It wasn't as easy as Friday night, but the MSU hockey team locked up a trip to Detroit with a 3-1 win over Alaska-Fairbanks on Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena.
The win gave No. 4 seed MSU a first-round CCHA Tournament series sweep over the No. 9 seed Nanooks. The Spartans (23-13-2) won the series-opener, 11-1, on Friday.
Fairbanks (15-14-7) was much more accountable defensively Saturday than in the opening-game rout. The Nanooks didn't give MSU nearly as much open ice to work with, and they did a better job of clogging the passing lanes, but it still wasn't enough.
MSU sophomore goaltender Matt Migliaccio was rock solid Saturday, making 35 saves in what MSU head coach Rick Comley said was his best game of the season. Offensively, the Spartans scored two goals in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and claim the series.
"I think tonight was what we all expected to see," Comley said. "That was the way Fairbanks has been playing the last couple of months. I think last night was more of an aberration.
"Their kids played with desperation, our kids played hard, and it was a good hockey game."
By disposing of Fairbanks, MSU advanced to the CCHA Super Six finals in Detroit. The Spartans will play No. 5 seed Northern Michigan (20-16-2) in a quarterfinal at 7:35 p.m. Thursday at Joe Louis Arena. The Wildcats swept Western Michigan in the first round.
On Saturday, senior left wing Brian Maloney and junior forward Tim Hearon both scored third-period goals to propel MSU to victory. It was the final game at Munn for both players.
Nanook goalie Lance Mayes made 14 saves in the first 24 minutes of Saturday's game. But he was run over by MSU sophomore center Jim Slater and injured his ankle early in the second period.
Mayes went to the bench during the next play stoppage, and he was replaced by Preston McKay. McKay stopped 22 shots the rest of the way.
Fairbanks actually staked its first lead of the series on a goal by left wing Cory Rask at 14:14 of the first period. Rask's soft wrister from outside the left circle appeared to hit a Spartan in front and deflect over a kneeling Migliaccio.
The goal capped a shoddy defensive effort by MSU in the first 15 minutes. Migliaccio had to make several early saves, including a pair on point-blank chances by left wing Ryan Campbell, just to keep the Spartans in it.
But despite not playing very well, MSU was still tied at intermission - thanks to center Lee Falardeau's seventh goal in eight games.
Senior defenseman John-Michael Liles ripped 45-footer that Mayes stopped, but the goalie kicked the rebound into the slot. Falardeau was there, and he whacked a low shot that ducked around Mayes' glove at 17:45.
"I was just trying to get it off as quick as possible," Falardeau said. "We were working it around down low for a while and then I just got the puck to Liles and went to the net."
The second period was scoreless, despite good chances both ways. Nanook center Jared Sylvestre got the puck through Migliaccio's five-hole on a mini-breakaway seven minutes into the frame, but the goalie got just enough of it to have it die short of the goal line.
In the third, Maloney tallied the eventual game-winner on a play set up by sophomore forward Brock Radunske at 4:08.
On a late-developing 2-on-1 rush, Radunske dropped the puck to Maloney, who had a clear path to McKay. Maloney faked backhand and went around McKay with a forehand - a move he said he perfected in junior hockey.
"I was talking to (former) coach (Ron) Mason about that, and he was bugging me about never scoring on that move," Maloney said. "It was just the right moment and I suddenly had confidence in my move again."
About six minutes after Maloney's goal, Migliaccio came up with a dramatic save to preserve the lead. The puck popped out of a scrum to his left, and a Fairbanks forward seemed to have an open net on the short-side. In fact, some Nanooks were already celebrating.
But Migliaccio had a surprise in store for them - he nabbed the puck with his glove.
"Usually, that's a sure-goal," Migliaccio said. "I just put my glove down and he shot it into my glove. It was really close, but I was on tonight and things were going great for me."
Hearon iced the game with a marker - his second of the season and of his career - at 12:52. Skating across the slot, Hearon got a stick on junior defenseman Joe Markusen's point shot and sent the puck bounding past McKay on the far side.
Sylvestre had another chance for Fairbanks with two minutes to play, but Migliaccio closed his five-hole on Sylvestre's point-blank backhand attempt.
But even with the win, there was also some bad news for MSU on Saturday.
Sophomore right wing Mike Lalonde injured his right knee as he crashed awkwardly into the boards near the penalty box about five minutes into the game. He didn't return, and team officials didn't specify his injury or give a timetable for his recovery.
He watched most of the third period while standing on crutches in the players' tunnel.
MSU went 0-for-2 on the power play Saturday, while Fairbanks was 0-for-4.
Personnel: Comley went with the exact same lineup as Friday night. Both Hearon and senior forward Troy Ferguson, who were shaken up late in game one, were in the lineup Saturday.
