Icers beat Colorado College, advance in NCAA tournament

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Six-thousand feet and 6,000 screaming fans didn’t bother the MSU hockey team one bit.

With three second period goals, the No. 3 seed Spartans stopped highly-favored Colorado College, 3-1, in the NCAA Tournament West Regional semifinal Friday night at World Arena.

The Spartans advance to face No. 4 seed Notre Dame, who upset No. 1 seed New Hampshire, 7-3, earlier in the day. Game time is set for 10 p.m. Saturday with the winner moving on to the Frozen Four.

“Obviously, it was a great win,” MSU head coach Rick Comley said. “And to be honest with you, that’s kind of us. Our goalie is pretty good and we kind of pick away at things.”

Junior goaltender Jeff Lerg continued his outstanding NCAA Tournament play, stopping 41 shots.

“Jeff Lerg played up to his accomplishments from last year and everything else he has done in terms of a big-game goalie,” Colorado College head coach Scott Owens said.

The altitude and Olympic-size ice sheet seemed to have little visible effect on the Spartans. The team practiced on the big ice all week and arrived in Colorado Springs on Wednesday and had two practices under its belt come game time.

“Well, we survived,” Comley said.

The Tigers controlled the first period, out-shooting the Spartans 12-2. The second period, however, was a different story.

Junior forward Tim Kennedy gave MSU the crucial first goal midway through the stanza, scoring on the power play from in tight.

Then Lerg took over, stopping the Tigers at point-blank range several times, including an incredible stop on Tyler Johnson to keep the Spartans ahead.

The final two minutes of the period, though, are what defined the game.

MSU struck again on the power play with 1:57 remaining, as senior captain Bryan Lerg snuck out from behind the net and found senior defenseman Jeff Dunne in the faceoff circle and his one-timer beat Colorado College goaltender Richard Bachman.

“I talked to him before the shift and told him, ‘Hey, if I give it to you, they’re going to be pressuring hard, so just put it on net,’ and next thing you know, I got it right to him,” Bryan Lerg said.

Then, a quick whistle that looked like it would hurt MSU ultimately turned the tide of the game.

Bachman made a save but the puck popped loose in front of him. An assistant referee, down low because the referee was caught up ice, lost sight of the puck because he was behind Bachman.

On the ensuing faceoff, senior forward Chris Mueller came out of a scramble with the puck and beat Bachman to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead with seven seconds left.

“That goal was a back-breaker,” Mueller said. “Especially when you have Jeff Lerg in net. It;s tough to get one by him, let alone four to lose a hockey game.”

Colorado College brought pressure in the third period, but Lerg was nearly perfect, allowing only Derek Patrosso’s goal midway through the period, snapping his shutout streak of 85:17, dating back to last season’s national championship game.

But the Tigers could not crack Lerg again, as he stopped 16 shots in the period.

“We threw everything at them in the third period and only managed one goal,” Owens said.

Bachman made 20 saves for Colorado College. Its season ends in disappointment with three straight losses following a WCHA regular season championship.

“The things I thought would hurt us in this game came back and hurt us,” Owens said. “It was Lerg, their power play and their NCAA experience from last year.”

For a closer look at Lerg’s performance, please see Lerg shines again as Spartans tame Tigers

Published on Saturday, March 29, 2008