No. 3 MSU woke up Saturday morning to frigid temperatures and a harsh reality in Fairbanks, Alaska.
After a 2-1 loss to heavy underdog Alaska-Fairbanks the night before, head coach Ron Mason’s Spartans fell to 0-3 on the road this season and were grappling for answers.
“I think we came out a little tired from traveling,” junior right wing Kris Koski said from Alaska on Sunday. “We didn’t play the body real well (Friday), but Saturday, we came out better and we took the body at every opportunity and got a better result.”
The better result was MSU’s 5-1 win in the series closer at the Carlson Center. The Spartans (10-3-2 overall, 8-3-1 CCHA) fell behind 1-0 after the first period, but stormed back with five unanswered goals from five players to salvage the series split.
MSU outshot Fairbanks (7-7-0, 3-7-0) 44-37 on Saturday, although Mason said both teams’ shot totals were inflated somewhat by the scorekeepers.
Koski, who dressed for the third time this season Saturday, notched his first point of the year - an assist on junior defenseman Brad Fast’s game-winning goal.
And about four minutes after Fast’s tally, freshman center Jim Slater padded MSU’s lead to 3-1 with his sixth goal of the season late in the second period.
“It was a very close game until we got a couple of goals like bang, bang, it seemed like,” Fast said.
“Up until that point, it was real close. But I think those goals kind of set them back on their heels a little bit and we took advantage.”
Senior defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, junior left wing Brian Maloney and freshman left wing Mike Lalonde also tallied power-play goals Saturday, as MSU went 3-for-5 with the man-advantage.
But Friday’s loss was a tale of missed opportunities for the Spartans. MSU matched Fairbanks’ total of 31 shots, but freshman left wing Brock Radunske’s goal at 3:37 of the second period was the only one that eluded Nanook goaltender Lance Mayes.
Fairbanks scored the game’s final two goals, including the game-winner from Nanook center Jason Grinevitch that beat MSU junior goaltender Ryan Miller with 3:43 to play. Miller made 28 saves Friday and 36 Saturday.
“They came well-prepared both nights,” Fast said. “They stuck to their systems really well. We knew they had a strong team, but I think we were surprised a little by their speed.
“We didn’t really play a bad game, but our execution wasn’t completely there.”
Late in Friday’s loss, MSU freshman center Ash Goldie had a goal waved off that would have knotted the game at 2-2 and probably forced an overtime.
But referee Brian Aaron had whistled the play dead before Goldie’s shot slid underneath Mayes and into the net with 34 seconds left in regulation and MSU didn’t protest the decision.
“No one’s really complaining about it, so I’m assuming it didn’t go in,” Koski said.
So MSU, which was swept at No. 11 Nebraska-Omaha in October, is 1-3-0 away from East Lansing this season.
And, with a series at No. 8 Northern Michigan looming next weekend, things won’t get much easier.
“It’s not for lack of effort,” Mason said. “And it’s not like we’re playing easy teams.
“Obviously, every team is better at home and Fairbanks has a heck of a home-ice advantage (with an Olympic-size rink). The adjustment to playing on the big surface was dramatic for us Friday night. They came out and played an unbelievable 60 minutes of hockey, and we still had a chance to win.”
Mason said MSU’s successful rebound in Saturday’s game was all he could hope for, given the circumstances.
“I’m happy we got two points,” he said.
“You need to get points on the road, and I’ll take two points coming up here.”
