Oxford, Ohio - With fifth-ranked MSU’s league-title hopes hanging in the balance, its talented top line carried the Spartans to a dramatic 4-3 victory over Miami (Ohio) on Saturday at Goggin Ice Arena.
Junior left wing Brian Maloney tallied the game-winning goal with 50.9 seconds left. He and senior right wing Adam Hall each tallied four points and freshman center Jim Slater notched two as the Spartans avoided a catastrophe in southern Ohio.
After beating Miami 3-1 in the series opener Friday, MSU led by the same score after the first period Saturday. But the Spartans allowed the RedHawks to tie the game by the second intermission and looked to be headed for overtime until Maloney’s last-minute goal.
But with the sweep, MSU (23-6-5 overall, 17-5-4 CCHA) still controls its destiny for the CCHA title. The Spartans are tied atop the league standings with Michigan, which swept Ohio State at home during the weekend.
Both teams have two regular-season games left. MSU plays a home-and-home series with Ferris State this weekend, while U-M has a home-and-home with Western Michigan.
“This was a good win for us to keep us in the thick of things,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said Saturday. “We know that if we win out, we have a share of the title. It’s as simple as that.
“We had to do it down here the hard way. Now we have to go to Ferris and see what we can do over there. It’s just one step at a time.”
Maloney’s game-winner came on a slower-than-usual slap shot from about 30 feet that went between the legs of Miami goaltender David Burleigh.
“I think the goalie was kind of shocked because their D-man came over and kind of jammed my stick, but I was able to muscle the shot through his stick,” said Maloney, who has one of the hardest slap shots on the team. “(Burleigh) was making some good saves high, so the last couple of shots were down low and the last one went through.”
In the high-scoring first period, Hall notched two goals, while Slater scored one and assisted on Hall’s first tally.
At the other end of the ice, junior goaltender Ryan Miller stopped 33 shots on Saturday. But he and the Spartans had luck on their side. Miami center Nick Jardine, who scored earlier in the game, tipped a shot past Miller seconds after the final horn sounded.
Referee Mark Wilkins immediately waved the goal off and the RedHawks (11-19-2, 8-16-2) lost their sixth straight game.
Mason said he was impressed with 10th-place Miami’s play.
“They played tonight, in that second period, as good as any team we’ve played against all year,” he said. “This was a team that, if they play the way they did tonight every game, they wouldn’t be where they are.
“We won a lot of games like this last year. Last year’s team had the character that hopefully this team is developing - keep playing and don’t panic.”
Hall, the team captain, was also proud of MSU’s resilience after blowing the two-goal lead.
“This team never gives up, it always plays right to the buzzer and tonight, the buzzer came right on time,” Hall said.
On Friday, freshman center Ash Goldie and freshman forward Mike Lalonde scored power play goals for MSU and junior right wing Steve Jackson tallied in the third period. Miller made 30 saves.
Miami scored with 7:08 left in Friday’s game, snapping an amazing defensive streak by MSU. Before the goal, tipped in by RedHawk left wing Danny Stewart, Miami had gone 344:59 minutes of hockey without scoring against MSU, dating to March 11, 2000.
The Spartans amassed four straight shutouts and more than 16 periods of shutout hockey during the stretch.
“I knew we had a few (shutout) games,” Miller said Friday. “You guys (media) made me aware of that. But you know, eventually they’re going to score, you can’t hold out forever. It’s not a big deal.”
