With Mitch Lewandowski’s first collegiate goal at 18:34 in the third period, Michigan State reclaimed a lead over Western Michigan and added an empty-netter for a 6-4 win.
Six of the 10 total goals scored in the contest came within the first or last two minutes of each period, and for long stretches of this game defense just didn’t seem to matter. The Spartans were up 2-0 by the 1:07 mark in the first period on goals by Patrick Khodorenko and Sam Saliba — the first two Michigan State shots of the game — and the Spartans led 3-1 by the end of the first.
Then Aidan Muir and Austin Rueschhoff scored 15 seconds apart in the second minute of the second period to tie the game 3-3, and Colt Conrad scored 16 seconds into the third to give Western Michigan a 4-3 lead.
“We needed to be ready right at the top of the game and we weren’t,” said Western Michigan coach Andy Murray. “We ended up chasing it all night. It was two very, very young teams and a lot of sloppy hockey. You know, it’s not just the young guys making these kinds of mistakes. We’re obviously disappointed.”
In spite of the crazy back-and-forth of the game, Michigan State coach Danton Cole said that his players were steady throughout.
“As young as we are, it was a good bench,” said Cole. “You know what, when it was 3-1, then 3-3, then down 4-3, didn’t really change much. The guys, if anything, it got their chest out a little bit and kept playing harder.”
For the rest of the third period, both teams settled into better-executed hockey, but Michigan State had relentless puck possession, leading to Anthony Scarsella’s game-tying goal at 12:52. Lewandowski moved the puck to Taro Hirose near the right circle, and Hirose passed left to Scarsella. Scarsella one-timed the puck to the far side of the Western Michigan net, where the puck hit the post and went in. Scarsella, a sophomore defenseman, said he didn’t know he’d scored until he heard the horn. It was his first collegiate goal.
“I actually started skating away,” said Scarsella. “I thought I was going to miss the net and I thought coach was going to get mad at me. I was just trying to put the puck on the net there.”
Lewandowski’s game-winning goal came straight from a faceoff in the right circle. Patrick Khodorenko won the faceoff and passed to Lewandowski at the top of the right circle, and Lewandowski’s shot went in over Western Michigan goaltender Ben Blacker’s left shoulder.
“It was a very special moment,” said Lewandowski. “I can’t wait to watch it later.”
Saliba’s second goal of the night at 19:41 capped the game.
Lewandowski had three assists along with his goal, the first Spartan to tally four points in a game since Matt Berry did it in a 7-2 win over Michigan Nov. 10, 2012. Lewandowski and linemates Hirose and Khodorenko were responsible for nine points altogether tonight.
“Our line has really good chemistry,” said Lewandowski. “We were out there together on the power play and our line as a whole five-on-five. We keep making plays and kept finding each other.”
It’s the second consecutive home game that the Spartans won by scoring in the waning minutes. Cole said it’s a sign that his young team is being rewarded for hard work.
“It seemed like everything was cleaner,” said Cole. “If you can learn throughout a game and figure out a way to win, that’s a great way to go about it.”
The Spartans (2-1-0) will travel to Kalamazoo for a rematch against Western Michigan (2-3-1) Saturday. Murray said that his team has a lot of work to do to prepare for that contest.
“I didn’t think we were very good at all tonight,” said Murray. “I think we have to be a lot better. There were just way too many guys that were not playing at the level you need to be successful. That’s my job, so we’ll try and correct that for tomorrow.”
The puck drops in Lawson Arena at 7:05 p.m.
Around the Big Ten
No. 5 Notre Dame 3, Sacred Heart 1
Joe Wegwerth had two goals and Dawson Cook scored the game-winner as No. 5 Notre Dame beat Sacred Heart, 3-1, to salvage a split with the visiting Pioneers. The Fighting Irish led 1-0 after one on Wegwerth’s first marker at 3:51 in the first. Cook, a senior, scored his second career game-winning goal at 12:54 in the second. Wegwerth added his second less than three minutes later to give Notre Dame a 3-0 lead after two. Austin McIlmurray scored Sacred Heart’s only goal at 8:31 in the third. Nathan Parry had 40 saves in the game for the Pioneers, as Notre Dame outshot Sacred Heart 43-25. Cale Morris had the win in net for Notre Dame.
Northern Michigan 5, No. 6 Wisconsin 4 (OT)
No. 6 Wisconsin scored two goals in the third period to send this game to overtime, but Northern Michigan’s Denver Pierce scored his second goal of the game at 4:04 to give the Wildcats the 5-4 win over the Badgers in the opening game of this series in Green Bay’s Resch Center. Wisconsin took a 2-1 lead after one and was leading 4-2 after two before the Badgers battled back. Northern Michigan went 2-for-7 on the power play and Pierce’s first goal of the night was scored short-handed, the go-ahead goal at the end of the first period for the Wildcats. Atte Tolvenan had 19 saves in the win and faced no shots on goal in the overtime period
No. 8 Minnesota 2, No. 4 North Dakota 1
In their first trip to Grand Forks since 2012, the Golden Gophers beat the Fighting Hawks, 2-1. Rem Pitlick opened the scoring for No. 8 Minnesota at 11:00 minutes in the first and assisted on Steve Johnson’s game-winning goal at 12:08 in the third. Rhett Gardner scored for No. 4 North Dakota on a power play at 13:40 in the third period. Eric Schierhorn made 34 saves in his third win of the season, while Cam Johnson had 16 saves in the loss. The Gophers were 0-for-5 on the power play, the Fighting Hawks 1-for-6.
American International 3, No. 11 Penn State 2 (OT)
After nearly surprising the Nittany Lions in a 7-5 loss Thursday night, American International beat No. 11 Penn State, 3-2, in overtime to split the weekend series in Pegula Arena. Darius Davidson had the game-winning goal at 3:47 in overtime, assisted by Tobias Fladeby. Penn State led 1-0 after one on Cole Hults’ power-play goal at 8:58. Brennan Kapcheck tied it for American International at 14:11 in the second, and the teams exchanged goals in the middle of the second period, with Nate Sucese scoring for PSU and Dominik Florian scoring for AIC. Zackarias Skog made 29 saves, all of them in regulation, in his first win of the year for the Yellow Jackets.
Michigan 4, Vermont 1
Three different Wolverines scored their first goals of the season and sophomore goaltender Jack LaFontaine earned his second win of the season as Michigan downed Vermont at home, 4-1. Will Lockwood scored at 15:00 in the second period, unassisted, and Brendan Warren’s goal at 19:06 in the second held up to be the game-winner and gave Michigan a 2-0 lead after two. Freshman Josh Norris scored his first two collegiate goals in the third period to extend Michigan’s lead to 4-0 by 6:40 in the third. Vermont’s Ross Colton scored at 10:56 on a power play to make it a 4-1 game and to give Colton, a sophomore, five goals in five games. Vermont goalie Stefanos Lekkas stopped 41 shots as the Wolverines outshot the Catamounts 45-16.
Ohio State 3, Massachusetts 1
Ohio State junior Jason Jobst netted two goals, including the game-winning, five-on-three power-play goal at 11:17 in the second period, to help the Buckeyes to a 3-1 road win over the Minutemen. Niko Hildebrand scored to put Massachusetts on the board first at 10:01 in the first, but Ohio State’s Matt Miller answered at 15:32 to tie the game, 1-1, at the end of the first period. Jobst’s second goal was a five-on-four power-play tally at 4:07 in the third. Sean Romeo had 24 saves in the win for OSU, and Matt Murray had 21 in the loss. The Buckeyes were 2-for-4 on the power play while holding the Minutemen to 0-for-5.
