Fifth-ranked MSU did what it could to win a share of the CCHA title Saturday - the last night of the regular season - but the second-to-last night came back to haunt them.
The Spartans had to battle for everything Saturday and eventually muscled their way to a 2-0 win over Ferris State in front of 6,983 fans at Munn Ice Arena - the largest crowd at Munn this season.
But MSU missed out on the CCHA title when archrival Michigan beat Western Michigan 6-2 in Kalamazoo on Saturday. The rivals entered the weekend tied atop the CCHA standings, but U-M surged ahead when MSU lost 3-2 at Ferris’ Ewigleben Ice Arena on Friday.
The Wolverines swept a home-and-home series from the Broncos.
“If anything, this will get the guys a little hungrier going into the playoffs,” senior left wing Joe Goodenow said.
MSU (24-7-5 overall, 18-6-4 CCHA) will be the No. 2 seed in the CCHA Tournament, which starts Friday. The Spartans host 11th-seeded Bowling Green in the best-of-three first round at Munn Ice Arena.
Ferris (15-18-1, 12-15-1) ends up in ninth place in the CCHA and will play fourth-seeded Alaska-Fairbanks in the first round. But they might do so without left wing Chris Kunitz, the CCHA’s leading goal-scorer, who was injured in a knee-to-knee collision in the first period.
Some postgame comments alluded to him being out for the season.
Saturday’s game was a tense affair, particularly for the favored Spartans who couldn’t get much offense going against the Bulldogs for the first two periods.
MSU finally overcame its offensive lull when Goodenow, playing his final regular-season game at Munn, took advantage of an MSU power play and scored 5:13 into the third period.
On MSU’s sixth man-advantage of the game, Goodenow gathered the puck behind the net to Ferris goaltender Mike Brown’s left and fought through a Bulldog defender to the front of the net. There, he slid a shot that got past Brown, hit Bulldog defenseman Simon Mangos and went into the net.
“It was a tough play - the guy was all over me and it was all I could do to get it to the net,” Goodenow said of his 11th goal of the season. “Lucky for me, it bounced in.”
Freshman center Ash Goldie scored with 8:13 left to help MSU seal the win. He beat Brown glove-side with a quick shot from the slot for his eighth goal of the season.
Junior goaltender Ryan Miller made 16 saves Saturday to extend his NCAA record to 26 career shutouts. Brown stopped 27 for Ferris.
After going 1-for-10 with a man-advantage in Friday’s loss, MSU struggled again Saturday. The Spartans failed on both of their power-play chances in the first, and three more times in the second stanza.
MSU head coach Ron Mason, who’s known for his usually stoic demeanor, was becoming visibly frustrated behind the Spartan bench with each successive power play gaffe. MSU’s fourth power play chance, which came late in the second period, was the epitome of ineffectiveness as the Spartans didn’t generate a single shot on goal and hardly even controlled the puck in the Ferris zone.
MSU finished 1-for-7 on the power play Saturday after right wing Adam Hall missed a penalty shot with 36.1 seconds left.
The first three minutes of the third period further frustrated the Spartans, as Goldie and freshman center Jim Slater each rang shots off the goal posts. But Goodenow soon broke through and gave MSU the lead for good.
Before Saturday’s face-off, the crowd honored five Spartans on Senior Night.
Team captain Hall, Goodenow, goaltender Nathan Shopbell and defensemen Andrew Hutchinson and Jon Insana all had their career highlights read over the public address system, before taking individual spotlighted laps around the rink.
“When they start reading your stats over the past four years and all the accomplishments of the team and of the past teams, all the memories come flooding back,” Hall said. “It’s an emotionally charged moment.”
Personnel: Shopbell dressed for the second time in his career Saturday, but did not play.
He has been the Spartans’ varsity “practice goalie” for the past two seasons after playing three years on the MSU club team. Shopbell also dressed on Feb. 10 last season against Alaska-Fairbanks, but did not play.
Freshman center Lee Falardeau played Saturday after missing Friday’s loss with the flu. His return bumped junior forward Troy Ferguson back down to the fourth line.
Redshirt freshman right wing Steve Swistak also played on the fourth line Saturday - his third time in the MSU lineup this season. To make room for Falardeau and Swistak, sophomore center Tim Hearon and junior right wing Kris Koski were healthy scratches Saturday.
Injury scare: MSU freshman left wing Kevin Estrada limped off the ice and into the locker room after a first-period check, but returned later in the period.
Mason tribute: Mason, who coached his final regular-season game at Munn on Saturday, was the subject of a postgame ceremony. He addressed the crowd, thanking them for years of loyal support after a video highlight reel of his career was shown.
Mason is stepping down as coach after this season - his 23rd at MSU - to become the university’s athletics director.
“It was pretty neat that everyone stayed around,” Mason said. “You never think this is going to end.
“This was kind of a finality with myself and the fans, having a chance to address the fans. I know a lot of these people because they’ve been here for 23 years and they came back when we weren’t winning.”
