DETROIT, Mich.--Senior forward Matt Schepke scored twice and senior goalie Jeff Lerg stopped 38 shots to lift Michigan State to a 2-1 victory over the Fighting Sioux tonight at the 44th annual Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena.
The win by the Spartans halted UND's season-long four-game winning streak.
Michigan State entered the game averaging just 1.61 goals per game ? second-fewest in the NCAA ? but managed to preserve the two-goal cushion provided by Schepke. The senior winger opened the scoring on a power-play goal 7:14 into the first period when he fanned on a shot at the top of the crease, but was able to get just enough on it to bounce the puck over the stick of a sprawled Brad Eidsness (Fr., Chestermere, Alberta).
Schepke scored what proved to be the game-winner just 1:39 into the second period, one-timing a Corey Tropp pass after Sioux defensemen Joe Finley (Sr., Edina, Minn.) and Brad Miller (Sr., Alpharetta, Ga.) got tangled up just inside their own blueline.
Lerg did the rest for the Spartans, turning aside 27 Sioux shots over the final two periods and keeping the Sioux off of the scoreboard until sophomore forward Matt Frattin (Edmonton, Alberta) converted a one-timer from the faceoff dot on the power-play with 3:23 remaining.
It was Frattin's team-leading eighth goal of the season, but proved to be too-little, too-late for the 18th-ranked Sioux.
“We played probably 40 minutes of hockey and you get beat when you play like that,” said UND coach Dave Hakstol.
“They (Michigan State) are tough to play against when they have a lead. They're a team that knows how to win and I don't want to take anything away from them, but I'm certainly not happy with the way we played.”
Lerg's best save ? and most important ? came with 42.6 seconds left in the period with Eidsness on the bench for an extra attacker. With the Sioux applying considerable pressure, UND defenseman Chay Genoway (Jr., Morden, Manitoba) gathered the puck at the MSU blueline and weaved his way into the faceoff circle to the right of the Spartan net, just inside the hash marks, and blasted a slap shot that hit a perfectly positioned Lerg in the chest.
At the other end of the ice, Eidsness was arguably UND's best player in a 28-save effort that included about half a dozen spectular stops.
“I thought he settled in as the game went on,” said Hakstol of his freshman netminder, who was making his 16th straight appearance in goal.
“He made a couple of big saves along the way and gave us a chance to get back in it.”
UND went 1-for-5 on the power-play while the Spartans went 1-for-7.
The Sioux will now face WCHA foe Michigan Tech on Sunday afternoon in the third-place game. The puck drops at 2:05 p.m. Central.
Notes: UND is now 1-8-0 when trailing after two periods ... Miller and Genoway assisted on Frattin's goal and both continue to lead the Sioux in scoring with 19 points apiece ... Junior F Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.) played in his 100th career game ... Sophomore F Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) and senior F Ryan Martens (Selkirk, Manitoba) each had four-game point streaks snapped ... Finley played in his first regular season game since Oct. 11 vs. Massachusetts, the second game of the year.
