Sault Ste. Marie - Rarely is a win over Lake Superior State a cause for celebration. But on Saturday night, it was exactly what MSU needed.
The Lakers (4-15-1 overall, 1-13-0 CCHA) are pretty much an afterthought in the CCHA. Victories against them are almost a given.
But the Lakers smacked the Spartans, 7-1, for their first league win on Friday night, so the Spartans knew they needed to put on an impressive performance Saturday to salvage a series split and some pride.
They accomplished both of those tasks with a 6-0 victory at Taffy Abel Arena.
MSU (9-9-1, 5-6-0) got goals from four different freshmen, and the second career shutout by sophomore goaltender Matt Migliaccio helped bring its overall record back to the .500 mark.
Migliaccio's start was his first since Dec. 28. Freshman Justin Tobe had started the previous two games, although Migliaccio relieved him in the second period Friday.
On Saturday, Migliaccio made 21 saves in his best performance in more than a month. His only other career shutout was against the Lakers on Oct. 24.
In front of Migliaccio, the Spartans played an energized game in which they out-skated and out-checked Lake Superior.
And the MSU players on the bench were more boisterous than usual, shouting words of encouragement to their teammates on the ice throughout the game.
MSU officially outshot the Lakers 19-1 in the first period, although, unofficially, Migliaccio appeared to be tested with three shots.
Offensively, MSU freshman left wing David Booth notched the only goal of the first frame - a power-play tally at 6:18. Senior defenseman John-Michael Liles started the play by firing a long shot that was deflected in front of the net before hitting the left post.
Booth poked the puck through a crowd of players and past Laker goaltender Matt Violin for his team-leading ninth goal of the year.
Booth was also part of one of MSU's best offensive rushes of the season when he, sophomore center Jim Slater and sophomore forward Mike Lalonde flew into the Laker zone with speed few have seen displayed by MSU this year. However, Lalonde was stoned by Violin at the end of the attack.
Freshman right wing Colton Fretter doubled MSU's lead to 2-0 at 16:20 of the second period with his third goal of the season. Booth was actually hooked by a Laker defenseman as he carried the puck into the zone - a penalty was upcoming - but Booth was strong enough to keep possession of the puck.
He dropped a pass to senior defenseman Brad Fast, who blasted a shot that Fretter tipped around Violin.
Freshman right wing Nenad Gajic opened a four-goal third period with a laser-like slap shot that beat Violin's glove to make it 3-0.
Lalonde then knocked in a power-play goal at 5:18 and a short-handed, empty-net marker at 10:47. Laker head coach Frank Anzalone had pulled his goalie to get a 6-on-4 advantage.
Freshman defenseman Jared Nightingale completed the scoring with his first career goal at 12:31. His wrist shot from the point rang of the left post and in, finishing off MSU's prolific offensive night.
MSU went 2-for-4 on the power play Saturday, while the Lakers went 0-for-5. Violin turned away 34 shots.
The Spartans' next action is a home series against Alaska-Fairbanks on Friday and Saturday.
Personnel: Junior forward Tim Hearon returned to the lineup Saturday, replacing senior right wing Kris Koski on the fourth line.
Also, Lalonde was demoted from the first to the third line for Saturday's game. Fretter replaced him on the top line.
For more Spartan hockey coverage please see Monday's edition of The State News.
