DETROIT - Everything was green in Detroit on St. Patrick’s Day.
Green-clad fans cheered as the CCHA Tournament championship banner ascended to the Joe Louis Arena rafters with a brand-new green addition at the bottom.
The joyous bunch of hockey players, donning green and white jerseys, huddled together on the ice with the inaugural Mason Cup.
And No. 3-seed Michigan (25-12-5) was green with envy as it watched its archrivals - top-seeded MSU - celebrate another championship right in front of it.
The CCHA regular-season champion Spartans (32-4-4) doubled their pleasure with the tournament title Saturday night - shutting down the Wolverines 2-0 in front of 16,031 at the home of the Detroit Red Wings.
“Before the game, I was talking to a couple of people about how tough it is to win the regular season and playoff championships in the same year,” said MSU head coach Ron Mason, for whom the championship trophy was renamed this season.
“But I knew we had a good chance to do it (this season) because of the way these kids have been playing.
“(U-M) came out really strong, but once we got our feet on the ground, I thought we played as well as we could play, especially defensively. It was Spartan hockey at its best tonight.”
The NCAA-leading Spartan defense held the high-powered U-M offense to 19 shots on goal and sophomore goaltender Ryan Miller stopped all of them, breezing to his first shutout since breaking the NCAA career record Feb. 10.
Saturday was the 18th blanking of his young career.
“The guys in front of me played outstanding,” said Miller, who became the first-ever two-time winner of the tournament’s Most Valuable Player Award. “They really limited the shots and didn’t let (U-M) stretch the ice out on us.
“I always try to bring my best game down to Joe Louis and I’ve been fortunate to come out on top the past two years.”
Offensively, junior right wing Adam Hall paced the Spartans with a goal and an assist Saturday.
Hall set up junior center Joe Goodenow’s goal at 9:44 of the first period with a great display of speed and strength and then added his own tally with a slap shot that eluded U-M goaltender Josh Blackburn with 21.7 seconds left in the first period.
The goal was Hall’s 18th of the season, one short of the team lead.
“Scoring in the last minute like that really deflates the other team,” Hall said. “We’ve been on both ends of it this year and it’s really tough to come back from.”
MSU is now 4-1-0 against U-M this season.
The Spartans advanced to the championship clash with a 2-1 win over No. 9-seed Bowling Green in Friday’s semifinal game, while U-M beat Nebraska-Omaha 3-2 in the other semifinal.
The Falcons (16-19-5) took a 1-0 lead over the heavily favored Spartans, but MSU senior left wing Sean Patchell continued his offensive outburst by scoring the game’s final two goals.
Patchell also scored the overtime series-clinching goal against Alaska-Fairbanks on March 10 and had five goals in his last six games.
Junior defenseman Andrew Hutchinson joined Miller, Hall and Patchell on the All-Tournament team. U-M center Joe Kautz and U-M defenseman Dave Huntzicker also made the squad.
On the injury front, sophomore center Troy Ferguson left Saturday’s championship game after injuring his shoulder on a check. Mason said Ferguson would be healthy for the NCAA Tournament.
Around the CCHA
Lake Superior State, which finished in last place in the league this season, fired head coach Scott Borek on Friday.
Borek, who was the CCHA Coach of the Year last season, compiled a 76-94-17 record in five seasons with the Lakers. But his team missed the CCHA playoffs this season for the first time since 1983.
Laker Athletics Director Bill Crawford said he has a list of candidates, but he wouldn’t disclose them.
Jeff Jackson, who won national championships with the Lakers in 1992 and 1994, reportedly declined any interest in returning to Sault Ste. Marie.
