Matt Bishop
Deputy Sports Editor Matt Bishop discusses the hockey team’s CCHA Quarterfinal series against Northern Michigan and the team’s NCAA Tournament hopes.
Question: The Wildcats swept the Spartans in Marquette in February. Will that have an effect on this series?
Answer: Probably not. Although Northern produced a stellar second half, I think that series, more than anything, served as a wake-up call for the Spartans.
That series is pretty much directly responsible for the loss of the CCHA regular season championship, and it was dominated by special teams. It could happen again, depending on which set of officials is assigned to the series.
On a similar note, MSU swept the Wildcats in October. That series, at this point, is even less relevant.
Northern Michigan has grown up a ton this season and that was evident last weekend, as the team came back to beat Ohio State in three games.
Q: What will MSU have to do to win this series?
A: This is easy: Get to the net. The Wildcats block a ton of shots, so getting things through from the outside is not going to be easy.
The Spartans have the edge in skill and need to put together passing combinations that get Northern’s defense, and 6-foot-4-inch goaltender Brian Stewart, moving.
Stewart covers a ton of the net, and it’s hard to get things by him when he has a chance to get set.
Although he comes into this series with a 13-13-4 record, his .917 save percentage is solid.
Outside of that, if a lot of penalties are going to be called, it’s imperative that the power play gets moving.
The Spartans have to outwork the Wildcats in every facet of the game.
Northern can be a dangerous team with some momentum. MSU has to score early and get Stewart off his game.
Q: Are the Spartans an NCAA Tournament lock at this point?
A: As of now, it’s very close. MSU probably needs to win this series to make it for sure, regardless of what happens at Joe Louis Arena next weekend.
Miami (Ohio) was swept by Lake Superior last season in the quarterfinals (at home no less!) and still made it into the tournament as a No. 4 seed.
Obviously the situations aren’t the same, but it is out there.
The easiest way to get into the tournament is, as Jake Taylor said in Major League, to “win the whole (expletive) thing.”
But in case that doesn’t happen, a trip to The Joe should seal the deal.
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Matt Bishop can be reached at bishop20@msu.edu.
