Even with a boatload of history on its side, the MSU hockey team couldn't pull off a much-needed victory over Miami (Ohio) on Friday at Munn Ice Arena.
Instead, Miami won in East Lansing for the first time since 1997, and snapped MSU's seven-game unbeaten streak with a 5-3 victory. The RedHawks scored first Friday and never trailed as they amassed their highest goal total against MSU in more than seven years.
Miami's star forwards, Mike Kompon and Greg Hogeboom, had a total of three goals and two assists to lift the RedHawks to 16-11-2 overall and 10-9-2 in the CCHA.
MSU (14-10-2, 10-7-1) got a goal and an assist from senior defenseman John-Michael Liles and sophomore forward Brock Radunske, but it wasn't enough to overcome the feisty RedHawks.
The teams finish their two-game series at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Munn.
MSU sophomore goaltender Matt Migliaccio made 20 saves Friday, while his counterpart, Miami goalie David Burleigh, stopped 37 shots.
Migliaccio was shaky early in the game, but the Spartans only trailed 3-2 heading into the third period. The back-breaking goal came on a Miami power play midway through the third.
With MSU sophomore center Jim Slater serving a charging penalty, Kompon took the puck in the slot and circled all the way out to the right point. Two of the four Spartans on the ice chased him out there, leaving defenseman Andy Greene alone low in the right circle. With plenty of time, Greene made a perfect shot over Migliaccio's left shoulder to put the RedHawks up 4-2.
Miami then held MSU at bay until Liles tallied a power-play marker with 58.8 seconds to play. Before the play, MSU head coach Rick Comley pulled Migliaccio for an extra attacker, making it 6-on-4. Radunske then carried the puck around the net and then fired it in front, where Liles was waiting to lift a backhand over Burleigh for his 10th goal of the year.
But MSU couldn't get another quality scoring chance, and Kompon netted an empty-net goal with six seconds remaining to make it 5-3.
Overall, MSU went 3-for-6 on the power play Friday, while the RedHawks were 2-for-4.
Both teams took advantage of their first power plays of the game, with Miami scoring at 3:44 of the first and MSU tying it 68 seconds later.
Hogeboom notched his league-leading 14th power-play goal of the season after barely avoiding going off-side at the blue line. He took a long lead pass from center Chris Michael and was in alone on Migliaccio.
His first shot went wide, but the puck came back to him off the end board, and he slipped it under Migliaccio as the goalie tried to dive back into position.
Just more than a minute later, MSU senior left wing Brian Maloney evened the score with his fifth goal in the last five games. Burleigh dropped Liles' point shot, and Maloney was there to pound home the rebound.
But Miami retook the lead with 4:03 left in the first as defenseman Stephen Dennis' slapper from the point eluded Migliaccio low on the glove-side.
Kompon, the CCHA's second-leading scorer, put the RedHawks up 3-1 a little more than seven minutes into the second. Migliaccio directed Hogeboom's tough-angle shot into the slot with his blocker, but Kompon was lurking there and he beat Migliaccio along the ice. Kompon has 38 points this season.
Radunske brought the Spartans back to 3-2 with a power-play goal at 18:20 of the second. From the right circle, Radunske slipped a wrister between Burleigh's legs for his seventh goal of the year.
But, in the end, the Spartans didn't have enough firepower to overcome Miami's lead in the third period.
Personnel: As has been the norm for the last month, the Spartans scratched senior right wing Kris Koski, sophomore right wing Steve Swistak and freshman right wing Chad Hontvet on Friday.
