Michigan State University
vs. Michigan Tech (at Detroit)%
MSU Hockey Wins Fourth Straight GLI
12/30/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 30, 2000
DETROIT, Mich. - It was only fitting that a senior notch the game-winning goal for the MSU hockey team in tonight's Great Lakes Invitational championship game at Joe Louis Arena.
John Nail (Brampton, Ont.) scored the winner with 56 seconds left in overtime as the top-ranked Spartans (14-1-4 overall) dealt Michigan Tech a 3-2 defeat in front of 18,363 in a game that will be talked about for years to come. The win gives MSU's senior class four GLI titles in four years - an unblemished 8-0 mark in the nation's top regular-season hockey tournament.
"I saw the puck in the defenseman's feet, went for it, and chipped it ahead," said Nail of his unassisted tally that ended the three-and-a-half hour marathon. "Then I made the only move that I could think of at the time."
Nail's marker atoned for a third period in which Michigan Tech rallied to send the game into the extra session, erasing a 2-0 Spartan lead with a pair of goals. Tech's Justin Brown halved the MSU edge halfway through the final regulation frame when he scored a virtual empty-net goal. MSU goaltender Ryan Miller (East Lansing, Mich.) was taken out by Tech's Tab Lardner, who was driving toward the net and managed to get a shot on goal. Lardner's rebound caromed to Brown, who was breaking into the slot for the easy finish.
The Huskies (4-14-1 overall) tied the game at 5:42 on a controversial goal by Jeff Keiver. Keiver and teammate Chris Durno were driving to the net as a Tech power play expired when the puck careened in front of the goalmouth and off Keiver's skate past Miller. Referee Steve Piotrowski immediately signaled the goal, a decision upheld by the video officials, ultimately determining the Tech player did not intentionally kick the puck into the net.
MSU took a two-goal edge with late scores in each of the first two frames. Damon Whitten (Brighton, Mich.), stationed to the left of Tech netminder Brian Rogers, opened the scoring by tipping a wrist shot off the stick of defenseman Brad Fast (Fort St. John, B.C.) with 1:19 remaining in the first period. Andrew Hutchinson (Rochester Hills, Mich.) scored his second goal of the tournament with four seconds left in the second stanza, picking up a loose puck in the slot and firing it high over Rogers into the net.
The Huskies thought they had jumped out to a 1-0 edge just 40 seconds into the game when the aforementioned Keiver knocked the puck into the Spartan net. The tally was disallowed, however, because the Tech forward played the biscuit past Miller with his glove.
Miller, who matched a career high with 42 saves against Tech and stopped 68 of the 71 shots he faced in the tournament, was named the Great Lakes Invitational Most Valuable Player. He was joined on the GLI all-tournament team by fellow Spartans Whitten, Hutchinson and Rustyn Dolyny (Fort Frances, Ont.). Michigan Tech's Mat Snesrud and Krys Kolanos of Boston College rounded out the all-tourney squad.
