Spartans shut out by Notre Dame at Munn Ice Arena

By Stefan Kubus –

EAST LANSING – Spectacular goaltending by Notre Dame’s junior netminder proved to be the difference Friday night in East Lansing as the Michigan State Spartans were shut out for their second straight game.

Steven Summerhays made 30 saves in a winning effort and sophomore defenseman Robbie Russo scored to give the No. 2/3 Irish a 1-0 victory, as the Spartans continue the struggle to find the back of the net.

Michigan State has not scored a goal in their last eight periods, after being shut out by Ferris State on Jan. 5, as well. The Spartans’ last goal came in the first period of their Great Lakes Invitational third-place game with rival Michigan.

“We’re disappointed with the result and yet I thought we had a real good effort tonight,” MSU head coach Tom Anastos said. “I thought our effort probably didn’t get rewarded as much as it could have. That’s obviously a real good team. I thought our guys played real hard. The struggles offensively kind of continue, but I thought we just kept at it and competed real hard for the 60 minutes.”

Meanwhile, freshman Jake Hildebrand was stellar again, stopping 32 shots in the loss. Hildebrand now sports a 3-8-2 record, 1.86 GAA and .940 save percentage. In those eight losses, the Spartans have scored a combined five goals.

“What I’ve liked about him, what he’s shown so far is certainly a level of confidence, kind of a quiet confidence and you need that, especially in that position,” Anastos said of Hildebrand. “And yet, maybe what I’ve been most impressed with is his poise because he doesn’t come off flustered if he gives up a goal. He doesn’t seem flustered when we play like we played tonight, don’t score, and end up losing by a 1-0 score. He’s shown some real poise that I feel is a super trait for that position in particular.”

A wild first period saw some aggressive play from both sides, especially as the first 20 minutes wore on.

With exactly five minutes to play in the first frame, Brent Darnell (Canton) checked a Notre Dame player from behind, resulting in a five-minute major and game misconduct for the Spartans’ sophomore forward. Just after, ND defenseman Stephen Johns hit freshman forward Matt DeBlouw (Chesterfield) from behind, resulting in a two-minute minor.

Another penalty for Notre Dame gave the Spartans a fruitless 4-on-3 power play. The Spartans managed to kill off Darnell’s major to end the first period, but were still down one of their top offensive players.

And with David Bondra leaving later with an injury, a shortened bench added that much more adversity.

“It was a close one,” MSU captain Greg Wolfe said. “I thought we worked real hard, everyone was working really hard. We obviously had a short bench, so it was kind of tough rotating three lines and five D, but I think we battled all night long. I don’t think anyone quit.”

In the second stanza, the Irish would break the deadlock, as Robbie Russo let a wrister go from the point on the power play to put the Fighting Irish up 1-0 with just over 10 minutes remaining.

It was the first time this season that the Spartans allowed power-play goals in three straight games.

The Spartans got a few decent scoring chances throughout the tail half of the second frame, but the Irish controlled the puck-possession battle. That’s where Hildebrand came in, standing tall for Michigan State, as he made 26 saves through the first two periods to keep the Spartans’ deficit to one.

“Hildy played another great game,” Wolfe said. “He kept us in there the whole time. They got one and we couldn’t get one so that’s just kind of how it ended up.”

Heading into the third down 1-0, one shot could have reversed the fortunes for the Spartans. And they had several quality chances, but Summerhays had all the answers.

With Hildebrand pulled, the Spartans pushed for the equalizer late, but the Fighting Irish closed it out on the road.

The Spartans and Irish square off again Saturday night in East Lansing. The last time the Spartans faced the Irish in a weekend series (Dec. 7-8), MSU played the Irish to a one-goal, 3-2 loss in the first game. The next night, although Michigan State played hard, they suffered a 5-1 defeat.

“As it’s been, our margin of error is small,” Anastos said. “But if you look at our team tonight compared to our team in October, we’re a better team. We just don’t have anything to show for it, but we know we’re a better team.”

Notes: Total shots: 33-30 in favor of ND… Attendance: 6,120… The Spartans have now been shut out in back-to-back games… The last time they scored was in a 5-2 loss to Michigan at the Great Lakes Invitational third-place game back on Dec. 30.