Throughout the season, MSU hockey (12-12-2, 6-4-2-2 Big Ten) has been searching for more confidence or an extra edge. Unable to put consecutive wins together early in its schedule, MSU is now 5-1 over its last six games after a weekend sweep over No. 19 Penn State (15-9-4, 7-4-1 Big Ten).
The Spartans shut out the conference’s second-best offense Friday night before beating the Nittany Lions 3-2 the following night. Junior goaltender Jake Hildebrand stopped 68 of 70 shots on the weekend, including all 28 in Friday’s 3-0 win at Munn Ice Arena.
Sophomore forward Mackenzie MacEachern was another Spartan standout over the weekend by netting four goals and adding one assist over two games. After scoring the game-winner Friday night, MacEachern scored all three goals for MSU the next night giving him his first collegiate hat trick.
Even with the performances of MacEachern and Hildebrand, all the talk following the sweep was about a Spartan who didn’t record a single point in the games.
Sophomore forward Joe Cox – the third star in Saturday’s game – had a sequence of blocked shots for the ages. On two consecutive penalty kills in the first period Saturday night, Cox blocked a total of five PSU shots.
“One part of being on the PK is that you’ve got to put your body out there, and that’s just what needed to happen today,” Cox said. “You’ve got guys like Mac who go out on the offensive end and put pucks in, so if he keeps doing that I’ll keep (blocking shots).”
He took shots off of his left ankle, right shin, left leg, left thigh and groin before limping to the bench. Both MSU players and fans stood up to acknowledge the gutsy effort, and the selfless performance set the tone for the rest of the game.
“That display of tenacity, courage, commitment – I don’t know what else you want to call it – it was unbelievable,” head coach Tom Anastos said. “The whole team was standing cheering. ... Those are the kind of things that he brings to the table. He’ll lay it on the line.”
“That was a heck of a way to start the game.”
Following the game, Anastos awarded the game puck to MacEachern for obvious reasons. Without hesitation, MacEachern passed the honor along to Cox proving how much his effort meant to his teammates.
“It definitely gives a lot of energy on the bench,” MacEachern said of Cox’s selfless play. “That guy is the biggest team player we have for sure, and he’ll do anything to help the team win.”
Cox has an infectious style of play, which is one of the many reasons he was named assistant captain before the season.
“He just lays down and takes them,” junior captain Michael Ferrantino said. “He had five blocks between a four-minute span which is just ridiculous for him, but that got us all going. I think he does that and everyone’s looking around ‘Hey, what can I do,’ but what can you say? He’s always that kind of guy.”
Cox is sure to be sore for the next couple of days, but it is a small price to pay for getting MSU back in the Big Ten race. MSU is currently tied with Penn State for third with 22 points, while U-M and Minnesota sit ahead with 24 points.
“(I’m) physically worn down,” Cox said after the win Saturday. “But mentally I couldn’t be any higher. To come and get six points from Penn State — a really tough competitor — it’s awesome. The win makes some of the pain go away.”
