friday night at Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The teams traded goals in the third – MSU went up 2-1 on a power play goal by Jeremy Davidson at the midpoint of the frame, but the home team earned an equalizer at 18:22. Gucciardi had come up with a big blocked shot on the Brehdan Enghum and cleared the zone, but Enghum got his first career tally on the next scoring chance moments later to ignite the student crowd. The Spartans had 40 seconds of power play in the overtime period, but despite good pressure in the UML zone, the teams settled on a tie.

MSU took a 1-0 lead in the first period when freshman blueliner David Gucciardi scored the first goal of his Spartan career off a dish from Griffin Loughran, and saw the home team tie things up in the second frame just nine seconds after MSU had killed a 5x3 opportunity.

Drew DeRidder made a season-best 37 saves, while Owen Savory made 15.

MSU was 5-for-5 on the penalty kill on Friday, while scoring once on five man-advantage chances, with seven of its 17 shots coming on the power play. UML had 39 shots in the game.

The Spartans are now 3-1-1 overall, while UMass-Lowell is 1-1-1. The teams wrap the non-conference series on Saturday at 6 pm.

STATISTICS OF NOTE

Drew DeRidder made a season-best 37 saves.
David Gucciardi scored his first collegiate goal in the opening stanza.
Jeremy Davidson scored his fourth goal of the season, a power-play marker in the third period.

SUPPORTING STORYLINES

Drew DeRidder made his third start of the season and has 30+ saves in each.
MSU surrendered a season high 39 shots to the River Hawks.
MSU has not allowed a power-play goal since the first game of the season against Air Force. The kill is a perfect 14-for-14 over the last four games, including 5-for-5 in Friday's game at UML.
The Spartans scored their fifth power play tally in the fifth game of the season, matching the 2020-21 output with a man advantage.
The third period goal scored by UML's Bredhan Eghum was the first surrendered by the Spartans in the third period this season.

GAME SYNOPSIS

FIRST PERIOD: The home team came out buzzing and held an early 8-2 edge in shots on net, but DeRidder was ready for the early challenge and turned them all aside. The Spartans began to pick up their offensive pressure, and that paid of at 14:32, as Griffin Loughran found freshman David Gucciardi for the one-timer, and it found its mark for the first score of the freshman's career. Gucciardi was whistled for hooking a minute after he gave his team the lead, giving the host team the first power play chance of the night.

SECOND PERIOD: MSU took back-to-back penalties in the middle of the period to give Lowell a five-on-three, but the Spartan defense (and DeRidder) were up to the task, killing off the first then second penalties. Just nine seconds after the teams were back to five-on-five, the River Hawks got the equalizer as Andre Lee wrapped around the back of the net and beat DeRidder at the left post for his first goal of the season. The River Hawks picked up their third PP chance of the period when Christian Krygier was sent off with 1:13 remaining in the frame.

THIRD PERIOD: The RiverHawks had the carryover on the man advantage and spent the better part of the first three minutes of the period buzzing in their offensive zone. The Spartans were sharp and began to generate their own chances, starting with Erik Middendorf ringing the pipe six minutes into the period. UML gave the Spartans an extended chance on the man advantage, taking penalties 1:15 apart. The River Hawks killed off the first penalty, but MSU solved Savory when Davidson finished off a pass from Lewandowski to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead. In the late minutes of the period, Gucciardi came up with a big block on a shot by Brehdan Enghum; the sophomore and his team regrouped, and with 1:38 remaining, another opportunity by the blueliner found its mark, as he came in and beat DeRidder from the hash marks.

OVERTIME: Reid Stefanson rang the pipe less than a minute into the extra frame with the teams skating 3-on-3. MSU got an extra chance when Stefanson was whistled for slashing, giving MSU an extra skater with 40 seconds remaining – but Savory and the UML defense held off MSU's late chances and held on for the 2-2 tie.

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Team Stats

Jeremy Davidson

David Gucciardi

Griffin Loughran

Mitchell Lewandowski

Players Mentioned

Jeremy Davidson

Drew DeRidder

David Gucciardi

Christian Krygier

Griffin Loughran

Erik Middendorf

Players Mentioned

Jeremy Davidson

Drew DeRidder

David Gucciardi

Christian Krygier

Griffin Loughran

Erik Middendorf