Wolverines win latest edition of in-state rivalry, beat MSU 3-2 Friday night

By Greg Garno –

ANN ARBOR — When Michigan and Michigan State faced off in Friday’s CCHA contest at Yost Ice Arena, both teams were farther down the league standings than usual.

Doesn’t mean that it didn’t feel like a rivalry, though.

The Wolverines took the first game of their weekend series on Friday, winning 3-2 at home for the first time since a 2-0 win over Western Michigan on Dec. 15. Both teams will wrap up the series tomorrow afternoon at Joe Louis Arena.

“We have a lot of things to fix in our team and I don’t know that they’re fixed just because of one game,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “But I think they feel better, as players, about their individual work ethic in the game tonight and their collective work ethic for an entire 60 minutes.”

Freshman Cristoval Nieves scored twice for the Wolverines, who improved to 6-13-2 in the CCHA and 9-16-2 overall. Derek DeBlois added Michigan’s first goal, and Jared Rutledge stopped 21 saves in the win.

Meanwhile, Michigan State dropped to 5-13-1 in league play and 7-17-3 overall. Brent Darnell and Jake Chelios scored for the Spartans, while Jake Hildebrand stopped 34 shots in the loss.

“The mistakes that we made, they clearly took advantage of,” said Michigan State coach Tom Anastos. “It can be frustrating, but I think tonight, some guys who haven’t gotten as much ice time got some playing time, gained some experience, and that’s going to make us better.”

Yet it was the Spartans who struck first.

Five minutes into the game, Michigan sophomore defenseman Brennan Serville found himself with the task of clearing the puck from his own corner. His attempt was played poorly, though, as Michigan State sophomore forward Brent Darnell hung around to grab the puck and fired his seventh goal of the season over the shoulder of a surprised freshman goaltender in Rutledge.

Rutledge — who started in his first game since Nov. 30 against — was barely tested, allowing two goals on just 23 shots.

Michigan was slow to bounce back in the opening period, unable to capitalize on a single one of its many scoring opportunities. The Spartans managed to block shots and clear away rebounds in the opening frame.

The energy and excitement of the rivalry continued to build during the second period, as did the Wolverines’ enthusiasm and offense. Following several chances on the power play, Michigan tied the game up on an even-strength goal from freshman forward junior forward Derek DeBlois. Streaking down the right side, DeBlois was left uncovered to tap in a crossing pass from freshman forward Boo Nieves.

“I don’t know that our power play played that well, but we took advantage of loose pucks,” Berenson said. “We got pucks on the net quick and surprised their goalie. Let’s face it, their goalie was having a great game and we got it away quick and it went in.”

The Wolverines would remain tied at two despite the onslaught on Michigan State goalie Jake Hildebrand. The Spartans were outshot in the second period 14-4, though, spending much of their time trapped in their own zone.

The action and intensity reached its peak in the third period, when both teams came out hitting harder and more frequently. Less than two minutes into the final frame, Michigan finally took advantage of a power play chance, to take the lead for the first time of the night.

Sophomore forward Phil Di Giuseppe received the puck after it bounced off the back of a Michigan State skater, and found Nieves alone in front of the net to burry the puck.

“I think from the beginning of the game, the ‘D’ were having a tough time just getting it past that first forechecker,” Chelios said. “They were taking the boards away pretty good and pinching that ‘D’ in, and so, second period it got a little bit better, but that first goal, we made a bad turnover, they head down on an odd-man rush and capitalize. I think the whole night we were just struggling to get the puck out of our zone.”

The Spartans responded immediately, though, courtesy of the aforementioned Chelios. The son of the former Red Wings star skated across the net and flipped the puck past Rutledge less than a minute later.

Just two minutes later, with the pace continuing to pick up, Michigan successfully pushed the puck down the ice for Nieves’ second goal of the night and ultimately the game winner.

Nieves took a quick pass from Di Giuseppe, again, and capitalized on his opportunity for his sixth goal of the season. Michigan ended the night with 37 shots on goal, following its 21-shot performance from the last game at Western Michigan.

“He’s been a dangerous player, one of our most dangerous players nearly every game,” Berenson said. “It’s nice to see him get rewarded. He had a strong game and when you score a goal you get a lot more confidence from it.”

Michigan State had opportunities to tie late in the game, including a power play opportunity with less than three minutes remaining. But the Spartans were unable to find the back of the net, missing on potential goals and failing to record a shot on goal with an empty net.

“Obviously we’re really struggling to offense,” Anastos said. “We’ve got to guard against getting frustrated, because there were some good parts to our game, I thought the guys worked hard, competed hard, I thought (Hildebrand) had another real good night, and you know, it’s frustrating when clearly the power play is struggling.”

But the rivalry, the one that was downplayed and lacking the gleam from previous seasons, delivered.

“I haven’t heard the building like that in a while,” Di Giuseppe said. “That’s how it is when you lose, but when you win, especially against State, it felt great.”