Jan. 24, 2003
Notre Dame, Ind. – Michigan State got second-period power-play goals from Mike Lalonde and Kevin Estrada and sophomore goaltender Matt Migliaccio kicked out 40 Irish shots to give the Spartans a hard-fought 2-1 win over Notre Dame Friday night at the Joyce Center.
The loss extends Notre Dame’s current winless streak to six games (0-5-1) and drops the Irish to 9-12-4 on the year, 7-9-1 in CCHA play. Michigan State hasn’t lost since January 3 as the Spartans extended their current winning streak to six straight games and improved to 14-9-1 on the year, 10-6-0 in CCHA play.
John Wroblewski scored Notre Dame’s lone goal of the night via the power play at 8:33 of the third period to snap Migliaccio’s shutout bid. The 2-1 loss marked the third consecutive game that the Irish have been held to just one goal, but on Friday night it wasn’t for lack of effort.
“Since we’ve gone on this slide, things just don’t seem to go our way. We had forty shots tonight and got just one goal. It’s very frustrating. You can’t win if you can’t score goals,” said Wroblewski following the game.
The two teams played the first period to a scoreless draw with Notre Dame outshooting Michigan State by a 12-10 margin.
The second period belonged to the Spartans as they converted on two of four power-play chances.
“I thought we played a smart first period, but then got hit with some penalties in the second period,” said head coach Dave Poulin.
“We came back to play a tremendous third period, but you have to play that way from the first drop of the puck.”
Sophomore Mike Lalonde put Michigan State up 1-0 with his ninth goal of the season at 9:04 of the second as he ripped a shot from the right wing circle that beat Irish goaltender Morgan Cey over his left shoulder. Hard work along the boards by David Booth and John-Michael Liles set up the goal.
The lead would go to 2-0 as Estrada scored the Spartans’ second power-play goal of the night. Brad Fast’s big slapshot from the left point missed the net, but the rebound bounced off the backboards to Estrada along the goal line to the left of Cey. Estrada somehow slid the shot between the post and Cey’s pads for his fourth goal of the season at 15:42.
The third period was all Irish and all Migliaccio as Notre Dame outshot the Spartans 20-6 but could score just once. Rob Globke did all the work and Wroblewski cashed in for his career-best 11th goal of the season on the power play at 8:33 of the third period.
“Our goal was a great individual effort by Rob Globke. He just took all five guys with him on a couple of great moves to clear the way for me and an easy tap-in,” commented Wroblewski who now has career highs in goals, assists, points and power-play goals.
The Irish put constant pressure on Migliaccio, but the 6-2, 191-pound puckstopper slammed the door.
“We had some great chances in the third, but every time we shot it, he (Migliaccio) was there,” said Wroblewski.
The sophomore from Wyandotte, Mich., finished with 19 saves in the final stanza and 40 for the game. Cey made 23 saves in the Notre Dame goal.
“We have a very frustrated team in that locker room,” said Poulin.
“I didn’t feel like we had the lulls that we’ve had the past few games. We just have to find a way to win the hockey game.”
Poulin and his Irish will have a chance to right the ship on Saturday night when Notre Dame and Michigan State play the second game of the series. Face off is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Joyce Center.
IRISH NOTES:
Rob Globke now has career-highs in goals (18), assists (11), points (29) and game-winning goals (3). His three game winners are the most by an Irish player since Dan Carlson had five during the 1999-2000 season.
Notre Dame defenseman Evan Nielsen has now played in 99 consecutive games for the Irish dating back to the 2000-01 season. The senior blueliner is just four behind the school record of 103 set by Ryan Dolder (1997-01). John Wroblewski has now played in 98 consecutive games followed by Tom Galvin (81) and Connor Dunlop (79).
Michigan State is 8-2-1 versus the Irish in the last 11 meetings between the two schools. Since Notre Dame rejoined the CCHA in the 1992-93 season, the Spartans hold a 23-3-5 edge in the series.
SCORING SUMMARY
Michigan State (14-9-1/10-6-0) 0 2 0 – 2
Notre Dame (9-12-4/7-9-1) 0 0 1 – 1
Scoring
First Period: No Scoring.
Penalties: Michigan State: 1 for 2 minutes; ND: 1 for 2 minutes.
Second Period: Michigan State: Mike Lalonde 9 (David Booth, John-Michael Liles), PPG, 9:04; Michigan State: Kevin Estrada 4 (Brad Fast, Ash Goldie), PPG, 15:42.
Penalties: Michigan State: 4 for 8 minutes; ND: 6 for 12 minutes.
Third Period: ND: John Wroblewski 11 (Rob Globke, Neil Komadoski), PPG, 8:33.
Penalties: Michigan State: 1 for 2 minutes; ND: 0 for 0 minutes.
Shots On Goal:
Michigan State 10 – 9 – 6 – 25
Notre Dame 12 – 9 – 20 – 41
Goaltender Saves:
Michigan State – Matt Migliaccio (60:00) 12 – 9 – 19 – 40
Notre Dame – Morgan Cey (58:42) 10 – 7 – 6 – 23
Power Plays: Michigan State: 2 for 5; ND: 1 for 4
Attendance: 2,129