Junior defenseman Joe Markusen’s name usually doesn’t spring to mind when listing the offensive threats on the MSU hockey team.
But the light-scoring blueliner made a huge play late for the Spartans in Friday’s game against Lake Superior State at Munn Ice Arena.
With the score tied 2-2 and the clock winding down in the third period, Markusen corralled a high pass from sophomore defenseman Duncan Keith at the point and fired a long feed to sophomore forward Brock Radunske at the side of the crease.
From there, Radunske simply guided the puck into the mostly open net to lift the Spartans to a 3-2 victory with 2.7 seconds left.
“I knew he was in the area,” Markusen said of Radunske. “When you’re down to the final seconds, you know intuitively that all the guys are going to head to the net when the puck’s up top.
“So I just sent it in and Brock was right there. It was good for us to get a win like that.”
As it turned out, the Spartans (4-2-0 overall, 3-1-0 CCHA) were fortunate to get a win at all Friday.
MSU led 2-0 heading into the last two-and-a-half minutes, but the Lakers (3-3-0, 0-2-0) scored a power play goal with 2:05 remaining and then tied the game with their goalie pulled and 56 seconds left.
Both goals developed when Laker left wing Jon Booras redirected long shots from right wing Aaron Davis into the net. MSU sophomore goaltender Matt Migliaccio, who made 16 saves Friday, had little chance on either play.
But though the Lakers clearly had the momentum as the game edged toward overtime, the Markusen-Radunske connection saved the day for MSU.
“The Lake State players were just kind of scrambling around, so I went to the side of the net,” Radunske said. “Markusen made a heads-up play and I just tapped it in. It was really all his work.
“It’s not too many times that you score with two seconds left, so I thought I’d do a little something special for the fans.”
Radunske’s “something special” was a chaotic celebration that evolved into a massive pileup on the Spartans’ bench. Sophomore center Jim Slater said he had “no idea” what Radunske was attempting to accomplish with his revelry.
“I don’t know what he was doing,” Slater said. “I don’t think he knew what he was doing. As soon as he came to the bench, we just grabbed him.”
MSU head coach Rick Comley was much more stoic in his assessment of the game, but he was just as pleased as the players with the dramatic finish.
“It was a game we deserved to win - we played better than last night” Comley said, referring to Thursday’s 7-0 victory. “We let a game that we completely dominated get away and then we got a win, so everyone kind of leaves on a high.
“It was a great emotional win. We could have won 5-0 or 6-0 and I think we would have been happy with it, but I think this makes you feel better, being able to pull one out like that.”
The Spartans’ first two goals Friday were special teams tallies by senior defenseman Brad Fast and sophomore forward Lee Falardeau. Fast scored on the power play in the first period to extend his goal-scoring streak to four games and push his team-leading goal total to six.
Falardeau scored for the first time this season with a short-handed tally early in the third period. MSU outshot the Lakers 40-18 on Friday.
The Spartans are now on a bye week. Their next action will be a home series against Niagara on Nov. 8-9.
