From Munn Ice Arena – Saturday night recaps

By Michael Caples –

EAST LANSING – On Friday, the line of Dean Chelios, Greg Wolfe, and Lee Reimer combined for eight points to lead the Spartans to a 5-2 win over Robert Morris.

How would the line react to an injury to Chelios for Saturday’s rematch? Turns out they would play even better than they did the night before.

Reimer had a hat trick and two assists, Wolfe had four assists, and Mike Merrifield – filling in for Chelios on left wing – had two goals and two assists. The line was responsible for every Spartan goal, with the Green and White eventually winning 4-2 to get back to .500 on the season.

“They were pretty dominant bunch,” said coach Tom Anastos of the foursome of Reimer, Chelios, Wolfe, and Merrifield. “I’ve thought that they played pretty well up until now, but obviously they had a coming out party this weekend.”

Those four players combined for 21 points in two games, along with a +21 rating. Reimer was the star of the bunch, posting the first five-point night for the Spartans since Jim Slater did it in October of 2003.

“I felt the same as every other game,” Reimer said after the game. “Just staying focused; it was a big game for our whole team. We wanted to get a sweep this year and get on a good roll here, especially with the break next weekend – it would be huge to get a sweep here and keep practicing, and going into that next week with lots of confidence. For me, it was just staying focused and being ready to play.”

On Friday, Wolfe had the first two-goal night of his collegiate career, while Reimer had two assists, and Merrifield notched his first goal of the 2011-12 season.

“We got a sweep this weekend, which was big for us,” Merrifield said. “Cheli got hurt, I stepped into his spot, and we just started gelling from the opening face-off, and we kept it rolling throughout the game, and buried our opportunities.”

Wings’ slide continues

One night after losing to the San Jose Sharks 4-2, the Wings traveled to Minnesota in hopes of ending their three-game losing streak. Instead, they got shut out by the Wild’s backup goalie. Dany Heatley scored the lone goal for Minnesota, but it was enough, as the Wings have now lost four straight.

Broncos sweep

Ian Slater scored 28 seconds into overtime to lift Western Michigan to a 3-2 win over NMU Saturday night. The Broncos completed the sweep of the Wildcats in the two-game series in Kalamazoo. The Broncos are now 5-0-3 on the season, while the Wildcats are 4-3-1.

Whalers win close one

The Whalers played to a 1-1 tie with Kingston through the first two periods Saturday night, but got the job done in the final frame. Rickard Rakell’s goal at 1:20 of the third period put the Whalers in the lead, and Garrett Meurs added an empty-net goal to preserve the win.

Spirit fall to Sarnia

Michael Fine and Justin Kea scored for the Spirit, but it wasn’t enough at their ‘Pink Out Night’. The Sting, led by top prospect Nail Yakupov, scored three unanswered goals in the second and third period to earn a comeback win over Saginaw.