Friday Night
Michigan used three unanswered goals in the final period, including two in the final five minutes to pull away from Michigan State for a 5-1 victory. Michigan got on the board early scoring a pair of first period goals less than four minutes apart from each other to build a 2-0 lead. Michigan dominated the opening period out-shooting the Spartans 15-5. Michigan State got stronger as the game went along, settling in for a good second period, and Kevin Walrod pulled the Spartans to within one with a late marker. The Spartans out-shot Michigan 13-9 in the middle stanza. The final period Michigan got up 3-1 4:09 into the period on a goal by Derek DeBlois, and that goal seemingly put the game out of reach. Kevin Lynch and Jacob Trouba added the insurance goals late in the period. Will Yanakeff ended the game with 29 saves. Michigan went 1-4 on the power play, and the Spartans went 0-2.
Saturday Night
The season long trend continued, as Michigan State rebounded with an impressive 7-2 victory over Michigan in front of a record crowd at Munn Ice Arena (7,225). It didn't take long for the Spartans to get going as Matt Berry put Michigan State ahead 1-0 just 34 seconds into the game. MSU would score the next two goals as Brent Darnell tallied a power play goal and Anthony Hayes put MSU up 3-0 just 23 seconds after Darnell's goal. The game wasn't seven minutes old, but the Spartans held a 3-0 lead. The wild first period continued as Michigan scored a power play goal at the 7:54 mark, and Matt Berry added his second goal of the game with a power play goal 10:42 into the game. The final period ended with MSU up 4-1. The Spartans out-shot the Wolverines 16-11.
Michigan got the scoring going in the second period, but Matt Berry completed his hat-trick at the 15:08 mark of the second period to give MSU a three goal lead once again. Michigan out-shot the Spartans 16-6 in the middle period.
The final period belonged to Michigan State as Matt DeBlouw and Kevin Walrod rounded out the scoring to give Michigan State the 7-2 victory. Michigan out-shot Michigan State 15-7 in the final period, and freshman Jake Hildebrand made 40 saves for his first career victory over Michigan. The Spartans went 2-7 with the extra man, and Michigan went 1-7.
Around The CCHA
There were no clean sweeps in the CCHA this weekend, though two teams did earn five points. Western Michigan defeated Bowling Green 3-1 on Friday, but they needed a shoot-out on Saturday to earn the extra point. Miami needed a shoot-out on Saturday as well to earn the extra point over Northern, but Miami did earn the full three points on Friday with a 5-2 victory. Lake Superior downed Ferris 4-1 on Friday before the Bulldogs earned the road split the next night 2-1. Ohio State won in a shoot-out over Alaska on Friday, but the Nanooks won 3-1 on Saturday. Finally, in the only non-conference game, the Irish lost at Boston College 3-1 on Friday.
CCHA Standings
| GP | W | L | T | SOW | Points | Total Points Possible | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 161 |
| Alaska | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 160 |
| Notre Dame | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 165 |
| Ferris State | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 159 |
| LSSU | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 159 |
| Michigan State | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 159 |
| Western Michigan | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 164 |
| Michigan | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 156 |
| Ohio State | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 162 |
| Bowling Green | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 156 |
| Northern Michigan | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 155 |
Games This Week:
Thursday
Notre Dame at Michigan
Friday
Ferris State at Bowling Green
Michigan State at Miami
Northern Michigan at Ohio State
Western Michigan at Alaska
Notre Dame at Michigan
Alabama-Huntsville at LSSU
Saturday
Ferris State at Bowling Green
Michigan State at Miami
Northern Michigan at Ohio State
Western Michigan at Alaska
Alabama-Huntsville at LSSU
A tough series awaits Michigan State, as Miami hasn't lost at home yet this season. Besides this series, Notre Dame and Michigan should be a good one to watch as well as Western Michigan and Alaska. The Nanooks quietly sit in second place, so this will be a good test to see if they can contend this season.
CCHA Power Rankings:
1. Western Michigan (5-2-1, LW: 2). The Broncos climb back on top after an unbeaten weekend. A strong road test awaits.
2. Miami (6-2-2, LW: 3). Miami moves up one spot with an undefeated weekend as well.
3. Notre Dame (6-3-0, LW: 3). Critical Pairwise points may have been lost on the East Coast, but the Irish must refocus with a tough league road series this weekend.
4. Alaska (5-3-2, LW: 6). Are the Nanooks for real? We will see this upcoming weekend.
5. Ferris State (4-4-2, LW: 4). The Bulldogs are looking to build a winning streak after another split.
6. LSSU (5-5-0, LW: 8) The Lakers are looking for a bit of consistency as well. A non-conference series that they can build on awaits them.
7. Michigan State (4-5-1, LW: 9). The Spartans move ahead of Michigan based on an 8-7 total goal victory this weekend.
8. Michigan (5-4-0, LW: 5). For a team most people expected to contend for a CCHA and even a national title, the Wolverines have way too many question marks at this point in the season.
9. Northern Michigan (4-4-2, LW: 7). Getting a point in Oxford isn't easy, but the Wildcats are digging a hole early on in the CCHA.
10. Ohio State (2-3-3, LW: 10). Not much really separates most of the CCHA, and the Buckeyes certainly could be higher. They can't afford to give up many home points though.
11. Bowling Green (2-6-3, LW: 11). They put up a fight, but Western just had too much this weekend.
Big Ten Power Rankings:
1. Minnesota (6-2-1, LW: 1). The Gophers continue along their way with a win and tie at Anchorage.
2. Michigan State (4-5-1, LW: 4). The total goal victory moves MSU past Michigan, and I'm still skeptical of Penn State's early success.
3. Michigan (5-4-0, LW: 2). Michigan is off to a rocky start once again - but Michigan fans have come to known the few things you can guarantee: Death, Taxes, and a 2nd half run by a Coach Berenson team.
4. Penn State (6-3-0, LW: 3). Another split with a win over Air Force. PSU gets this weekend off.
5. Ohio State (2-3-3, LW: 5). The Buckeyes continue to look to take a step forward.
6. Wisconsin (1-4-1, LW: 6). Another early weekend off for the Badgers - can they turn around next weekend in Minnesota?
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