Senior forward Bryan Lerg celebrates with teammates after a goal in Saturday’s win over Northern Michigan.
The No. 8 MSU hockey team did what it needed to do this weekend, sweeping an out-gunned Northern Michigan team at Munn Ice Arena.
The Spartans went up 5-1 on Friday before holding on for a 5-4 win and used an explosive power play to notch three goals for a 3-2 win Saturday.
“We have good people, so our power play should be very effective and very good,” MSU head coach Rick Comley said.
Manning the point on the second power play unit, sophomore defenseman Michael Ratchuk and junior forward Nick Sucharski combined for four points with some creative, pinpoint passing.
Needing to get an early jump after surrendering three goals in the third period Friday, the Spartans jumped on Northern Michigan early, as senior captain Bryan Lerg scored his first goal of the year 99 seconds into the game.
Ratchuk passed to Sucharski who sent a crisp cross-ice pass to Lerg and he slammed it home.
“Sucharski, I thought, played tremendous tonight,” Comley said. “The pass he made on that first goal was a great pass.”
MSU took a 2-0 lead on a first-period goal by junior forward Tim Kennedy, but the Wildcats battled, and when MSU took what Comley called “sloppy penalties” in the second period, Northern Michigan took advantage.
The Wildcats’ leading scorer, Nick Sirota, scored off a cross-ice feed to make it 2-1 late in the period, as Northern Michigan was finally able to put one past junior goaltender Jeff Lerg after hitting the post twice earlier in the period.
“They could’ve had three or four in the second period,” Comley said.
The Wildcats outshot the Spartans 15-7 in the period and 35-26 for the game.
“Mostly in the second period is when they had all their quality scoring chances,” Jeff Lerg said.
“They were just throwing it at the net from everywhere, looking for rebounds, trying to crash the net that way.”
Northern Michigan tied the game at the 7:43 mark of the third period on another power play goal as Jared Brown’s shot went off of freshman defenseman Jeff Petry and into the goal.
It didn’t take long for the Spartans to respond, though, as 54 seconds later Ratchuk scored a power play goal to give MSU the lead once again, 3-2.
“I just wound up and took it and as it was flying it was dead silent,” Ratchuk said, “and I’m just sitting there, my shot is two miles-per-hour and it’s dead silent and finally it hits the net and goes in and I lost it. It was awesome.”
From there, MSU was able to hold off the Wildcats, especially in the final minute of the game, as Northern Michigan goaltender Derek Janzen was unable to get to the bench for the extra attacker until there were less than 25 seconds left, mainly due to the efforts of freshman forward Dustin Gazley, who worked to keep control of the puck deep in Northern Michigan territory.
“He was just battling,” Jeff Lerg said.
“It was really awesome to see because he controlled the whole clock and the play — everything you could ask because that’s why you try to do the last couple minutes. Whether you’re a senior or a freshman, it’s one of those plays we have to have.”
While the Spartans did come away with two wins, they lost senior defenseman Jeff Dunne indefinitely with a sprained knee.
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Dunne suffered the injury when he was hit from behind by Northern Michigan’s Matt Siddall in the second period.
Siddall was assessed a five minute major for checking from behind and a gross misconduct penalty.
Two Siddall penalties also led to MSU’s first two goals, as he was whistled for elbowing and boarding in the first period.
