No. 6 MSU, still reeling from a loss to North Dakota in last week’s Great Lakes Invitational, reinforced its ego at the expense of nonconference foe Quinnipiac on Friday at Munn Ice Arena.
The Spartans (14-4-2 overall, 10-3-1 CCHA) netted a 42-15 shot advantage and physically manhandled Quinnipiac in securing the 4-1 victory. MSU junior goaltender Ryan Miller was rarely tested and made 14 saves for the win while the Spartan power play went 2-for-3.
The teams complete their series at 7:05 p.m. today.
Quinnipiac, a Connecticut college that hasn’t used a nickname since the school’s board of trustees terminated “Braves” last month, is the first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponent MSU has played. CCHA teams are now a perfect 11-0-0 against Metro Atlantic schools.
MSU dominated the style and flow of play and outshot Quinnipiac (7-9-1) 14-3 in a penalty-free first period. The Spartans took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission thanks to a breakaway goal by freshman wing Mike Lalonde at the 9:08 mark.
Junior left wing Steve Clark set up the goal with a long outlet pass to Lalonde at the offensive blue line. Lalonde shook Quinnipiac defenseman Ben Blais as he entered the zone and then beat goaltender Justin Eddy cleanly with a backhand for his fifth goal of the season.
Miller opened the second period with two spectacular saves on a Quinnipiac rush, including a diving paddle stop of right wing Tyler Dufour’s wraparound attempt - keeping the game 1-0.
But MSU took a two-goal lead with a power play goal by senior left wing Joe Goodenow moments later.
Quinnipiac center Brandon Schmitt received the game’s first penalty at 2:59 of the middle period and Goodenow notched his sixth goal of the year by knocking in his own rebound from the top of the crease.
Eddy, who made 17 saves, was injured on the play and replaced by Jamie Holden, who stopped 21 shots the rest of the way.
But traffic in front of the net prevented Holden from locating a soft wrist shot by MSU junior defenseman Brad Fast that gave MSU a 3-0 lead in the second. The power play tally, scored at 15:06 of the period, was Fast’s seventh goal of the year.
Miller was 4:48 from his 25th career shutout, but Quinnipiac right wing Ryan Morton broke it up by batting in a rebound in front.
MSU junior defenseman John-Michael Liles answered for the Spartans two minutes later to finish off the scoring. Liles has five goals and three assists in MSU’s last five games.
NEW FOR 2002: Clark dressed for the first time Friday. He was a regular in the Spartan lineup during his first two seasons, but had been a healthy scratch in each of the team’s first 19 games this year.
Clark played on a line with sophomore center Tim Hearon and Lalonde and accumulated an assist and two penalty minutes.
Freshman center Jim Slater is still at the World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic, which made room for Clark in the lineup. Slater will return for MSU’s game against Western Michigan on Jan. 11.
