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MSU hockey team defeats University of Toronto in exhibition shootout

October 2, 2016
Redshirt-senior defenseman Rhett Holland (11) joins teammates to celebrate after the the Spartans opened the scoring during an exhibition game against the University of Toronto on Oct. 2, 2016 at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans defeated the Blues 2-1 in an overtime shootout after ending regulation in a 2-2 tie.
Redshirt-senior defenseman Rhett Holland (11) joins teammates to celebrate after the the Spartans opened the scoring during an exhibition game against the University of Toronto on Oct. 2, 2016 at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans defeated the Blues 2-1 in an overtime shootout after ending regulation in a 2-2 tie. —
Photo by Derek VanHorn | and Derek VanHorn The State News

The MSU hockey team started off another season at Munn Ice Arena where they hosted the University of Toronto in an exhibition game, winning it 2-2, in a shootout, 2-1. The Spartans came into the game after finishing fifth in the Big Ten last year and a 10-23-4 overall record.

The starting lineup featured two freshmen getting game action at MSU. Freshman Logan Lambdin and redshirt-freshman Jerad Rosburg were the two seeing playing time on the ice.

"It was an unreal feeling (being a starter)," Lambdin said. "The atmosphere, a lot better than I'm used to."

The Spartans started the game off fast, holding an early 10-0 lead in shots midway through the first. Along with the early edge, the Toronto University Blue Jackets committed two penalties, giving MSU two full power play opportunities.

While the Spartans didn’t capitalize on the chance, they kept the pressure on the Blue Jackets the rest of the way. After the first period, MSU had a 14-2 edge on shots on goal and would carry a power play into the next period.

Looking to the second, MSU struck first when sophomore right wing Mason Appleton scored, assisted by Taro Hirose and Jerad Rosburg.

A penalty on both MSU and Toronto made it 4-on-4 hockey for two minutes. The Spartans made the best of the man short, as they netted another goal by freshman center Patrick Khodorenko, making it a 2-0 lead.

With 8:35 to go in the second, head coach Tom Anastos made a change at the net, bringing in freshman goaltender John Lethemon for junior Ed Minney.

Lethemon would be tested for the rest of the period and eventually give up a Toronto goal with less than 30 seconds to go in the period. Toronto got their first goal on the board, courtesy of forward Dean Klomp. With that, it was a 2-1 lead for MSU after two.

The beginning of the third period would be filled with penalties from both teams. The Varsity Blues used the Spartan miscues to their advantage first, when they scored on a 4-on-3 power play goal. This time, it was forward Evan Johnson scoring for the Varsity Blues.

MSU had a great chance to score midway through the third when they had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:45. But the Spartans weren't able to come away with a goal. At that point, the Varsity Blues had committed seven penalties. MSU didn't score on any of their power play chances, though.

For the rest of the period, the Spartans and Varsity Blues held the tie 2-2. The game would go into a five-minute overtime period to decide the winner. There, neither team got anything going besides a shot on goal apiece, bringing the totals to a 34-15 advantage for the Spartans.

After three periods and an overtime, the game would ultimately go to a shootout. There, the Spartans brought out right wing Joe Cox, left wing Taro Hirose, and center Cody Milan.

Cox and Hirose would score for MSU and Lethemon would get the two saves in the shootout.

The team came out of the game victorious in the shootout, 2-1.

Still early in the season, MSU head coach Tom Anastos said he liked the way his team competed, all things considered.

"It was nice to be out there playing," Anastos said. "We've skated just a little bit since school has started. We had our first practice yesterday. So we didn't have a lot of organization to our game but we talked about just going out there and working on our habits."

The Spartans will be back in action again at Munn when they host their Green-White scrimmage Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. The regular season will start when the Spartans head to Lake Superior State University to take on the Lakers Oct. 14-15 in a weekend set.

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