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In the end: MSU vs. Notre Dame

By: Alex DiFilippo Posted: 02/28/09 11:04pm

In Saturday’s 2-1 loss to No. 2 Notre Dame, the MSU team that took the ice in the third period looked absolutely nothing like the team that started the game.

In the first period, the Spartans were on their heels, having to fight and scrap for every inch of ice.

It looked like the Irish had the puck on a string and were simply playing a game of keep away from the Spartans. Notre Dame seemed to be on a constant power play and the puck stayed in the Spartans zone for practically the entire first period.

But after MSU scored at 14:09 of the second period, the momentum swung in the Spartans favor and were able to put forth some offensive chances and keep the game close.

In the third period the Spartans even outshot the Irish in a period for the first time on the weekend.

But Notre Dame is just too good and proved they can hold onto a narrow lead.

On Senior Night, senior goaltender Jeff Lerg played fantastic en route to breaking in the CCHA all-times save record and becoming second in NCAA all-time saves.

Senior forward Matt Schepke also came to play on Senior Night and he had a handful of quality scoring chances.

Now it’s time for the bad news.

Sophomore forward Andrew Rowe left Saturday’s game with a shoulder injury and Comley is unsure on his status for the rest of the season.

The fact that the Spartans were even able to keep tonight’s game close with such a depleted lineup is pretty amazing.

While it wasn’t a win, the Spartans proved that they can skate with the second best team in the country.

But will that be enough momentum to carry into the playoffs?

Lighting the Lamp

Hockey reporter Alex DiFilippo and Sports Editor Matt Bishop take you inside both MSU hockey and professional hockey four times a week.

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