Icers fail to shake holiday hangover, fall to Wisconsin 7-3

The No. 8 MSU hockey team looked like a squad who ate too much turkey at Thanksgiving dinner, opted for the extra slice of pumpkin pie and woke up before the sun to try and find the early-bird shopping specials on Black Friday.

They looked sluggish and out of sync in Friday’s 7-3 loss to No. 15 Wisconsin at Munn Ice Arena in the opening game of the 17th annual College Hockey Showcase.

MSU head coach Rick Comley called the game “the worst game so far this season” for his team.

“We got it handed to us,” Comley said. “(Wisconsin is) a very good team. That’s probably the toughest game that we’ve had all year, as far as playing against speed.”

Freshman forward Derek Grant, who tallied a goal and two assists for the Spartans, said the Thanksgiving hangover was in full-effect.

“I think a lot of it was we weren’t mentally prepared,” Grant said. “Thanksgiving yesterday might have been a factor. We got outworked out there.”

It was the first time this season the Spartans allowed more than five goals in a game and also marked the first time an opposing team chased an MSU netminder, as sophomore goaltender Drew Palmisano was replaced by senior goaltender Bobby Jarosz after allowing four goals.

Wisconsin now holds a five game unbeaten streak against MSU (4-0-1).

In a game where the Spartans were outplayed in every facet, the only positive was MSU’s power play, which got back on track after entering the game without scoring in four-straight games (0-for-18).

“To pull one thing out of the game, that might be it,” Grant said of the Spartans’ power play. “We’ve had chances in past games, but haven’t been able to bury it. It’s nice to get that going again and hopefully we can get that going tomorrow.”

While the Spartans recorded two of its three goals on the power play (2-for-8), the Badgers’ power play was even more efficient, going 3-for-5 on the night.

Wisconsin junior defenseman Brendan Smith, a Detroit Red Wings first-round draft pick, recorded the first and second goals for the Badgers in the first period at 9:23 and 12:25, respectively.

But the Spartans were able to hang in through the first period and keep the game within reach.

“We need to not overlook (Wisconsin junior goaltender) Brett Bennett,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said. “He was solid early in the game and he had some huge saves to settle us down when it still looked like we had some turkey in our bellies.”

The second period opened with a heavy dosage of special teams play. Midway through the middle frame there were already a combined 12 penalty minutes, resulting in 4-on-4, 4-on-3, and even 21 seconds of 3-on-3 action.

Neither team recorded a goal during the special-team’s madness early in the period. But the Spartans were able to end its power-play scoring drought at 11:13 of the second period.

Sophomore defenseman Jeff Petry took a low wrist shot from the point which was blocked in front of the net by senior forward Nick Sucharski. Sucharski spun around and found Grant wide-open at the back post, leading to an easy tap in to put MSU on the board.

Then it was all Wisconsin – as the Badgers scored the next three goals of the game.

First it was Wisconsin’s Aaron Bendickson with a wrap-around goal after overpowering MSU freshman defenseman Torey Krug behind the net. Then it was Michael Davies who lit the lamp after Palmisano misplayed the puck.

And that ended the night for Palminsano, who made 21 saves before being yanked for Jarosz. It was the first time MSU switched goalies during a game since Dec. 5, 2008.

“They weren’t all his fault,” Comley said of Palmisano’s performance. “The defense struggled so bad in front of him.”

The Badgers bombardment didn’t stop when they had the three goal lead. Derek Stepan – who also recorded four assists – put the Badgers up by four goals when he gathered a rebound given up by Jarosz and fired it into the net.

But the Spartans got one back with 3.2 seconds remaining in the middle frame on the power play. After a big pile up in front of the net, freshman defenseman Matt Grassi recorded his first collegiate goal by circling around the net and lightly lifting the puck over the mass of bodies down on the ice.

MSU came out of the gates hot to start the third period, as junior forward Corey Tropp scored 15 seconds into the final frame.

But the Badgers took the wind out of the Spartans sails when forward Blake Geoffrion scored at 11:42 of the third period to re-open a three goal lead. Wisconsin forward Michael Davies put the game out of reach at 17:45 of final frame when he was left wide-open in front of the MSU net and roofed a shot over Jarosz.

The Spartans (9-4-2 overall, 6-2-2-0 CCHA) will continue play in the College Hockey Showcase when they faceoff against Minnesota at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Munn Ice Arena.

“I think it’s something we need to learn from,” Grant said of the loss. “Once tomorrow comes, we have to just forget about it and come back to playing our game.”