Back of the net
A break down of the goals scored by the MSU hockey team so far this season.
A break down of the goals scored by the MSU hockey team so far this season.
And there’s two more losses for the Spartans, (7-18-3 overall, 5-14-1-0 CCHA) albeit this weekend’s might have stung a little more than usual.
After Saturday night’s game, Chris Forfar said somebody could have heard a pin drop in the MSU hockey locker room.
For the third time this season, MSU hockey got beaten by Michigan in the third period. Heading into the final period with a 1-1 tie, the Wolverines bested the Spartans and came out on top, 3-2, Friday night at Yost Ice Arena.
Most MSU student-athletes get the opportunity to face rival Michigan once, maybe twice, a season. After this weekend draws to a close, MSU hockey (7-17-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA) will have gotten its fifth.
At five-foot-eight, Michael Ferrantino might not be the biggest player to step on the ice each game, but he is determined to be the hardest working.
This season, Tom Anastos has juggled lines and mixed and matched players in hopes of finding something that sticks, sometimes being forced into changes because of lingering injuries.
In a weekend when MSU hockey generated more goals than it had since early November, the offense still wasn’t enough for the Spartans, who split their series with Penn State.
After Friday night’s victory, the MSU hockey team finally was gaining a bit of confidence back to a struggling season. Saturday night, that confidence was taken right back with a 3-2 win by Penn State) over the Spartans (7-16-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA). MSU carried over its offense from Friday’s 5-3 victory into Saturday’s first period, and it was Spartan defenseman who got MSU on the board. Sophomore RJ Boyd and senior Matt Grassi netted two very similar goals about two and a half minutes apart in the first frame. Both took slapshots that made their way into the net above Penn State goaltender Matthew Skoff’s glove hand — Boyd from the left point and Grassi from the right. That goal was Grassi’s first of the season. “It was nice,” Grassi said.
Penn State hockey got the better of MSU on Saturday night when the Nittany Lions overtook the Spartans, 3-2.
In a preview of future Big Ten play, MSU and Penn State hockey took the ice for the first time against each other, in which MSU came out on top, 5-3.
As the MSU hockey program prepares for its first-ever meeting with Penn State this weekend, Jake Hildebrand has more personal matters on his mind. The freshman goaltender for the Spartans (6-15-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA) will take the crease opposite Matthew Skoff, a Penn State (9-12-0) goaltender and close friend of Hildebrand’s.
With losses aplenty for the MSU hockey team, Tom Anastos holds to the belief that his team doesn’t lose because of a lack of effort. The head coach believes the Spartans (6-15-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA ) are failing to convert games into wins because of a lack of execution.
Following a 3-0 loss to the U.S. U-18 National Team Development Program, the MSU hockey locker room was filled with tension. Despite being an exhibition loss, the Spartans (6-15-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA) loss to the U.S. was as frustrating as any, and it was apparent the players felt that way after the game.
In a midseason exhibition game, the MSU hockey team took on the U.S. U-18 National Team Development Program, in which MSU lost 3-0. U.S.
It was the same old song and dance for the MSU hockey team this weekend when they were swept two games in a row by Ferris State.
Friday night was the third time in just more than a month MSU and Ferris State hockey have taken the ice against each other, and the Bulldogs gave the Spartans exactly what they were expecting. This game, for the second time a row, Ferris State (11-9-3 overall, 9-7-1-0 CCHA) was victorious over MSU (6-14-3 overall, 5-11-1-0 CCHA), coming out on top with a score of 2-1. “They’ve played pretty consistently all three games they’ve played us,” captain and junior forward Greg Wolfe said.
In the third meeting between the two this season, Ferris State beat MSU hockey, 2-1. Ferris State’s Cory Kane got the game rolling with a shot that made its way through MSU freshman goaltender Jake Hildebrand’s five-hole about midway through the first period.
Nov. 3, 2011, began as an average day for Branden Carney. He climbed out of bed, headed to Munn Ice Arena, chatted with teammates and took the ice for hockey practice.
The MSU hockey team got a taste of sweet victory last weekend, and as Travis Walsh put it, when you get a taste of something good, you’re going to want more.