Michigan State University
Nebraska-Omaha
MSU Shuts Out Mavericks, 3-0
11/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 5, 2009
East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State got a 31-save shutout from sophomore netminder Drew Palmisano and a goal and an assist from Corey Tropp in a 3-0 victory over tenth-ranked Nebraska-Omaha on Thursday night. MSU is now 7-2-0 overall and 4-1-0 in CCHA play.
Palmisano was strong throughout to earn his first collegiate shutout, and made several big saves to keep UNO at bay. Among his big saves was a shorthanded breakaway offering by Dan Swanson in the second period which he made a great kick save, and a pad save by kicking out his right leg to protect the post on a puck that ricocheted off the back wall.
Michigan State held a 1-0 lead at the end of the opening period., thanks to an early power-play goal by freshman Derek Grant. Tropp had the puck in the left circle, and backhanded a pass to Jeff Petry in the high slot. Petry's shot was saved, but Grant corralled the rebound and beat the goalie glove-side.
MSU's second goal of the night came at 5:22 of the middle frame. Dean Chelios sent a pass across the slot to Kevin Walrod in the right circle, and Walrod held the puck for an extra second before passing off to a crashing Anthony Hayes, who scored his second goal in as many games. With just over three minutes remaining in the frame, Tropp potted his eighth goal of the season for a 3-0 Spartan lead. After taking the pass from Torey Krug, Tropp skated into the right circle, held it, and roofed the puck over the glove hand of John Faulkner.
The teams skated through a scoreless final period, and UNO put 12 shots on net in an attempt to break up the shutout. The Mavericks pulled Faulkner for the final 1:15 of regulation in favor of an extra skater, but Palmisano stood strong and kept them off the board.
NOTES: For the third straight weekend, MSU has knocked off a previously-undefeated team - and two of them were ranked in the top ten. MSU beat top-ranked Miami (3-2 OT), swept Western Michigan (2-1, 5-3) and knocked off No. 10 Nebraska-Omaha, (3-0) ... MSU has won four straight games and is 4-0 at home as well ... The Spartans have four straight wins since sweeping Lake Superior and Ferris State in December of 2007 ... 'Michigan State was perfect on the penalty kill (4-for-4) for the first time this season ... Tonight's 3-0 score was the largest margin of victory since a 6-1 win over Clarkson on opening night ... Anthony Hayes had a goal in his second straight game, and Dean Chelios picked up his first collegiate assist ... Over his last three games, Palmisano owns a 1.46 GAA and .967 save percentage with one shutout.
