Lakers vs. Wayne State
Michigan State defeats the Lakers, 4-2
EAST LANSING, Mich. –Despite getting out-shot 47-27 and giving up a goal 28 seconds into the game, 16th-ranked Michigan State kept finding an answer to 19th-ranked Lake Superior State's attack and won 4-2 Friday at Munn Ice Arena.
LSSU (13-11-3 overall, 8-9-2-2 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) continued its winless streak at Munn Ice Arena, falling 0-18-3 since Dec. 9, 1995. Michigan State is 13-9-3 overall and 8-7-2-2 in the CCHA.
The Lakers dropped to 7-4-0 in games in which they scored the first goal.
Senior forward Fred Cassiani (5-10—15) gave LSSU the early 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal. The Spartans were out-shot 18-5 during the first period, but came back to score two unanswered goals.
MSU’s first goal came at 9:03 of the first period from Mike Merrifield. Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native Brett Perlini netted the Spartans' second goal of the game at 11:02 of the first period.
The Lakers and Spartans played a scoreless second period. The Lakers outshot MSU 33-16 during the first two periods of play. Sophomore forward Kellan Lain (6-3—9) tied the game 2-2 with another unassisted goal at 17:02 of the third period.
Less than two minutes later, MSU's Kevin Walrod netted the game-winning goal, enabling the Spartans to avoid a fifth overtime game in eight outings. Torey Krug scored an empty-goal at 19:45 of third as MSU extended its unbeaten streak to three games.
Sophomore netminder Kevin Kapalka stopped 23 shots on goal for the Lakers. MSU’s netminder Will Yanakeff totaled 45 saves.
LSSU and MSU were both 0-for-1 on the power-play.
The teams meet again at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Munn Arena. LSSU leads the season series, 2-1, and both squads have 28 points in the CCHA standings.
