Steven Swavely scored in a shootout to give the Maine hockey team a 4-3 win over Michigan State in the season opener Friday at Cross Insurance Arena.
The teams were tied 3-3 after regulation and a five-minute overtime. But Ice Breaker tournament rules require a winner, so they went to the three-man shootout.
Maine took the lead 3:10 into the game when Blaine Byron’s slapshot caromed off of Michigan State goaltender Jake Hildebrand and Will Merchant was quick with his stick to poke it into the net for a power-play goal.
Michigan State answered with a power-play goal by Zach Osburn on a slapshot from the point that got past Maine goaltender Matt Morris at 15:13 of the first period.
Maine had to kill four penalties in the second period, including two 5-on-3 situations, but Morris made 16 saves to keep the Spartans at bay.
Meanwhile, Brian Morgan was able to deflect an Eric Schurhamer shot past Hildebrand at 10:40 of the period to give the Black Bears a 2-1 lead heading into the final intermission.
The Spartans tied the score 2-2 on their eighth power play of the game when Joe Cox had half of the net to shoot at after Morris made an initial save, and backhanded the puck in at 3:50 of the third period.
Maine turned the tables during its ninth penalty. With Rob Michel off for holding, Cam Brown gathered a puck in the neutral zone and rushed toward Hildebrand with Byron on his right and only one defender back. Brown fed Byron near the crease, and he took the puck to the left, getting Hildebrand to sprawl the ice, and lifted it over the prone goaltender for a 3-2 lead at 7:08.
Maine took two more penalties, however, and on the second one Osburn struck again. His shot from the left point clanged off a pipe and into the net for a 3-3 tie at 18:51.
The overtime session decided nothing, so a shootout was used to decide a winner.
Morris stopped all three Spartan shooters. On Maine’s last chance, Swavely skated in on Hildebrand but stopped short and whistled a wrist shot home.
Michigan State meets Lake Superior State at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, with Maine-North Dakota at 8 p.m.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
