Spartans Drop Second Straight, 2-1, to Ferris State

Jan. 24, 2006

East Lansing, Mich. - Ferris State's Dan Riedel scored a power-play goal at 7:22 of the third period to lift Ferris State over No. 16 Michigan State, 2-1, Tuesday night at Munn Ice Arena. The loss kept the Spartans (8-7-4 CCHA, 14-10-5 Overall) in third place in the CCHA with 20 points, while the Bulldogs (7-6-5 CCHA, 12-8-6 Overall) jumped into a three-way tie for fourth with Michigan and Lake Superior State with 19 points each.

"Give Ferris credit, because they played their game to a "T". They pack it and keep it tight, and try to convert on power-plays and turnovers," noted Spartan head coach Rick Comley after the loss. "If you give them a 5-on-3, eventually they'll score a goal. That was obviously the swinging point in the game, and I thought their goalie did a really good job and did what he had to do. On our part, we didn't have the jump that we've had, and they take things away from you in their zone for sure."

Michigan State controlled the tempo out of the gate, moving the puck with crisp passes and keeping FSU out of its offensive zone. The Bulldogs did not muster their first shot on goal until more than six minutes into the game, and were outshot 12-5 in the opening period.

Despite the slow start, Ferris State created the first quality scoring chance of the game on the power play midway through the first stanza. FSU's Matt Verdone cradled a pass from the corner and fired a low wrist-shot from the left hash, and after Lerg made a left pad save, the junior winger collected the rebound and tried the far corner, only to be denied again by the MSU freshman netminder. The two pad saves initiated a short-handed opportunity for the Spartans, and David Booth's drive to the net forced Ferris State's Jeremy Scherlinck to take a hooking penalty, giving MSU its second power play of the evening.

The Spartans had another short-handed opportunity with two minutes left in the period, as Justin Abdelkader intercepted a long neutral-zone pass and broke into the zone. Abdelkader streaked up the left side, fired a shot on net, and collected the rebound behind the net. With Mitch O'Keefe sliding out of position, Abdelkader turned the corner but couldn't control the wraparound attempt or get the puck to Colton Fretter, keeping the game scoreless heading into the first intermission.

The Bulldogs came out wheeling in the second frame, and Ferris State's early aggressiveness was rewarded at the 4:43 mark, as Mark Bomersback netted his 12th goal of the season, putting the Bulldogs ahead 1-0. Jeff Lerg made the initial stick save on Greg Rallo's shot from the right face-off circle, but a crashing Bomersback found the puck on the doorstep and buried the rebound into the empty net, giving Ferris State a one-goal cushion.

A lazy cross-ice pass gave FSU another scoring chance 11 minutes into the period, as Matt Frank intercepted a blueline pass at center ice and broke into the MSU zone. Ethan Graham denied the clean breakaway, but took a hooking penalty in the process, putting Ferris State back on the power play for the third time of the game. FSU could not take advantage, as an interference call 30 seconds later on Bombersback negated the Bulldog power play.

The Spartans could not establish a consistent offensive attack for most of the second period, but finally caught their stride with applied pressure over the last two minutes of the frame. Tim Kennedy started the late flurry, as he fired a shot from the left face-off circle, forcing O'Keefe to make a pad save and deflect the rebound into the slot. Tim Crowder stepped into a shot in the slot, but O'Keefe made another save to briefly keep the score 1-0.

Crowder found redemption at the 19:40 mark, as he scored a power-play tally on a magnificent individual effort, knotting the game at 1-1. David Booth drove to the net from the corner and fought through two defenders, poking a shot on net. Crowder collected the rebound and moved right to left across the goalmouth, and on his third effort while being dragged down, flipped the puck high over the right shoulder of O'Keefe for his ninth goal of the season, tying the game at 1-1 after two periods.

Ferris State had the first opportunity to claim the lead in the decisive third period, as Michigan State took penalties at the 5:12 and 6:00 marks, giving the Bulldogs a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:12. FSU took a timeout to set up its attack, and at the 7:22 mark, capitalized on a rising blast off the stick of Dan Riedel, giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead and the eventual game-winner. MSU had just killed the first of its penalties, but Riedel steadied the puck at the top of the circle and fired a slapper that rose over the glove of Jeff Lerg and found the top right corner, giving the Bulldogs a one-goal lead. Michigan State tried to respond with two power plays of its own over the next seven minutes, but O'Keefe and the Bulldogs killed the penalties and maintained the lead.

Facing a one-goal deficit late in the period, the Spartans increased the pressure and nearly found the equalizer with four minutes left in regulation. After a flurry around the crease, Potter and Graham exchanged passes along the blue line before Potter ripped a slapshot towards the net. The shot sailed wide, but deflected off the end boards and out the other side, where Abdelkader had a chance to backhand the rebound into the net, but the shot flew high and into the corner. Ferris State held the Spartan attack in check over the balance of the game, and finished the defensive contest with its one-goal lead intact.

Michigan State returns to action on Friday, Jan. 27, when it faces archrival Michigan at Munn Ice Arena. The game, which will be televised live on College Sports Television, will start at 8:05 p.m.

Spartan Notebook:

Game Notes vs. Ferris

- The first stoppage of play in Tuesday night's fast-paced game didn't come until six minutes into the opening period.

- Tuesday night's scoreless first period was the first for the Spartans since the second game of the Lefty McFadden Invitational finale against North Dakota - a 3-0 Spartan win.

- Michigan State allowed a power-play goal for the first time in 17 opponent attempts when Ferris State scored with a man advantage at 7:22 of the third period. The Spartans entered Tuesday night's game with 12 successful kills and added four more before surrendering the power-play tally.

- MSU surrendered the first goal of the game for the first time in four games. The last opponent to score the first goal in a contest was Alaska-Fairbanks on Jan., 14, 2006 in a 2-1 Spartan victory.

- Michigan State has scored at least one power-play goal in each of its last five games, dating back to Jan. 14 in a 2-1 win over Alaska-Fairbanks.

- Senior forward David Booth extended his point streak to a season-high five games with his assist on Tim Crowder's power-play goal. Over the five-game span, Booth has tallied 2-4-6 points.

- Tuesday night's loss was Michigan State's first at home since falling to Wisconsin 3-1 on Nov. 25. Since falling to Wisconsin, the Spartans compiled a home record of 6-0-1.

- The loss was Michigan State's second consecutive loss by just one goal, and the fourth one-goal loss the Spartans have suffered for the 2005-06 season.

- Seven different skaters have scored the last seven goals for Michigan State. The last Spartan to score goals in back-to-back games was Colton Fretter when he accomplished the feat on Jan.17 and Jan. 20.

- Tuesday night's loss snapped Michigan State's seven-game unbeaten streak against Ferris State. The Spartans last fell to Ferris State on Dec. 7, 2002 by the score of 5-3.