Albany, N.Y. — The quest to the Frozen Four came to an end for the top-seeded MSU hockey team on Sunday when it fell, 5-4, to Maine in the NCAA East Regional Finals.
"It was a game that lived up to the game we all thought it would be," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "Those kids gave every ounce they had."
Maine's Matt Duffy and John Hopson scored off redirections early in the game to put the Spartans down quickly, 2-0. Comley used his timeout following Maine's second goal in an attempt to rally his team.
"We were just trying to put some positive thoughts back into their heads," he said. "We worked so hard to get here and we've improved so much and we've been on such a good upbeat run.
"I knew going in that they (Maine) were going to put it at the net with wrist shots and tips — that's what they do so very well."
Although Maine got a third goal — on another deflection — the Spartans were able to convert on the power play when freshman forward Tim Crowder poked the puck past 6-foot-7 Maine goaltender Ben Bishop, cutting the deficit to 3-1 after the first period.
"They got the jump on us, and then I thought our kids settled down and played great," Comley said.
The Black Bears beat freshman goaltender Jeff Lerg 3:35 into the second period to go up 4-1, but Crowder scored another on the power play to cut the deficit to two goals again.
Then, with one minute to go in the second period, sophomore forward Jim McKenzie scored to cut Maine's lead to 4-3.
"I just have so much respect for our seniors and our kids and the battle and spirit that they had," Comley said. "It would have been so easy for that game to turn into like a 9-2 game."
The Spartans nearly tied it up several times in the third period. The best chance came off the stick of senior forward Colton Fretter on a wraparound attempt.
"I came around and I tried to stuff it actually and the goalie made the save with his pad and it was laying there," Fretter said. "(I) jammed at it again, and it just popped up and went across, hit the crossbar and fell right in the crease."
With Lerg pulled for an extra attacker late in the third period, Maine scored to take a 5-3 lead.
MSU continued to press and scored a late goal, but the Black Bears skated away with the 5-4 win and a Frozen Four berth.
"To advance past Michigan State was special," Maine head coach Tim Whitehead said. "We had our hands full."
Despite being outshot 17-12 in the first period, MSU finished the game with a 37-34 advantage. Bishop finished the game with 33 saves and Lerg, who is more than a foot shorter than his Maine counterpart, stopped 29 shots.
"Somebody just said to me and I think it's true, 'We just ran out of time,' and that's not to discredit Maine," Comley said.
Eric Fish can be reached at fisheric@msu.edu.
