EAST LANSING – No. 8 Michigan State was back at Munn Ice Arena on Thursday night for its series opener against the Canisius Golden Griffins, marking the first matchup between the two in program history.
The Spartans were coming off a split in their last series, after the team traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado to take on Air Force last weekend.
“It was good to be back playing at home, the crowd was great,” MSU head coach Adam Nightingale said.
Michigan State got off to a fast start in the firs period. Despite being outshot and losing the faceoff battle in the first period 15-7, the Spartans dominated the goal chances and punched two in.
An early slashing penalty from Canisius defenseman David Melaragni set up sophomore winger Daniel Russell to score the first goal of the game, just three and a half minutes in. Another opportunity for MSU came shortly after, as Isaac Howard, who was called offsides, scored a breakaway goal.
As the first period came to a close, sophomore winger Joey Larson backhanded the second goal of the game and his fourth of the season to push MSU’s lead to two after one period.
Although Michigan State led by two during the first intermission, they had to endure two Canisius power plays, as Nico Muller and Red Savage went to the box for slashing penalties.
Just a minute into the second period, Daniell Russell scored his second goal, and Michigan State gained full strength after killing a power play. Defenseman Maxim Strbak sniped his first goal of the season not even three minutes after to push MSU’s lead to four goals not even halfway through the second period.
“I think we have four really solid lines that all can produce and score goals,” Russell said. “We’ve been working the o-zone and moving our feet.”
Even while being down four goals, Canisius showed resilience, going on another power play from a slashing penalty. Captain Max Kouznetsov netted the first goal for the Griffins and his second of the season.
Two and a half minutes later, an unbelievable passing clinic by MSU’s Matt Basgall and Isaac Howard set Daniel Russell up for the hat trick halfway through the second period.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Russell said. “Especially in the home crowd, that’s an amazing feeling. I haven’t had one in a long time.”
“He’s an everyday guy,” Nightingale said. “He’s good on both sides of the puck and he has great habits. That’s been since the day he got here and it’s good to see him get rewarded because he does it the right way.”
The third period seemed to tip over to Canisius’ favor. Senior winger Randy Hernandez netted two unanswered goals, cutting the Spartan lead in half. The Spartans were able to close things out, as freshman Artyom Levshunov put the finishing touches on an explosive offensive performance with an empty netter.
“I give Canisius a ton of credit,” Nightingale said. “I think we got away from our game. That’s the reality of a young team…we need to do a better job managing the game and we’ll be better at it tomorrow.”
Michigan State will look for the series sweep against Canisius Friday evening at 7 P.M. E.T.
