The No. 10 MSU hockey team let two games slip away last weekend.
After jumping out to a 2-0 lead at Notre Dame on Friday, the Spartans let the Irish back in the game — eventually losing 5-2.
Then on Saturday, MSU took a commanding 3-0 lead on Notre Dame, just to watch it slip away. But MSU was able to score a game-tying goal late in the third period to force overtime and a shootout, which the Spartans won.
MSU head coach Rick Comley talks about his team’s disappointing weekend performance, his new shootout strategy and the rest of the Spartans’ schedule.
At the midway point of both games against Notre Dame this past weekend, it seemed the No. 10 MSU hockey team had each game locked up.
The Spartans sported a 2-0 lead Friday at Notre Dame, then jumped out to an early 3-0 lead Saturday at Munn Ice Arena.
Yet both nights the Spartans saw their leads slip away — losing 5-2 Friday and scoring a late game-tying goal Saturday to force a shootout, which the Spartans won for the first time in four shootout attempts.
“The way Saturday’s game ended, it was a real high and you felt good,” MSU head coach Rick Comley said. “Then you reflect back on it and we let something get away a little bit.”
Even when the wheels were falling off in the latter portions of both games, Comley never thought his team was completely out of it.
“They are pretty resilient,” Comley said. “There were good comments on the bench. I like to see them in different games where they are challenged in different ways. As you go down the stretch, there’s nothing easy and you never know what’s going to come up.”
It’s a much different feeling than what the Spartans experienced last season.
“Last year, if we gave up two (goals), it was over,” Comley said. “So you could reach a panic point early in the game. But I think our guys honestly believe we can score goals and we can prevent goals. That’s a nice scenario to have.”
Still streakin’
Sophomore forward Brett Perlini has continued his tear for the Spartans.
Perlini played in only one game prior to being inserted into the lineup on Dec. 12 against Bowling Green. Since then, Perlini has dressed in eight straight games — posting a 5-3-8 scoring line and winning the Great Lakes Invitational MVP along the way.
The fourth-line center tacked on a goal in both games against Notre Dame last weekend. Comley was especially impressed with his goal Friday.
“(Junior forward Corey Tropp) and Perlini are the only ones that could put that shot at that time on goal,” Comley said.
With Perlini’s current hot streak, Comley said he wouldn’t “consider having him out of the lineup.”
But that doesn’t mean Perlini is taking team practices lightly.
“Hopefully I force (coach’s) hand so he can’t take me out of the lineup,” Perlini said. “That’s basically what I’ve been trying to do — just play hard and keep my spot in the lineup and keep things going.”
Home crowd love
Saturday’s rivalry game against Notre Dame featured the second biggest crowd of the season at Munn Ice Arena.
The Spartans said it made a difference.
When freshman forward Derek Grant scored the game-tying goal for the Spartans with less than three minutes left in regulation, the MSU fans went nuts.
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“It was almost like we couldn’t lose,” freshman defenseman Matt Grassi said of Grant’s goal. “We couldn’t let the crowd down.”
So far this season, the Spartans are 7-2-4 in the home barn and will look to build on that number when Ohio State comes to East Lansing for a two-game series this weekend.
“Defending your home ice is so important,” Comley said. “Good teams do that. It’s your building, and you can’t afford to lose games here. We are trying to build crowds back and winning helps with that.”
