Then-junior goaltender Jeff Lerg covers the puck at the Berry Events Center on Feb. 9 in Marquette. On May 12, Lerg was awarded Michigan College Athlete of the Year, an award given to one male and one female athlete.
It was a frustrating weekend for the MSU hockey team, which expected to walk away with some points from its two-game series against Northern Michigan in Marquette.
But the road trip proved difficult as the Wildcats stole four much-needed points from the Spartans who are still chasing Michigan and Miami (Ohio) for the CCHA league title. MSU lost 3-1 on Friday, and 3-0 on Saturday.
And with only six games left in the regular season, the way the team deals with the losses will determine how successful it finishes the rest of its schedule, MSU head coach Rick Comley said.
The Spartans play top-ranked U-M two more times in February.
“The big question is how you deal with (adversity),” Comley said. “We know we’re playing teams that are desperate right now and are trying to secure a spot in the playoffs. (Northern Michigan) played very well and deserved two wins. They played with great desperation.
“What was surprising to me was we struggled on the ice. I thought we’d play better on the big ice.”
The Wildcats’ Olympic-sized ice sheet gave the Spartans trouble, but the team has to take most of the blame for its lackluster play, senior defenseman Daniel Vukovic said.
“We just didn’t execute,” he said.
“We had our chances. We didn’t execute on those chances, and they did. You have to give them credit.”
The Spartans seemed to boost their momentum in the third periods of both games, but it would not be enough to defeat the Wildcats.
“They played their game to perfection, and we didn’t play our game,” Vukovic added.
“We went away from our game. We didn’t cycle, we didn’t hit, we didn’t move the puck well on the defensive side.”
“You can’t win a weekend on two 20 minutes.”
It was the first time MSU had been swept on the road since February 2005 in Alaska.
The Wildcats’ shutout of the Spartans Saturday night was the first time MSU had been shutout since Oct. 13, 2007 against North Dakota.
Junior goaltender Jeff Lerg was pulled out of Friday’s game after playing two periods and allowing three Northern Michigan goals — a hat trick scored by Nick Sirota. The last time MSU allowed an opposing player to score three goals in one game was in 2005.
“We just didn’t play well,” Comley said.
“We just didn’t look like we adjusted well to the building. We weren’t sharp. For whatever reason, we just couldn’t get going.”
Junior forward Justin Abdelkader said the team needs to move on from the disappointing weekend and prepare to take on Western Michigan.
“We’ve got to learn from this weekend,” he said. “We’ve got to battle back, have a hard week of practice and get ready (for the Broncos).”
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The Spartans play a home-and-home series against Western Michigan with a 7:05 p.m. start Friday at Munn Ice Arena.
