SPARTANS

Spartans top Wolverines in overtime at JLA

David Goricki
The Detroit News

Detroit — Michigan State played the role of spoiler Friday night at Joe Louis Arena, knocking its bitter rival Michigan from atop the Big Ten standings with a 3-2 overtime victory before a sell-out crowd of 20,027.

Michigan State junior Joe Cox scored two goals, his first coming on a penalty shot midway through the game to break a scoreless tie. He gained the equalizer with 6:10 left in regulation with a wrist shot from the left circle. He was also slashed in overtime, leading to the penalty that resulted in the power-play goal.

And, it was Matt DeBlouw who became the MSU hero, taking a pass from Villiam Haag and blasting a slap shot from the right circle at 3:29 of overtime for a power-play goal over the right shoulder of Michigan goaltender Steve Racine.

The teams will conclude their weekend series at 5 p.m. Saturday at Munn Arena in East Lansing.

The Spartans (7-18-2, 3-8-0), who have struggled for the majority of the season, earned the right to lift the new “Iron D” trophy which was added to the rivalry for the first time, rewarding the winner of the conference game played between the teams at JLA.

And, it was MSU senior goaltender Jake Hildebrand who looked like his old self, the player who earned Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American honors last season after posting a 2.18 goals-against-average and .930 saves percentage.

“It’s really special, especially for the seniors to go out like this at Joe Louis Arena against Michigan, it’s just an awesome feeling and with the way the season’s going it’s really something to build off of,” said Hildebrand, who entered the night with a 4.10 GAA and .884 saves percentage in Big Ten games, then turned aside 40 shots. “Being the inaugural year of the Iron D and seeing that cool trophy, I think it’s great for our team and gives us a little confidence moving forward.”

Hildebrand had some help from his friends too.

MSU freshman forward Mason Appleton hustled back, diving to knock the puck off the stick of Dexter Dancs who broke in alone on Hildebrand in the opening minutes of overtime.

The No. 5 Wolverines (16-4-4, 7-2-2) took the ice at JLA with the nation’s leading offense (5.0), including the top line in college hockey with freshman phenom Kyle Connor and juniors Tyler Motte and J.T. Compher combing for 38 goals in their last 12 games.

Motte came through Friday with his nation-leading 23rd and 24th goals, his second giving the Wolverines a 2-1 lead midway through the third, but the Spartans wouldn’t go away.

Michigan had the chance to put the game away after Motte’s second goal when the Wolverines had a power-play opportunity less than a minute later.

Hildebrand and the Spartans wouldn’t let that happen. They killed off all five of Michigan’s power-play chances.

“I thought the way we battled in front of the net was key,” Hildebrand said. “I thought we won the dirty areas in front of both nets and DeBlouw had a heck of a shot there at the end.”

It looked like the Spartans were on the verge of taking a 2-1 lead early in the third when MSU captain Michael Ferrantino sent the puck through Racine’s legs. The puck went ninety percent past the goal line before freshman defenseman Nicholas Boka reached in and flipped the puck out. The referees took several minutes looking at the replay before saying the puck didn’t fully cross the goal line.

Racine, who finished with 38 saves, came up with several big stops in a scoreless opening period when the Spartans had three power-play opportunities, but no save was bigger than his kick save on DeBlouw’s short-handed breakaway late in the first period.

MSU actually outshot Michigan 12-9 in the opening period, a far cry from the series opener the last time the teams played a month ago. The Wolverines swept that series, scoring 15 goals, including a 9-2 rout of the Spartans in the opener at Munn Arena when Hildebrand was lifted from the game.

“I’ve always thought Hildebrand is a top Division 1 goalie,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “His numbers may not show that, but his performance showed it tonight.”

The outcome left fifth-year MSU coach Tom Anastos thrilled, feeling the Spartans can carry the momentum into the final nine games and into the Big Ten tournament March 17-19 in St. Paul.

“I thought it was a heck of a game from start to finish and it really had kind of everything in the game,” Anastos said. “Our team, I’ve said all along, has really stayed together. They are working hard. They’ve had a very tough season to date, but this is a start of the back end of the Big Ten season and with that ahead of us, this is a good start.

“I felt our seniors stepped up. I thought guys are elevating their games. Obviously, they (Wolverines) are a really good team so it was great to see that puck (the goal by DeBlouw) go in. I admire how hard these guys are working through some adversity so I was happy for them. I thought Hildie had a great game. He looked like Hildie so I was happy for the players, especially the seniors.”

david.goricki@detroitnews.com

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