Offense was the name of the game at the hockey team’s annual Green and White intrasquad scrimmage Friday.
Ultimately, the Green team, guided by freshman goaltender Justin Tobe, prevailed, 10-5. But the score is quite misleading given the unusual nature of the game.
The first period was a normal 20 minutes of hockey, with the Green team taking a 2-1 lead into intermission, thanks to goals by sophomore center Jim Slater and senior forward Troy Ferguson. The second period was much odder, because of a scheme by MSU head coach Rick Comley to put the two squad in various special-teams modes.
A large chunk of the period was played 5-on-4, while five minutes was devoted to 3-on-3 play.
The net result of the stop-and-start second period was a 6-4 Green lead heading into a game-ending shootout. In the shootout, the Green team converted four of its seven chances against White sophomore goalie Matt Migliaccio.
Senior defenseman John-Michael Liles scored the White team’s only goal in the shootout, as Tobe turned away the other six attackers.
Offensively, MSU’s talented sophomore class carried most of the load Friday. Left wing Kevin Estrada and right wing Mike Lalonde both scored twice, while Slater and center Ash Goldie each potted one. Defenseman Duncan Keith tallied two assists.
But the strange format of the game made it hard for the average fan to gauge MSU’s strengths.
The easiest thing to see was that Tobe, who stopped 25 of 29 shots, played better than Migliaccio, who made 17 saves on 23 shots. Migliaccio was beaten five-hole three times during the shootout and also let in soft goals to Lalonde and Estrada in the second.
MSU head coach Rick Comley acknowledged that Migliaccio struggled, but he said he hadn’t decided on a starter for Saturday’s exhibition game against the Under-18 U.S. National Development Team.
That game faces off at 7:05 p.m. in Munn Ice Arena.
Personnel: Senior right wing Kris Koski (shoulder) and freshman forward
Freshman foward Colton Fretter (mononucleosis) did not play Friday. Comley said he doesn’t know Koski’s exact diagnosis, but the player could be out for two or three weeks.
There is no timetable for Fretter’s return.
To fill out the rosters for Friday’s game, six nonvarsity players suited up. They included MSU club team members Brian Sommeriva and Brendan Schnurr, and hockey student managers Bill Scott and Tim Mayer. Schnurr picked up an assist in the first period.
