By @StefanKubus –
Six of seven Michigan colleges were in action this past weekend as week two of the 2015-16 campaign is now in the books.
Friday, Oct. 9
Northern Michigan had a solid showing against Wisconsin over the weekend, but couldn’t quite gain the upper edge, as the Wildcats tied the Badgers both nights. In Friday night’s 2-2 split, Filip Starzynski and Shane Sooth provided the goals and Gerald Hanson chipped in with a pair of helpers. Atte Tolvanen stopped 25 of 27, and the Wildcats outshot Wisconsin, 34-27.
Western Michigan played a close, home-and-home series against Ferris State, and the Broncos came out on top overall. In Friday night’s tilt, captain Sheldon Dries (Macomb) and Chris Dienes (Traverse City) scored, while freshman Griffen Molino (Trenton) potted a third-period, game-winning powerplay goal. Junior netminder Collin Olsen stopped 31 of 33 en route to a 3-2 victory.
At the IceBreaker Tournament in Maine, Michigan State tied the University of Maine, 3-3. Freshman defenseman Zach Osburn (Plymouth) scored his first two career goals in the split and Chelsea native Joe Cox had the other MSU marker. The Spartans outshot the Black Bears, 36-29, as senior netminder Jake Hildebrand stopped 26 shots on the evening.
Outshot 44-29, Lake Superior State fell to No. 4 North Dakota in the IceBreaker Tournament, 5-2. J.T. Henke (Trenton) and Mitch Hults had LSSU up 2-0 after the opening 20 minutes, but five straight goals by North Dakota sealed the game. Jake Hand also had a pair of helpers for Lake Superior State, and Gordon Defiel stopped 39 of 44 in the loss.
Michigan Tech started off on the right foot against Laurentian University (Ontario, Canada), with a 5-1 victory in exhibition action. Brett Boeing and Brent Baltus each had a pair for the Huskies, who outshot Laurentian, 42-17. Jamie Philips allowed one goal in the victory.
Saturday, Oct. 10
Saturday night’s rematch between the Wildcats and Badgers saw the Wildcats up 3-0 after 40 minutes, but three goals – including two on the man-advantage – within a three-minute span brought the Badgers right back into the game. NMU featured a balanced attack during the weekend, with five different goal scorers over the two nights. John Siemer, Ryan Trenz and Jordan Klimek potted the goals for the Wildcats. Tolvanen turned aside 41 of 44 in the split for NMU.
Junior forward Kyle Schempp (Saginaw) scored for Ferris State in its rematch with Western Michigan, and Charles Williams (Canton) stopped 36 of 37, but it wasn’t enough to avenge a Friday-night loss to the Broncos, as the two teams tied, 1-1. For WMU, junior Kyle Novak lit the lamp, and Lukas Hafner stopped 39 of 40 in the split.
Michigan State finished its IceBreaker Tournament performance with a victory over Lake Superior State, 4-1. Mackenzie MacEachern (Troy) potted a pair of goals, and captain Michael Ferrantino (Plymouth) scored the other. JT Stenglein chipped in with a goal and an assist for MSU, while Hildebrand stopped 29 of 30.
After thumping Laurentian 5-1 Friday night, Michigan Tech once again scored five on Saturday, but this time kept their opponents off the board. Outshooting Laurentian, 58-17, the game was scoreless heading into the third period, but the Huskies’ onslaught was too much. Mike Neville, Jake Jackson, Alex Petan, Patrick Anderson and Alex Gilles all scored for MTU, while Philips, Matt Wintjes and Devin Kero (Hancock) combined for the win between the pipes.