Spartans’ comeback stops short; Wolverines win Round 1

By Michael Caples –

ANN ARBOR – The Michigan Wolverines entered Friday night’s contest with their rivals from East Lansing knowing they needed to post their first win on home ice since Nov. 5.

Had the game gone on any longer, they might not have picked up their fifth conference win of the season.

Michigan took a commanding 4-1 lead into the third period, only to watch Michigan State post two power-play goals in the first six minutes. And while the Spartans tested goaltender Shawn Hunwick and the Wolverines repeatedly in the final period, Michigan prevailed 4-3.

“We knew it would be a tough team,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “I think the 4-1 lead kind of surprised everyone, Michigan State came back and got that early goal and it was a new game in the third period. I liked the way we battled hard. We had a couple of chances, they had a couple of chances, and the game still could have gone either way.”

The win moves the Wolverines one game closer to the .500 mark within the CCHA – they are now 5-6-2-1 in conference play. Michigan is 9-8-2 this season overall.

“It’s huge,” said Michigan assistant captain David Wohlberg. “We needed to get back on a streak here, winning, and that’s a good team we played against tonight. It’s encouraging for the guys on the team and hopefully we’ll do it again tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, the No. 14 Spartans drop to 6-5-0-0 in conference play, and 10-6-1 on the season.

“They showed that they’re a good team,” Michigan State assistant captain Trevor Nill said. “They came out and worked really hard in the first period and they got the jump on us. But I was very impressed with the boys, I thought we had the momentum in the third and you know, we need to carry that into tomorrow.”

Michigan and Michigan State exchanged goals to start the contest, with Wohlberg scoring at the 5:58 mark of the first, and MSU’s Matt Crandell responding 14 seconds later. Chris Brown added a goal for the Wolverines five minutes later to give them a lead they would never relinquish.

Alex Guptill and Kevin Lynch scored second-period goals for the Wolverines, building their lead to three goals.

However, the Spartans took advantage of a power play to start the third period, when Matt Berry scored his fifth of the season to cut the Wolverines’ lead to two. Then, four minutes later, Brent Darnell was credited with a goal that was the result of a point shot hitting the glass behind goaltender Shawn Hunwick and bouncing back in front of the goal and eventually into the net.

Despite the failed comeback, MSU coach Tom Anastos said he was pleased with the late push from his team.

“Well, I told the guys going into the third period that we were going to score a power-play goal on that first power play,” Anastos said. “Then we were going to work on getting the third goal, and then we were going to get the fourth goal. And we followed the script up until the fourth goal.”

Yet there’s plenty to be addressed for the Spartans before heading into tomorrow night’s game.

“No quit on our team, and I never doubted that one second,” Anastos said. “But we didn’t play the kind of game for two periods that we worked on all week, really. Credit to them, I thought they played, all the games that I’ve saw, I thought they played a real good game, and we made lots of turnovers in different parts of the rink that really played into that. Against a team like this, that thrives on that, you’ve got to be more patient with your game, and stronger through the neutral zone, making good plays, and we dug ourselves a hole that we couldn’t get out of.”

Hunwick made 31 saves to earn his ninth win of the season for the Wolverines. His ability to withstand the Spartans’ pressure in the final stages of the third was the main reason his team posted a win over their rivals from East Lansing.

“It was crazy,” Hunwick said. “The puck was all over the zone, they were all over us. We were lucky to get out of that with a win, but a lot of times it goes a different way. One blocked shot here, or a missed assignment, and the game is tied and then we’re going to over time. So it’s huge to play in games like that. For down the road you look back at games from last season you’ve got to be able to win one or a couple games with a goalie out you’ve got to be able to do the job.”

The two clubs meet tomorrow night in East Lansing. Puck drops at 6:35 p.m.