It was yet another odd weekend for the MSU hockey team.
After routing No. 2 Wisconsin 4-0 on Friday, the Spartans had the favor returned to them by No. 3 Minnesota, 5-0, on Saturday in the College Hockey Showcase.
"The first night was a huge, huge win for us," junior defenseman Jared Nightingale said. "It was definitely a positive weekend."
After a 5-1 thrashing of No. 1 Michigan on Friday, combined with the 5-0 win over MSU, Minnesota will most likely be ranked No. 1 in the USCHO.com/CSTV hockey poll. U-M also fell to Wisconsin, 3-1, Saturday.
"Personally, I think they're the best team we've played all year," senior captain Jim Slater said of the Golden Gophers.
Friday, the Spartans were led by Slater and junior forward Colton Fretter, who both chipped in three-point games.
Fretter got MSU started just more than four minutes into the contest by capitalizing on a Wisconsin turnover and ripping a shot from the slot past Wisconsin goaltender Brian Elliott. The goal was unassisted.
The second period showcased MSU's power-play attack, as they scored two goals with the man advantage in the period.
Fretter scored his second of the night on a shot from inside the blue line less than five minutes into the period. It was his team-leading eighth goal of the season. Slater and sophomore forward Tyler Howells assisted on the goal.
"We controlled the puck a lot," Fretter said. "We played good at both ends of the ice and in the neutral zone, that's why we were successful."
Then, less than two minutes later, MSU sophomore forward Drew Miller found the back of the net for the sixth time on the season to put the Spartans up, 3-0. Slater and Fretter picked up the assists.
The goal was enough to send Elliott to the bench in favor of Bernd Br?ckler. Elliott stopped nine shots.
Slater put the game on ice less than 13 minutes into the third period with his third goal in three games from the right faceoff dot. Freshman defenseman Jeff Dunne and junior forward David Booth assisted.
Sophomore goaltender Dominic Vicari stopped 28 shots for the win and shutout.
Things took a turn for the worse for MSU on Friday when sophomore defenseman Ethan Graham and senior forward Mike Lalonde both went down with knee injuries.
"The two injuries we received on Friday certainly hurt us a lot," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "Not having Graham and Mike Lalonde going into that Minnesota game really put us in a precarious position."
Comley said early indications were that both would be out several weeks.
Saturday, though, was a different story, as the Spartans were stung by Minnesota's ability to move the puck well. Once again, turnovers were an issue for MSU.
The Gophers scored all five of their goals during the first half of the game, chasing Vicari from the net in favor of senior Matt Migliaccio. Both made 12 saves.
Minnesota scored two goals in the first period before unleashing three goals in a five-minute span in the second period.
"On the big ice sheet, we just didn't match up well with them at all," Comley said. "Without Graham in there we were very vulnerable defensively to their speed."
Gophers forward Ryan Potulny scored his nation-leading 15th goal of the season.
