Junior forward Chad Hontvet picked the perfect time to score the first two goals of his college career and lead the MSU hockey team to a 2-1 decision over Miami (Ohio) on Friday in game one of the first-round CCHA playoffs.
Early on in the game, the Spartans (18-15-4 overall) found themselves in similar position as it has all season, unable to solve RedHawks goaltender Brandon Crawford-West despite numerous point-blank opportunities and were down 1-0 when Miami tallied a goal on the power play midway through the first period.
MSU came close early in the second on a shorthanded chance when senior captain Jim Slater was stoned on a breakaway.
A penalty on the play put the Spartans back with the man advantage and Hontvet scored the first of his two goals on the night when he redirected a shot from senior forward Ash Goldie to even the score.
"It's been awhile since I scored so there's no better time to start scoring than in playoffs," Hontvet said.
The goal marked Hontvet's first of his college career, and was the first goal he scored since juniors.
Later in the period on another power play, Hontvet found a rebound in front and muscled the puck in the open net to put the Spartans up, 2-1. Hontvet picked up first-star honors on the night.
"Anything you can do to help your team - it was a great night for me and our team," Hontvet said.
Playing a defensive style of third period hockey, MSU shut down the RedHawks' (15-17-5) offense thanks in part to saves from sophomore goaltender Dominic Vicari and hung on for the win.
"In a close game like tha,t you have to take each shot individually and just stay focused," Vicari said of his play down the stretch.
Though he didn't appear on the scoring sheet, Slater won 25 of 27 faceoffs taken to keep Spartans possession.
"You're not really looking for points at this part of the season, you're looking for wins because that's all that really matters," Slater said.
MSU will have the opportunity to advance to the CCHA Super Six at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit with one more win over Miami on Saturday or Sunday.
Faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (if necessary).
