Michigan State University
Notre Dame
Spartans, Irish tie, 4-4
1/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 16, 2010
East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State and Notre Dame skated to a 4-4 tie in regulation on Saturday evening at Munn Ice Arena, and the Spartans won the extra point in the league standings by virtue of winning the shootout, 1-0. Senior netminder Bobby Jarosz made 28 saves in regulation, then stopped all three shootout offerings from Notre Dame to secure the extra point in the standings.
During regulation, MSU got three assists from Corey Tropp and had four different goal scorers, getting the game-tying tally from freshman Derek Grant in the waning minutes of the final regulation period. Ryan Thang had a pair of scores for the Irish, and three assists from Kyle Lawson.
The game followed an eerily similar script to the one played a night earlier in South Bend, with Michigan State jumping out to an early lead and the Irish chipping away until taking a third-period lead. The Spartans wasted little time getting on the board, as Nick Sucharski scored just 1:06 into the contest off assists from linemates Derek Grant and Corey Tropp. Tropp set up MSU's second tally, dishing off to Daultan Leveille who scored blocker-side on Mike Johnson while the teams were skating four-on-four late in the period.
Michigan State padded its lead early in the second, but like the previous evening, saw Notre Dame score twice in the middle frame to get back into the game. MSU's tally came at 4:30, as Matt Grassi whipped a shot from the high slot that made its way through traffic, and Brett Perlini tipped it past the netminder. The goal chased ND goalie Mike Johnson, and Brad Phillips entered the game for the Irish.
Notre Dame chipped away at the lead, potting a pair of man-advantage goals less than six minutes apart in the second half of the period. Calle Ridderwall started the scoring for the Irish at 12:42, popping in a tally off a feed from Kyle Lawson. Ryan Thang scored his third of the weekend late in the frame, converting an Ian Cole pass.
The Irish gained the equalizing tally less than a minute into the final period, as Ben Ryan got his fifth of the season. At 2:55, Zach Golembiewski was whistled for a five-minute major for checking from behind (and the accompanying game misconduct), putting Notre Dame on a five-minute power play. Just under two minutes later, Notre Dame tacked on its third power play goal of the night, as Thang got his second of the game. He unleashed a shot from the high slot for his second two-goal game of the weekend.
With time winding down in the late stages of the third, MSU went on the power play, thanks to a Sean Lorentz roughing call with a little more than three minutes remaining in regulation. The Spartans held the puck deep in the zone, then kicked it out to Jeff Petry on the right side just outside the top of the circle. Petry brought the puck deep, and Phillips came up with saves on Petry and Tropp before the puck trickled out to the hash marks, where Derek Grant picked up the equalizer at 17:39.
Michigan State caught a break in the overtime, when Riley Sheahan was whistled for hooking. Despite some good chances, neither team could find a hero in overtime, and the games went into the books as a tie.
In the shootout,Andrew Rowe was the only scorer for MSU, as Corey Tropp's offering hit the left post and Phillips poke-checked Dean Chelios' shot. However, thanks to the three saves from Jarosz, the Spartans secured their first shootout win of the season.
Michigan State will be back in action next weekend at Munn Arena, when it hosts Ohio State for a two-game series.
Notes: Michigan State is now 2-1-4 in overtime games this season ... The Spartans and Notre Dame also went to overtime in the first meeting of the season, a 1-1 deadlock that ended in a tie. Nick Sucharski scored just 1:06 into the contest. He missed Friday nights game due to serving a one-game suspension thanks to a spearing DQ in the Jan. 9 game against Lake Superior ... Ryan Thang posted a pair of two-goal efforts against MSU on the weekend ... MSU allowed three power-play goals to the Irish, the most since allowing three (in five chances) to Wisconsin on Nov. 2. Notre Dame was 3-for-7 ... Corey Tropp had assists on three of MSU's four regulation goals ... Derek Grant's late tying goal was his sixth power-play goal of the year ... Senior Bobby Jarosz experienced his first career shootout ...
