Wolverines earn revenge against MSU, claim spot in Big Ten title game
By Nick Barnowski –
DETROIT – The sixth meeting of the season between Michigan and Michigan State came with one caveat: the chance to end the other’s season.
Meeting in the postseason for the first time since the 2010 CCHA quarterfinals, the Wolverines advanced to the Big Ten tournament championship game, defeating the Spartans 4-1 at Joe Louis Arena Friday night.
“Coming into tonight, we knew we had to do the little things right,” said Michigan forward Alex Kile, who scored his team’s fourth goal. “It’s playoff hockey, we had to do everything we could to win and I think you guys saw that tonight.”
Four different players found the back of the net for the Wolverines (22-14-0), who will face Minnesota for the Big Ten tournament title Saturday night. Michigan State’s season ended with a 17-16-2 record.
The two teams split the final series of the regular season last weekend, which gave MSU a bye to the semifinals and forced Michigan to beat Wisconsin Thursday night to advance. Michigan coach Red Berenson didn’t say Friday night’s game was revenge, but said it added another dimension to the intense rivalry.
“It was more confidence and momentum and maybe something to prove,” Berenson said. “You can’t afford to lose a game, so one of us was going to be finished tonight.”
Michigan State head coach Tom Anastos said his team didn’t execute well enough to win. The Spartans gave up 49 shots on goal, forcing Big Ten player of the year Jake Hildebrand to make 45 saves. MSU put 27 shots on Michigan’s Steve Racine, but had few quality scoring chances.
“I thought they were really good tonight, and we were unable to match that pace and intensity tonight,” Anastos said. “We didn’t execute very well, so we were chasing pretty much all night.”
The first period belonged to the Wolverines.
While the Spartans struggled to get their offense going, Michigan’s high-powered attack went to work on the stingy MSU defense. The Wolverines outshot the Spartans 24-8 and had near continuous pressure on Hildebrand.
Spartan giveaways in the neutral zone opened up the ice for the Wolverines, giving them a number of quality scoring chances. Hildebrand made two big stops midway through the period, the first coming on Andrew Copp near the crease and the second on a Michael Downing shot in the high slot. Later in the first, Copp hit the post to the right of Hildebrand on a Michigan 2-on-1.
Michigan found the back of the net with 7:01 left in the first while on the power play. Downing released a shot from the middle of the blueline that deflected off MSU defenseman John Draeger and got past Hildebrand.
“We told our team, as much as the first goal was going to be important, it’s not the whole game,” Berenson said. “We’ve got a whole game to play.”
Michigan kept its foot on the gas offensively in the second period, but the Spartans tied the game at one with 11:19 remaining.
Following a Travis Lynch elbowing penalty, MSU converted after multiple chances with the man advantage. Senior Matt Berry scored his 12th of the season after taking a pass below the goal line and powering to the front of the slot, sliding the puck past Racine.
The Spartans continued to put pressure on Racine following Berry’s goal, but it was short lived.
Kile picked up a loose puck in the Wolverine zone following a Mackenzie MacEachern turnover and entered a 2-on-1 with JT Compher. Kile found Compher at the top of the slot, and the sophomore wired a shot over Hildebrand’s glove to make it 2-1 Michigan.
“That goal was huge,” Kile said. “We always talk about, if we get scored on, the next shift has to be a great shift. We were just opportunistic and that was a huge goal.”
Boo Nieves scored his seventh of the season with just over 10 minutes left in the third to make it 3-1 Michigan, and Kile put the game out of reach with a bullet over Hildebrand’s shoulder with 6:20 to go.
Although losing to their rivals in the last game of the season is a bitter pill to swallow for the Spartans, the progress the program made this year – most notably, finishing second in the Big Ten’s regular season – has left hope for the future.
“Obviously I think we’re a lot further ahead than we were last year at this point,” Michigan State captain Michael Ferrantino said. “We were able to put together a good little stretch here, but obviously quite not far enough. We’re just going to keep pushing to get better, we’ll get a lot better this offseason, and we’ll be back here next season.”
Michigan is now focusing on its Saturday night clash with the Golden Gophers, the Big Ten regular season champions. Needing a victory to qualify for the NCAA tournament, the Wolverines are hoping their all-around effort continues in the Big Ten title game.
“There’s an enthusiasm and a confidence that just builds when things are going well,” Berenson said.