Icers' victory keeps MSU, Ferris State tied in CCHA

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And they are tied up again.

After playing a sloppy game Friday night in Big Rapids, the No. 12 MSU hockey team held up its end of the deal, winning in nail-biting fashion, 3-2, Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena.

The Spartans and Bulldogs sit in a deadlock for second place in the CCHA standings with one weekend remaining in the regular season.

Because the standings are so tight, and because of the disappointing performance Friday night, the Spartans treated Saturday’s game as a must-win. And for the first time in four games, MSU was able to tally one up in the win column.

“We knew we needed this win today,” said junior forward Dustin Gazley, who scored the game-winning goal for MSU at 12:31 of the third period. “Coming back from that loss yesterday and getting a win tonight was huge.”

Junior forward Andrew Rowe recorded an early goal at 4:51 of the first period on a beautiful play set up by sophomore defenseman Matt Crandell. Crandell saw Rowe camped out at the top of the crease and intentionally fired a shot wide of the net. The puck bounced off the boards and right on Rowe’s stick. Rowe then beat Ferris State goaltender Pat Nagle shortside.

Ferris State responded at 16:33 with a power play got to tie the game at 1-1.

In the second period, MSU got a goal from an unlikely candidate.

In his first game of the season, senior forward Jay Sprague recorded the go-ahead goal for MSU. Sprague had been out of the lineup all season due to injuries, but at 10:25 of the second period, he found the puck through a massive pileup and chipped the puck past Nagle.

The Bulldogs again responded, this time shorthanded at 16:49 of the middle frame.

“It was a killer,” MSU head coach Rick Comley said of the shorthanded goal. “The lack of effort on it was a killer.”

The teams entered the locker room after the second period with the score tied at 2-2.

Both teams exchanged quality scoring chances to open the final frame.

First, Ferris State forward Mike Embach snuck behind the MSU defense and walked in on a breakaway. But MSU sophomore goaltender Drew Palmisano made the big save.

Later, sophomore forward Daultan Leveille had a golden opportunity to give the Spartans the lead. Gazley found Leveille at the backdoor and sent him a quick, cross-ice pass. However, Nagle read the play perfectly and made it across the crease in time, robbing MSU of what appeared to be a sure goal.

Leveille made up for his missed opportunity shortly thereafter. He was knocked to the ice by a Ferris State defenseman, and just when it looked like he was going to lose the puck, he executed a smooth move to maintain possession of the puck, despite being on his knees.

Leveille then slid a pass over to Rowe. When Leveille returned to his feet, Rowe gave him the puck right back. Then, Leveille slug a cross-ice pass to Gazley, who blasted a shot into the net from the left faceoff dot before Nagle could slide across the crease.

“In the moment, (I) just tried to keep it on my stick,” Leveille said. “I was trying to get around the defenseman and I pulled it back when I was falling. It stayed on my stick and I was able to make the pass.”

Prior to Saturday’s game, MSU had only scored two goals in its last three games. Gazley said his goal couldn’t have come at a better time for the Spartans on Saturday night.

“I think we needed it hugely,” Gazley said of his power-play goal. “There were about six or seven minutes left and it was a huge momentum builder. It really got our team going there.”

The Bulldogs continued to press hard until the final whistle and had a flurry of chances in the final minute. But the Spartans held on and earned the valuable three points in the conference standings.

“I think that we played 60 minutes,” Gazley said. “We never gave up. There are games that we lost in the last two minutes. But today, we sacrificed everything. Guys were blocking shots and pucks were getting out. I think we can carry that to the next game.”

The Spartans (18-11-5 overall, 13-8-5 CCHA) close out the regular season with a home-and-home series next weekend against CCHA bottom dweller Bowling Green. And with the standings so close, it has been impossible for the team not to scoreboard watch.

“We just have to let everything play out,” Leveille said. “There’s not much more we can do. We had the big win we needed tonight. We need to get two more next week and just hope for the best.”

For a recap of the Spartans’ pivotal series against Ferris State, see Monday’s edition of The State News.

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