Wolverines rout Spartans in Game 1 of weekend rivalry series
By @MichaelCaples –
EAST LANSING – The Spartans scored first Friday night.
It didn’t take long for the Wolverines to respond and seize control of the contest, however.
Three goals in a span of 1:21 put Michigan on course for a 9-2 rout against their main rival in East Lansing.
Kyle Connor, fresh off national rookie of the month honors, scored twice, JT Compher also scored twice, and Tony Caledore, Alex Kile, Dexter Dancs, Zach Werenski and Tyler Motte all found the back of the net in the rout. It was an easy night for Steve Racine, meanwhile, as the Michigan senior netminder made 24 saves on 36 shots.
“Players seemed to know where to shoot, and the puck was going in,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “We had the momentum, and I thought we handled it pretty well. They came out hard in the second period, and again, we didn’t give up any goals, and that really was going to be the turning point if we gave up that third goal and they got within a couple.
“They’re not that bad, and we’re not that good. The score tonight maybe embellishes our team, but we did this last year, we came in here and had a good game here and then came home and lost the next night, so I’m already thinking about tomorrow night. I liked our effort, I liked the balanced scoring, and I liked the fact that we only gave up two goals against.”
Freshmen Mason Appleton and Zach Osburn scored for the Spartans, while Jake Hildebrand was replaced by backup Ed Minney with 8:15 remaining in the second period. Hildebrand recorded 24 saves in his period-plus, while Minney stopped 13.
“…We’re very disappointed – how the game played out, we obviously didn’t defend well enough, our penalty kill wasn’t good enough, we gave up too many easy goals, and we weren’t able to make plays when we needed to,” said MSU coach Tom Anastos.
The win gives the No. 8 ranked Wolverines their 12th of the season (12-3-3) and improving their Big Ten record to 3-1-1-1. The Spartans fall to 5-14-2, and 1-4-0-0 in conference play.
Photos by Andrew Knapik/MiHockey
MSU’s Appleton opened the scoring, serving as the recipient of an impressive fake and cross-ice pass from John Draeger before firing a shot from the left face-off dot past Racine at the 9:26 mark of the opening period.
The Wolverines responded with a flurry three minutes later. Compher started the scoring with his fourth goal of the season, taking advantage of a clear path to the goal before putting a shot over Hildebrand’s right shoulder. Calderone finished off a passing play with a quick shot from below the slot to score just over a minute later. Kile finished off the surge with a rocket of a shot from the left face-off dot just 18 seconds after Calderone’s tally.
“It’s obviously nice when you beat State,” Compher said after the game. “The offense was going today, which It has been most of the year, but I think it was nice to get the defense going. We had a few breakdowns, PK wasn’t perfect but coming out of here allowing only two goals, no matter how many you score it’s going to make it a lot easier to win games only letting up two goals. I thought that was good, but the weekend’s only half over.”
After a time-out from the Spartans and a goal from Osburn at the 15:21 mark, it looked as though the game would get back on track for Michigan State. Connor scored his first of the night for Michigan, however, just 2:19 after the Osburn strike, reestablishing a two-goal lead.
Dancs’ goal – scored while falling to the ice just above the Spartans’ crease – was the backbreaker, as it gave Michigan a 5-2 lead heading into the first intermission.
Six minutes into the second period, Werenski added to the Wolverines’ lead, firing a wrist shot past Hildebrand on an odd-man rush. Less than two minutes later, Connor added his second goal of the game, increasing the UM lead to 7-2.
In the third period, Motte buried a feed from Connor for the Wolverines’ eighth goal of the night. Motte increased the lead
The two teams play once again Saturday night, as the home-and-home rivalry series shifts to Ann Arbor. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.