After Michigan State gave up 14 goals on the road to an unranked Lake Superior team last weekend, the Spartans regrouped to hold No. 6 Denver to two third-period goals in the Pioneers’ 2-1 win in East Lansing.
The game wasn’t, perhaps, what anyone expected, especially through 45 scoreless minutes.
“We weren’t very efficient,” said Denver coach Jim Montgomery. “Our passes weren’t crisp for sure. I liked our puck support, but I didn’t like our execution when we had opportunities to score.”
In the first period, Denver outshot Michigan State 11-3, yet the score was 0-0. In the second, the Pioneers outshot the Spartans 11-6, and it was still 0-0. It wasn’t until Henrik Börgstgrom’s highlight-reel goal at 5:33 in the third that the Pioneers could solve Michigan State junior goaltender Ed Minney.
“I was seeing the puck awesome,” said Minney, who made 24 saves. “Overall, our D did a way better job of clearing out the front of the net and it was a lot easier to stop the puck when I could see it. They did a great job of clearing it out of the zone, too.”
The Pioneers found Michigan State’s defense especially frustrating on special teams. Denver went 0-for-4 on the power play; the Spartans gave up six power-play goals against Lake Superior State last weekend, plus a four-on-four goal and one short-handed marker.
“I just think we need to be much better on the power play,” said Montgomery. “I just thought our power play was rather anemic.”
After those scoreless first two periods, the Spartans outshot the Pioneers 11-4 in the third, but Denver outscored Michigan State 2-1. Börgstrom’s goal was a beauty, a shot from the bottom of the left circle that beat Minney on the short side in the only place it could, up above the goalie’s shoulder.
“I watched [Börgstrom] chase that puck down and I knew where he was going to shoot the puck,” said Michigan State coach Tom Anastos. “I saw him score the same goal against BU, but I wasn’t able to stand up in the net and tell Ed that. He did that last weekend. He’s a guy that will shoot from all over.”
The Pioneers made it 2-0 at 16:25 when Jarid Lukosevicius put the puck between a screened Minney’s legs from left of the slot. With Minney pulled and the Spartans on a power play at 18:39, Michigan State pulled within one when Patrick Khodorenko scored his first collegiate goal, a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle.
In the third period, Montgomery said the Pioneers played with more urgency. “We wanted to make sure that we were trying to get pucks deep and then get to their nets.”
Said Anastos, “Special teams tonight were radically improved from a week ago, which is a sign of improvement. Lots to be encouraged about, although you’re always disappointed to lose, to give up the goals that we did and not be able to climb back.”
The teams meet again at 5:00 p.m. Saturday.
Big Ten results
No. 19 Ohio State 5, at Bowling Green 4
Down 4-3 heading into the third period, Ohio State rallied with two third-period power-play goals to defeat Bowling Green, 5-4. Senior Nick Schilkey’s second goal of the season tied the game 34 seconds into the third, and freshman Tanner Laczynski’s first career goal at 9:38 held up to be the game-winner. The Buckeyes and Falcons combined for six power-play goals on 14 penalties in the contest. Matt Tomkins had the win for OSU with 28 saves as the Falcons outshot the Buckeyes, 32-22.
Penn State 3, at No. 3 Notre Dame 3
Senior forward Dylan Richard scored two second-period goals to lead the Nittany Lions in scoring against Notre Dame in a 3-3 tie in South Bend, Indiana. The game was tied 1-1 on Nikita Pavlychev’s power-play goal for PSU and Jake Evans’ short-handed goal for Notre Dame. Dylan scored at 10:35 and 18:08 in the second to give the Nittany Lions a 3-1 lead, but Andrew Oglevie’s fourth goal of the season at 18:47 kept it close. Jordan Gross had the tying goal for Notre Dame at 12:28 in the third. Gross also assisted on Oglevie’s goal. Peyton Jones had 30 saves for Penn State, Cal Petersen had 29 for Notre Dame, and each team registered three shots in the scoreless overtime.
No. 11 Michigan 4, Michigan Tech 3
The Wolverines and Huskies each registered two third-period goals as Michigan outlasted Michigan Tech, 4-3, in Ann Arbor. Jack Slaker led the Wolverines with two goals, and Will Lockwood led all Michigan players in scoring with a goal and two assists. Lockwood had the short-handed game-winning goal at 19:08 in the third. Junior David Kero had 23 saves in his third loss of the season for the Huskies. Freshman Hayden Lavigne stopped 31-of-34 in his second win of the year.
No. 14 St. Cloud 6, at No. 7 Minnesota 5 (OT)
Trailing by three goals with only 17 minutes left in the game, the St. Cloud State Huskies rallied to tie the game and send it to OT, where Jake Wahlin scored the game-winner on a power play at 2:53. Mikey Eyssimonyt’s power-play goal at 13:59 of the third pulled St. Cloud within one, and Judd Peterson scored an extra-attacker goal at 18:47 to send it to OT. Eric Shcierhorn made 35 saves for Minnesota. while St. Cloud again struggled with goaltending, as Jeff Smith made 27 saves on 32 shots before being replaced by Zach Driscoll after Tommy Novak had given Minnesota a 5-2 lead in the third.
