Michigan State University
Northern Michigan
Wildcats Rally for 6-5 Victory, Series Sweep
2/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 12, 2011
East Lansing, Mich. - Northern Michigan rallied from a 4-1 deficit and Andrew Cherniwchan got the game-winner late in the third period to post a 6-5 victory over Michigan State on Saturday afternoon to complete a season sweep of the Spartans. Jake Chelios had a pair of scores for MSU. Northern improves to 13-14-5, 11-11-2 CCHA; MSU falls to 12-16-4, 8-14-2 in conference play.
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Cherniwchan snapped a 5-5 tie with 3:30 to play in regulation. Stephan Vigier carried the puck up the left side and put a shot on net, which was saved by Palmisano. The rebound went out to the right side, where the alternate captain had a nearly empty side of the net to get his seventh goal of the season past the arms of a sprawling goaltender.
The Spartans pulled Palmisano in the final 1:10 in favor of an extra skater; a crosschecking penalty to NMU's CJ Ludwig with 44 seconds remaining in regulation gave MSU a 6-on-4.
A wild 100-second span turned a scoreless game into a 3-1 Spartan lead midway through the first period. Brett Perlini gave the hosts a brief lead at 11:43, when he put back a rebound off a Coreau save from a Matt Grassi offering at 11:43. At 12:31, Eric Spady's streak up the right side and shot from the right circle beat Palmisano beneath his blocker hand to tie the game, and at 12:56, the Spartans regained the lead on a rush up the ice. Kevin Walrod took a pass from Anthony Hayes and ran up the left side, and sent a pass to Chris Forfar in the right circle. Forfar's shot found its mark for his second goal of the season. The wild sequence was capped at 13:23, when Jake Chelios crashed the net and tucked away a rebound off a Derek Grant chance at the left post for the freshman's sixth goal of the season. MSU took the 3-1 advantage into the first intermission.
The Spartans added to the lead less than two minutes into the second period. Zach Josepher's outlet pass to Anthony Hayes sent the centerman streaking up the left side of the ice, and he placed a shot into the upper left corner of the net. It was his first goal of the season.
Tyler Gron's backhanded shot was saved by Drew Palmisano, but the rebound went off the skate of Derek Grant to give the Wildcats their second goal of the night at 10:10 of the second period. Gron had carried it up the left side and below the dots, and Palmisano had made the relatively easy save. Gron a second of the period at 19:15 - but that next Northern goal, however, was a solid product of hard work by the Wildcats in the offensive zone. NMU was able to maintain possession below the dots for more than a minute; Greger Hanson slid the puck across the slot just below the hash marks, and Gron put it through a defender's legs and beat Palmisano five-hole.
The Wildcats knotted the score at four 1:39 into the third period. Gron completed his hat trick with a shot from inside the left dot that beat a screened Palmisano. Kyle Palmer and Austin Handley were credited with the assists.
Jake Chelios got his second of the night two minutes later to give the Spartans back the lead. Chelios collected the puck below the goal line on the right side, wrapped around, and despite a defender between him and the goalie, used his reach to backhand the puck short-side.
NOTES: MSU was swept at home for the first time since Nov. 14-15, 2008 against Miami ... MSU had three first-period tallies, the most it has had in a single game this season. It was the third time this year it put three on the board in the opening frame this year; the last time was against Minnesota in the College Hockey Showcase on Nov. 26 ... Dean Chelios' three-game point scoring streak matches his career best, set as a freshman ... Anthony Hayes had a multiple-point game for the second time this season and the third time in his career ... Matt Grassi also had his second multiple-point game of the season. His first was Jan. 7 against Michigan ... Drew Palmisano had an assist on Anthony Hayes' second-period tally. It was the third helper in his career. He had two as a sophomore ... Jake Chelios had the first two-goal game of his career ... Torey Krug snapped a five-game pointless streak with two goals on Friday, and had an assist on Jake Chelios' third-period marker ...
