UPDATE (11:00 p.m.): The Big Ten has officially announced their bracket for the upcoming Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament at Joe Louis Arena. First-place Minnesota and second-place Michigan State have byes in the first round, while Michigan (No. 3) will face Wisconsin (No. 6) at 8 p.m. on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The other quarterfinals match-up will be Penn State (No. 4) vs. Ohio State (No. 5) at 4:30 p.m. Michigan State will play the winner of the Michigan vs. Wisconsin game on Friday – that game will start at 8 p.m. All of the games will be televised on Big Ten Network.
By Greg Garno –
ANN ARBOR – The Michigan hockey team stood at the front of the net knocking and swinging away at the puck, but time after time, Michigan State goaltender Jake Hildebrand was there to close the door.
He was there late in the first to bat down slap shots that his defense let through. Then, early in the second, as he faced an onslaught on the net, he was there lying on his stomach to fend off the attack. And midway through the third period he did just about everything else.
Behind Hildebrand’s 37 saves, the Spartans were able to hang on for a 2-1 win to secure a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament. Michael Ferrantino and Matt DeBlouw scored for Michigan State.
“I thought our effort was real strong tonight,” said Michigan State coach Tom Anastos. “Our goaltender was phenomenal, but we’ve grown to expect that. … Tonight, we won enough of the key moments to give us a chance to win.”
Photos by Michael Caples/MiHockey
The 19th-ranked Wolverines, after earning a 5-2 victory Friday night in East Lansing, sit third in the conference, needing a Minnesota loss for a first-round bye.
“We had the chances, the opportunity, but the puck didn’t go in,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “I think our team put everything into this weekend, and it’s too bad it came down to one night, one weekend.”
DeBlouw scored the go-ahead goal, skating behind Michigan’s Brenan Serville flicking a backhand attempt over Zach Nagelvoort. With one of the nation’s best offenses, the Wolverines couldn’t get an equalizer as Hildebrand stopped 14 shots in the final frame.
He snagged a rocket of s shot from Michigan’s Tyler Motte worthy of the highlight reel and was helped by a defense that surrounded the crease.
“Everybody was doing their job, pulling the rope, and we just got the result we were looking for,” Hildebrand said.
The Spartans’ Ferrantino opened up the scoring in the game, firing a wrister from the top of the left circle past Nagelvoort eight minutes into the contest. Nagelvoort, earning the nod in between the pipes again, saved 17 shots.
Missing JT Compher, Michigan’s offense still found a way to drive the puck to the net. For their part, the Wolverines kept possession for the majority of the game, but they struggled to find their way through traffic.
They were eventually rewarded, midway through the second period, when Grosse Pointe native Zach Werenski scored from the high slot on the power play.
“I don’t think this is game is a step backwards as much as it was a step forwards,” said Michigan forward Zach Hyman. “You saw how hard those guys worked out there today, and that’s only going to help us.”
Michigan had one last chance with less than two minutes remaining when it pulled Nagelvoort for the extra man. But each puck that flew at the net was batted down and smothered by the Spartans.
And in the end, they rushed off the bench to smother their goaltender, who put up one of his best performances for one the best seasons as of late.
“I think this is huge for our team, and our confidence moving forward,” Hildebrand said. “I know the last two years haven’t been what we were looking for, and I think we just really wanted to turn things around.
Matt DeBlouw talks about his game-winning goal:
Jake Hildebrand talks about the Michigan State win: