Jan. 12, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. – As has happened so many times over recent years, Michigan State’s Munn Arena proved to be a House of Horrors for the Notre Dame hockey team on Friday night.
The Spartans got the game winning goal with 1:57 left in the third period off the stick of Justin Abdelkader and added an empty-net goal with 22 seconds remaining to take a 3-1 win from the Irish in front of a sellout crowd of 6,767.
Michigan State’s Matt Schepke and Notre Dame’s Kevin Deeth traded second period goals to send a 1-1 game into the third period. The Irish out shot the Spartans, 31-30, on the night. Jordan Pearce made 27 saves for the Irish while Jeff Lerg had 30 in the MSU win.
The loss extends Notre Dame’s winless streak at Munn Arena to seven games (0-6-1) dating back to Feb. 9, 2002 and gives the Irish a 2-20-1 record on the Spartans’ home ice since 1992-93.
Sixth-ranked Notre Dame falls to 18-7-0 on the year and 11-4-0 in the CCHA while Michigan State improves to 14-5-3 and 10-2-1 in conference play.
“I thought we played pretty well for the most part,” said Irish head coach Jeff Jackson following the game. “We did a good job doing things with the puck down low than we have in the past but we broke down in defensive transition at the end and they got the goal.”
The first period featured plenty of action but no scoring as Notre Dame had a 14-8 edge in the shots on goal. The Irish had two power-play chances in the period and got several good shots but Spartan goaltender Jeff Lerg was equal to the task. Jordan Pearce had eight stops in the period many of them early before Notre Dame could get its attack going.
“We definitely had some chances tonight, but that’s the way it’s been in the second half, but we just haven’t been able to put the chances away,” said Jackson.
The Spartans controlled play early in the second period, out shooting the Irish 8-1 and got the game’s first goal at the 3:54 mark.
Defenseman Brandon Gentile moved the puck down the left wing boards to left wing Matt Schepke who got control in the corner. The junior slid a centering pass along the goal line only to see the puck go in off Pearce’s pads for his ninth goal of the season.
Notre Dame’s offense came to life in the second half of the period and capitalized off a scramble around the Michigan net.
Ryan Thang moved the puck out of the left wing corner to Erik Condra in the left face-off circle. Condra whipped a shot on goal that Lerg got a pad on but the rebound came to Deeth at the top of the crease. The sophomore center was able to jam the puck under a Spartan defenseman who had slid into the goal. The goal was Deeth’s fifth of the season and second in as many games.
“Cons (Condra) and Thang did a great job of working the puck down low,” said Deeth. “We got a couple whacks at it and that’s what you have to do against a goalie like that, get those second and third chances. The rebound came out to me and I just pushed it in.”
The final verdict came down to the final two minutes when the Spartans swarmed the net. Defenseman Mike Ratchuk got a shot on goal that Pearce stopped. The rebound popped into the air and Abdelkader tried to knock it out of the air, but missed. The puck landed behind Pearce in the crease and Abdlekader pushed it in for his eighth goal of the season and the game winner.
Sucharski closed the scoring at 19:38 when he scored into the empty-net for his fifth goal of the season and for a final score of 3-1.
Game two of the weekend series between Notre Dame and Michigan State will be played on Sunday, Jan. 13 at the Joyce Center. Game time is set for 4:05 p.m.
IRISH NOTES:
** Freshmen defensemen Ian Cole and Teddy Ruth returned to action versus the Spartans. Cole had missed the last four games due to his participation in the World Junior Championships with the U.S. Junior National Team. Ruth had missed the last five games with an injury.
** Notre Dame’s power-play woes continued as the Irish were 0-for-5 with the man advantage, although one power play lasted four seconds and another two. Over the last five games, Notre Dame is now 0-for-25 with the man-advantage. The last time the Irish scored on the power play was Dec. 8 at Princeton.
** When the Irish and the Spartans get together at the Joyce Center on Sunday, it will mark the first home game for Notre Dame since Dec. 1, a span of 43 days. The Irish have played their last seven games away from the Joyce Center.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 - F#6/#6 Notre Dame (18-7-0/11-4-0) 0 1 0 - 1#9/#10 Michigan State (14-5-3/10-2-1) 0 1 1 - 2
Scoring
First Period: No Scoring.
Penalties: ND: 1 for 2 minutes; MSU: 2 for 4 minutes.
Second Period: MSU: Matt Schepke 9 (Tim Crowder, Brandon Gentile), 3:54; ND: Kevin Deeth 5 (Erik Condra, Ryan Thang), 11:44.
Penalties: ND: 2 for 4 minutes; MSU: 1 for 2 minutes.
Third Period: MSU: Justin Abdelkader 8 (Mike Ratchuk, Tim Kennedy), 18:03; MSU: Nick Sucharsk 5 (unassisted), ENG, 19:38.
Penalties: ND: 2 for 4 minutes; MSU: 3 for 6 minutes.
Shots On Goal:Notre Dame: 14 - 6 - 11 - 31Michigan State: 8 - 8 - 14 - 30
Goaltender Saves:ND - Jordan Pearce (59:22) 8 - 7 - 12 - 27MSU - Jeff Lerg (60:00) 14 - 5 - 11 - 30
Power Plays:
ND: 0 for 5
MSU: 0 for 3
Attendance: 6,767