No-goal call haunts Spartans as they fall to Union
It is now a rule that will be talked about for some time in East Lansing.
Trailing by one late in the first period, Spartans defenseman Brock Shelgren knocked the puck out of mid-air and into the Union goal. However, a Union player standing in the crease bumped the net just enough for the cage to raise off the ice, resulting in the goal being disallowed after video replay.
The ruling loomed large for the Spartans, who trailed by one goal for the majority of the third period. They ended up losing the opening game of the NCAA Tournament 3-1 to Union.
The rule in question, word-for-word from the NCAA rulebook, is quoted below.
“If the goal cage has been moved or dislodged. The goal frame is considered to be displaced if any portion of the goal frame is not in its proper position (e.g., frame must be completely flat on the ice surface, goal posts must be in proper place and affixed securely in place with its pegs).”
Coach Tom Anastos said that at this point, he is OK with the call made on the ice.
“They gave it plenty of time, and I trust the process,” Anastos said. “But I will look at it.”
Spartans assistant captain Anthony Hayes voiced no concern with the call after the game, however.
“The refs here did a great job,” Hayes said. “They said they looked at it from every possible angle, so we trust them to make the decision, that’s why they’re out there. We knew when they took as long as they did that it was going to be a close call, but we were prepared to handle it either way that it happened. Unfortunately it didn’t go our way, but I’m sure that if we look back at our season, there were some that did. It had nothing to do with the outcome of the game, we continued to work hard, unfortunately we just came up short.”
Freshman forward Matt Berry scored the lone goal for the Spartans, who entered the 2012 national tournament as the bottom seed in the East Region. They weren’t able to pull off the upset against the top-ranked Dutchmen, who now advance to play the winner of Miami and Massachusetts-Lowell.
Max Novak, Jeremy Welsh, and Wayne Simpson scored for Union.
Sophomore goaltender Will Yanakeff made 29 saves for the Spartans, who lost on the one-year anniversary of Anastos being named coach of MSU. They finish the season with a 19-16-4 record, with plenty of positives to build on moving forward.
“I think the main thing that Coach Anastos has brought to our team is he’s been in our skates,” captain Torey Krug said. “He’s got the passion for Michigan State University, that’s what we want in the leader of our team, somebody that knows how it is to go into buildings like Yost Arena to play against Michigan and what it’s like to go into Big Rapids and compete against Ferris State, so i think his passion is there, and that’s something that we feed off of every single day when he comes to the rink, getting us going.”
A NCAA appearance was a surprise to most in the college hockey community, as the Spartans finished 10th in the CCHA a year ago. But with the new approach from Anastos, and leadership on the blue line by Hobey Baker candidate Torey Krug, the Spartans moved up five spots in the CCHA standings, and managed to earn a NCAA bid because of it.
“I was real proud of our guys,” Anastos said. “We made a big jump this year, from when we started to where we are today, it obviously hurts a lot, I feel for everybody sitting in the dressing room, especially the seniors who poured their heart into helping as we transitioned, they really helped both lead and lay a foundation for us to do lots of great stuff in the future, so I’m real proud of the guys.”